Review: 5 pull-at-your-heartstring-stars
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 28, 2013
Heartstrings is a well written, pull-at-your-heart-strings- story about learning to find strength in yourself and take your life back. We first met Tori and Will in Heather's first book Love Notes. While they both can be read as standalone, i would recommend reading Love Notes first, as there are a few references from the first book.Tori is a fiery, red-headed, smart-mouthed senior. She is keeping a secret from her mother and friends and it suddenly consumes her. She is having horrific nightmares and when she cant take it anymore, she finally breaks down and confides in her mother and best friend Charlie.Will is one of Tori's friends. He has it all; good looking with a heart of gold. He knew something was going on with Tori. Since that night one year ago, their first date, and things have never been the same between them. He doesn't know what went wrong when he went to get them a drink and Tori never told him because she was afraid he wouldn't look at her the same.Tori's confidence gradually increases throughout the story and she finally decides to tell Will about that night. While angry at what had happened, Will offers comfort and support to Tori when she needs it the most. He repeatedly tells her that things between them haven't and wont change because of what happened.This story is absolutely beautiful. I think that every girl should have a guy like Will and a friend like Charlie in their life. I really enjoyed watching Tori's confidence, strength, and trust grow throughout the book. I enjoyed seeing the bond between Tori, Charlie, Will and Mav grow as well.I have to give a shout out to Heather and commend her for her bravery for putting this story out there. As if i didn't cry enough while reading the story, when i got to the author's note and discovered that that story was based off of a real life event I really lost it. The emotions Tori was experiencing were so easily felt by the reader. Heather did an amazing job of putting her feelings and emotions on the page.While this book contains difficult subject matter, I love the fact that it focuses on Tori's recovery and her healthy way of dealing with the situation. At the beginning of the book Tori is a victim. By the end she is a strong, confident survivor.“My name is Tori. I am no one’s victim. And by God, I am a survivor! I’ve been to hell and back and I. Will. Heal. I may never forget; but I will never again think about you like I have. I will never give you the power I’ve been giving you for the last year, and I will never let you hurt anyone else again.”