Found it difficult to keep interested in this book. Some great storytelling but maybe just not for me.

The Razorland series is one of my all-time favorites, and I've also enjoyed some of Ann Aguirre's other sci-fi novels. Heartwood Box was just too slow for me and I had a lot of trouble being drawn in to the story.

First up, I'm going to label this one a crossover! It doesn't entirely fit within one genre and that's totally fine.

Next, try to stay with it! I initially found it a little hard to get into due to the award vibe. Yes, I know that was probably the point but, anyway after a little while I was hooked!

Araceli finds herself slap bang in the middle of a mystery. Disappearances, odd lights, uncomfortable feelings all make for an intriguing story. I grew to like Araceli and wanted her to find out what was going on.

I'm not sure about the ending but it certainly made me think. I liked the cross-time communication through the box. It's difficult to say much more without giving too much away...

4 Stars in my Sky!

I received a review copy

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, that book was a wild ride. I was so excited when I got approved for this book because I like Ann Aguirre. Her enclave series was one of the first few series I read when I first started reading a ton and I fell in love with it. I originally wasn’t too sure about it since the paranormal genre is not one I just read a ton of. So there were a few times while reading that I wasn’t fully enjoying the book. And honestly, at times, I felt close to the characters and then other times I really connected with them. It was strange. 

I really did like the main character though. She had a great personality, and I never minded being in her head. There were a few times that I didn’t understand why she did the things she did, but for the most part, I liked her. Araceli ends up having to stay with her great aunt in the states because her parents have to be somewhere that is not safe for her. Plus they want her to graduate and go to an American school. At first, she isn’t sure exactly how this whole situation will go down, but she is pretty used to making new friends and adapting with whatever living situation she is in.

Araceli is able to make friends quicker than usual at this school because she has been friends with a girl online for a few years now that happens to go to this same school.  She just wants to have a regular senior year and get ready for college, but that is not what’s in the cards for her. She ends up finding out some insane things about the town she is in and decides she has to find out what is going on. With the help of her friends and the boy next door, she thinks she can solve it. 

As soon as she arrives in this city close to New York she knows it won’t be very normal. There are missing ads everywhere and way too many people missing. That’s not even the strangest thing about this town. She finds out that her great uncle is one of those missing and can tell there is some weird stuff going on in the house that she just can’t explain. Even weirder still, she finds a box where she gets letters from someone in the past. 

I will say I kind of saw the ending coming. I didn’t know exactly how it would work out but I knew it would fit somehow. The end got me pretty emotional. I thought that I would get more emotional throughout the whole book but I just didn’t. There were only a few characters that I emotionally connected to. 

I do recommend this book. I felt bad not giving this book 5 stars because I did like it, and I really like Ann. Being connected to the characters is a big thing for me while I’m reading. Because that didn’t really happen in this book I gave it 4 stars. It was a very interesting read and I liked the concept. I def think you should try it out, and once you do comment so we can talk about it!

I’m still mulling this one over. I loved Aguirre’s Razorland and Sirantha Jax series and was keen to see where she went with a Stranger Things type vibe. I guess I was expecting more creepiness than weirdness? Particularly with the cover suggesting it would be more paranormal sci-fi than multiverse/ temporal mechanics sci-fi. The concept is amazing and the execution is good. I didn’t really warm to the characters but perhaps that’s me teetering on the edge of the generation gap? Anyway this is a weird book and overall I kinda liked it. Not sure if it’s three or four stars so I’ll go with four. Basically if it stays with me and keeps repeating on me, it’s most likely a good book I just haven’t got my head round yet!

Ann Aguirre takes a sharp turn from her usual genre to write this interesting new book, which has elements of teen angst, mystery, government involvement, a potential ghost, and missing people. It has a nice assortment of diverse characters which is nice to see, and the main character is definitely no Mary Sue. I am not sure if I liked this book or not, but would read a sequel as the characters were interesting.

Now this is a proper YA tale with the protagonist technically an adult but still in education. There is no smut (thankfully because I think that would have ruined the book) and just a little romance and swearing. A perfect read for a teen.

The setting for this tale is spooky – the author has done a great job of setting the scene. There are, as is often the case in YA, a few coincidences that are too close to be believable. But I’m not the type to get irritated by that in YA. I’m not sure what separates YA as a genre that allows me to feel that way – perhaps the feel good nature of YA stories puts me in a more forgiving mood.

