Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland
Tags: Life Lessons, Book Review, Writing

photo screen captured from my epub version.

Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland

It’s been a long time since I wrote a review so here you go.

I have finished this book last month. Normally, once I finished a book I go ahead and create a review about it but this time right after I finished ‘Our Chemical Hearts’ I was not able to do so. This is due to untold task that I had to finish throughout those days. Well, yes, I had a couple of days off but usually I spend them in sleeping to gain my vitality. I just don’t force myself to write especially when I know that I am drained completely.

So this book is about a seventeen year old boy named Henry Page who has never found himself being in love, a boy who’s happy by the thought of getting good academic grades to finally become their school’s newspaper editor in order to achieve a semi-decent college life. Things began to change when he met the odd girl, Grace Town.

Grace isn’t Henry’s idea of what a typical girl should be like, walking into his first period class wearing an oversized shirt (a boy’s shirt!) with that look as if she hasn’t been taking a shower for how many days plus the fact that she walks with a cane… she is indeed that type of girl who is odd and mysterious. The story began when they were both chosen to edit the school paper which Grace immediately turned down for the reason that she no longer writes. That situation made Henry pissed off because he thinks about the opportunity that is simply going to be wasted. He then had a little talk with Grace, an awkward one, actually, which made her finally accept the position.

They became friends, yes but Henry knows there is something broken about Grace Town that he needed to know and he did. I do not wish to spoil anything now. Here’s a quote from Henry to give you an idea of what’s with this book.

‘So this is certainly not a story of love at first sight. But it is a love story. Well. Kind of.’

NOTABLE PASSAGES: “I was a decent enough writer, but talking? With sounds? From my mouth? That was a bitch.” “The things you own end up owning you” “Space is the best cure for sadness that I know.” “When I look up into the night sky, I remember that I’m nothing but the ashes of long-dead stars. A human being is a collection of atoms that comes together into an ordered pattern for a brief period of time and then falls apart again. I find comfort in my smallness.” “The best thing the universe ever gave us is that we’ll all be forgotten.” “I kinda like the idea,” she said. “That when we die, despite any pain or fear or embarrassment we experienced during our lives, despite any heartbreak or grief, we get to be dispersed back into nothingness. It makes me feel brave, knowing I’ll get a blank slate at the end. You get a brief glimmer of consciousness to do with what you will and then it’s given back to the universe again. I’m not religious, but even I can appreciate that that’s redemption, on the grandest scale. Oblivion isn’t scary; it’s the closest thing to genuine absolution of sin that I can imagine.” “People are perfect when all that’s left of them is memory.” “You know how you sometimes have the most exhausting day and you can’t wait to get home and fall into bed and sleep for hours? I feel that way about life. There are people out there who read books about vampires and they crave immortality, but sometimes I’m so thankful that at the end of it all, we get to sleep forever. No more pain. No more exhaustion. Death is the reward for having lived.” “Stories with happy endings are just stories that haven’t finished yet.” “Why is it, I thought, that we’re so willing to hurt the ones we care about the most?”

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK…

Life lessons being interpret through character’s point of view. You know that a book will left an impact to its reader when or if he/she learned something from the book itself. I loved Krystal Sutherland’s idea in life and death,

I find it quite broad to depict but there were things that will surely left you in a realization thinking ‘Ah yes, point taken.’

I also loved the idea that Krystal filled it with references to music, films, also book etc. Once you finished a book, I suggest that you do not skip the author’s note or the acknowledgements because that’s when you’ll discover the author’s journey throughout the entire completion of the book and it never fails to amaze me. It is such an inspiration for young writers like me.

Overall, Our Chemical Hearts is a tear-jerker novel. (Yes, I mean it. Read on and see for yourself, guys.) The moment I read the most painful and heart-breaking part of it, I couldn’t stop myself from crying. The apparent feeling is there and for me, that’s what makes a good story, that feeling when you feel like putting yourself in the shoe of the characters, when you felt their pain… Goodness! You probably think it’s crazy but it’s absolutely satisfying.

WILL I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO ALL AGES?

Yes, but with supervision. It’s a good-read but there are certain parts that may need a little discussion (if got curious about it) with matured readers.

RATINGS:5 stars for the entirety of the book: cover, concept, structure/flow of the story.