Like all good children’s books, this is tied up at the end with a bow. All plot points are resolved and there is no scope for a sequel, unless it focussed on different characters and a different setting. So really it’s a stand alone book. Representation is highlighted but this is not a book that aims to be confrontational, the issues are raised as part of the characters and storylines. I suppose the cliche I’m looking for is show don’t tell. Representation is shown to the reader, where it is lacking this is also shown. The reader is not told what the issues with representation, or a lack thereof to be more specific, rather it is wound neatly into the story. If you took out the message of representation then the storyline would be the same. Just a less diverse cast of characters and a few snippets of dialogue removed.

I really did enjoy this book and would recommend it to children of all ages from around 10. The romance isn’t sexualised in any way and the swearing is lowkey (and very sparsely used).

I received an egalley from the publisher through netgalley.

I wanted to read this book because I thought it was your standard spooky story, but it was so much more than that. I really like how the story played out, and I really liked the setting and the characters. There is something for everyone in this book, and will be a go-to recommendation for my teen patrons.

Heartwood Box starts out very strong. The setting of the small town with many people missing was very interesting, especially when it seems like it’s being haunted by the people who went missing. The plot in the beginning was very intriguing as well. As I continued reading the story I became less and less interested. The reason for that is that the plot was overloaded. This book was only 288 pages long and yet there were so many different plots and plot threads, it was just overwhelming. As it was overwhelming I stopped caring about it and it ultimately became boring. There is just too much going on in this story.

Araceli was an alright character. I liked her more in the beginning and I stopped caring about her the more I read, which is a major theme with me and this book. There were too many side characters in this story. No one felt fleshed out and they were more used as devices to further the plot than they were actual characters. Most of them were used to show how much of an outsider Araceli really was. Granted quite a few of those characters were people of colour, I’m not sure we got to know about them enough and I really can’t speak about the representation. Heartwood Box was overloaded with characters.

Overall I didn’t enjoy this book all that much, as you can see by my rating and review. I think Heartwood Box would have been better if it was longer, or some of the plot elements were cut out. This book just felt overloaded with everything. Personally I wouldn’t recommend it.

Thank you Netgally!

This book was terrific! Love the suspense and the build up, unfortunately I hated the ending.

It’s well written and I would recommend

I wanted to love this one, just as I loved her last book. But sadly I couldn't. But I also didn't dislike it. This was one of those books that just hit the middle mark for me. Would I recommend this to a friend? Of course I would, because we aren't all meant to love the same book. If I knew someone who would love this book, I would absolutely suggest it.

I really did love the creativity of this plot, and the notes in the box, a very cool concept. I liked that even though Araceli grew up with a very charmed life, she didn't read like a typical privileged, spoiled brat. She was humble, and curious, and was pretty damn tough. So, I did like that aspect. There was also an element of Romance that I thought gave just the right finesse to this story. Overall, I am very happy I was approached by Tor Teen, and I am glad I got to read Ann Aguirre's new book! I think it's going to do very well with the younger crowd.

This book caught my interest with that gorgeous cover and the blurb which per the author's pitch is Stranger Things meets The Lake House. I recently binge-watched season 3 of Stranger Things, I'm a massive fan, so those vibes got me excited, and I'm old enough to have watched The Lake House when it was released 13 (!!) years ago, which makes me feel decrepit as the main character notes "If my great-aunt knows about it, then it's probably pretty old."

Unfortunately the sci-fi thriller conspiracies didn't mesh well with the time-crossed love story, with not enough attention given to either leading to both plots feeling inadequately developed in the story. The premise was excellent as I could see the bones of a great book here, which is why I kept reading even when I was tempted to give up, but it was frustrating to see the lack of sufficient follow-through on either of the main elements because it kept me from being emotionally invested. 

The Lake House aspect was particularly weak - our protagonist Araceli exchanges only a couple letters with Oliver, a soldier in World War I, before she's looking forward to hearing from him as the bright spot in her day (despite being mostly convinced that this is an elaborate hoax) and after a handful more, they're suddenly in love. It was completely unconvincing, which made Araceli's reckless decision to send intel to help Oliver even more idiotic - I could see how being in love would make you disregard the possible consequences to changing the timeline, but when I didn't even believe that love story, it made me feel even more detached and irritated with Araceli. 

In contrast, watching Araceli unravel the mystery of what was afflicting the town and investigating the secret lab in the woods was much more interesting and a compelling enough hook to keep me turning the page. I couldn't work the cause behind the supernatural phenomena or what exactly the shady scientists were up to and how it was all related, the author successfully bamboozled me there! I just wish that Araceli's circle of friends were more well-developed because I couldn't distinguish one from another - I normally worked out who they were from context when the group was hanging out and exchanging banter, but this obviously wasn't possible in the action sequences. 

The worst part is that Araceli had a best friend that she'd been communicating with online for years before coincidentally moving to her town and this built-in friendship was left to flounder instead of being given the page-time it deserved because Araceli's interactions with Logan, the boy next door, was prioritized instead! It made no sense to me that the girls were supposedly so close and excited to meet up in real life, but then Araceli had no plans to catch up with her as soon as she arrived in town - it felt like a plot hole that Araceli turned up for her first day of school only to find out it was a public holiday because Eunsoo didn't mention this for some reason when Araceli said she'd see her at school the next day! It seemed contrived just so that Araceli could meet Logan, which seems unnecessary as he lives right across the road from her.

When it actually IS the first day of school, instead of arranging to meet at a landmark like the front gate or the library or something that stands out, Eunsoo simply tells her that she'll be wearing a black hoodie with their favorite band on it. Mobile phones DO exist in this book, but apparently not to facilitate friends catching up, even though that's the main function of a teenager's phone! It's a shame that Eunsoo was set up as a character who would be important at the start because she ended up figuring so little into the plot that she could've been removed altogether without affecting anything, which is unfortunately true for a few characters and plot elements in this book that were equally undeveloped.

Overall, this wasn't for me, but the mystery aspect was fun and quite unique. I also appreciated Araceli being a biracial character and how this was subtly incorporated with micro-aggressions from the kids at school (intentional or not, like Logan mimicking her accent) and bonding with another girl over being the few POC in a predominantly white town.

This one is a definite favorite of 2019. HEARTWOOD BOX was not what I expected it to be in and in the best way. Aguirre's writes characters you can't help but root for and you fall into the creepy little town where everything happens so easily. If you love mysteries that will blow your mind, forbidden love and teenagers who take charge - this book is for you.

Ann Aguirre's Heartwood Box is a cross between fantasy, and science fiction, and speculation. Thanks to her parents spending time in Venezuela covering a story, because why not? Araceli Flores Harper is sent to her great-Aunt Ottilie's home on Long Island to spend the summer before she attends her final year of High School. Ottilie's husband disappeared 20 years ago. She still lives in the run down Victorian home she's always lived in. But, that's not the real story.

Upon arrival, Araceli sees dozens of missing persons posters. It seems that people have disappeared and are never heard from again. In fact, it's gotten really bad with 11 disappearances in 10 months. Araceli is warned to stay away from the lights in the woods but nobody has any idea what they are. She is told there is a top secret government research facility known as Fairhaven Labs.What do they really do at said lab, and are they to blame for what is happening?

Araceli becomes part of a group which includes Kimala, Tamsyn, Jackson, Derek, and Logan. Araceli has spent a lot of time in various countries, including Mexico. She speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Mandarin. She is also supposed to be a decent dancer and tries out for the dance team. But, according to Araceli, she is worried that white folks with pitch forks and white hoods will suddenly show up to kidnap her. In New York.

She's scared that ICE will take her away to some secretive location where she will disappear without a trace. She claims the town is more dangerous than the entire country of Venezuela which is tearing itself a part at the seems! She's apparently never been to Venezuela, and I'm pretty sure neither has the author or she wouldn't have made such an ugly and unfounded claim. The town where the story takes place was founded by German immigrants. If you know where I am going with this fact, you'd be correct. Therefore, the author tells you about the towns history without naming it.

Anyway! Araceli stumbles her way across a mystery box. The aforementioned heartwood box. In the box there is a letter from someone named Lucy to Oliver. This letter was dated 1918. After putting her homework in said box, it disappears. This sets off an interesting two way communication across time between Aracelli and Oliver who is a GI sent to fight the Germans in World War I. The next curiosity is discovered when Aracelli learns her Tia is leaving food for her husband and that food is always gone the next morning. Weird, right?

I think it was curious the connection between Oliver and Logan. While Oliver is pretty much catching Araceli's heart strings, and she's falling hard for the him, Logan is disappearing right before our eyes into the background. What's humorous is the author mentions the movie Lake House with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. In the movie, they each leave letters in the mailbox. So, twist it just a bit and Araceli and Oliver leave their letters in the mysterious Heartwood Box instead.

Honestly, this part was the best part of the story for me. You can tell that Araceli was falling for Oliver, and vice versa. When she falls asleep, she is able to see who Oliver is, and what he is doing. He thinks she's an angel, or a bruja. She's just a girl whose family is off gallivanting across the world trying to find the next story while she tries to decide her future. There are certain elements of the Butterfly affect in this book. How can there not be? After all, once you start messing with actual time and history, things must change as well.

There have been some wrong claims about where this story is told. Trust me, it's on Long Island, not Upstate New York. I lived in New York for most of my life, except the last 20 in Florida, and the 4 years spent in the military. It is also true that the town was where the Army had a training camp for soldiers from New York City. If you love history like I do, look up the Lost Battalion, 77th Division which was exclusively New York City poor men.

This was an impulse request mostly because I was in the mood for something creepy and the title/cover art combo seemed to fit those criteria pretty well. The description of a teenager discovering the mysteries of a strange, small town just cemented by interest. But while the book does deliver on what it sets out to do, it didn’t quite match up with what I was looking for.

Araceli doesn’t know what to expect when she shows up at the small town where her great-aunt lives. But a town full of missing people and mysterious happenings in the woods surrounding it is not what she had in mind for her visit. Soon enough these mysteries end up knocking on her own door and curiosity and bewilderment quickly turn into fear and a fight for not only her future, but those who have been lost before her.

This is a tough book to evaluate, mostly due to the fact that it’s just not the type of book I read often. And for the reason that I typically don’t enjoy them as much as others. I’m not sure where the line is between “contemporary fantasy” and “urban fantasy,” but there definitely is one and it’s enough to make me greatly prefer the latter to the former. In this book’s case, there were a few aspects of the former that didn’t quite fit with what I was looking for.

First, our main character, Araceli. Most of the fantasy fiction that I read that features young protagonists is set in a world or time period where a young age doesn’t mean the same thing it does here. Teenagers often find themselves in very adult situations and it is perfectly normal that they be there. And, in fact, they have often been raised to expect to operate in an adult fashion by this age. This makes many YA fantasy novels essentially read as adult fantasy novels (I won’t start up again on the marketing mechanisms behind these choices).

So in part I’m simply not used to reading teenagers that, well, act like teenagers. It’s not really the fault of the book that Araceli is a believable teen and thus often makes poor decisions. But I won’t concede some of the dialogue. Teenage characters don’t have to sound immature in their speaking, and there were often bits of both her actual voiced comments as well as the commentary in her head that read as even more juvenile than necessary for belivablilty.

My other main struggle came down to genre confusion. Simply put, there are too many genres and genre conventions vying for page time in this book. I had a hard time settling in to any one type of story. Some genre blending is to be expected, but this one had a bit too much on its hands with fantasy, thriller, horror, and mystery all packed in. I think it was more a fault of blending than anything. It felt a bit too obvious when the story switched from one genre focus to another, reading as bumpy and jarring rather than a smooth, unnoticeable transition.

The mystery of the story is good, though the comparison to “Stranger Things” is a bit too on the nose. I mean, creepy woods. Dudes in bio-hazard outfits. People disappearing. We get it. But still, I was intrigued enough about discovering what exactly was going on that I was able to get through my general frustration with the main character and some bumpy writing.

Essentially, if you’re a fan of contemporary YA fiction and enjoy a fantasy/horror aspect to your tale, you might really like “Heartwood Box.” Most of my complaints for this one are purely my own preference, so take that with what you will. I do think the writing lacks a bit to be desired overall, but that’s not a deal breaker if this kind of story is your thing.

Rating 6: Not for me. “Realistic” teenagers apparently annoy me too much.

Heartwood Box is the newest novel by Ann Aguirre, and it is an amazing blend of different genres. It's young adult, and has romance, supernatural, and science fiction elements as well. It's a time travel tale, but also a tale of a teenage girl trying to do what is right. And it's so amazingly dark and brilliant.
It's also a very introspective novel, in its own way. It makes you think. About assumptions. About what we can do to change our presents, and how that'll affect the future. About a lot of things, really.
This tale follows Araceli Flores Harper. A teenage girl dropped off in a very remote town. Supposedly it was for her own safety, but she ends up in more danger than she could have ever expected. But her presence may be exactly what this town needed – because there is something dark going on, and nobody but Araceli seems inclined to do anything about it.

Warnings: Heartwood Box is a brilliant story, but like any dark novel, it has some edges to it. In this case there are missing persons (including children) and implications of racism. There's also an abusive relationship within, though it technically is never confirmed.
Heartwood Box was an absolutely thrilling and chilling novel. And I'll be honest with you – it was nothing like what I expected. In a good way. It was dark and supernatural, but the description doesn't do it justice. There is so much more to this novel. And I love that.
I love how many different elements were blended together to make this piece of work. It made for something truly unique and original, while still having a lot of familiar tones. That made it oddly comforting, if that makes any sense. Though at times I think it also added to the tension – because reflexively I knew when something bad was likely to happen.
There were elements of this book that reminded me of other stories. However, I will give Heartwood Box complete credit for a few things here. For one, Ann Aguirre owned up to any of the connections by referencing them directly. And for another, she made these bits her own, doing something new with them.
I expected the tension and fear, but I was surprised by many of the other emotions that this book brought up. I certainly wasn't expecting to well up at times. Though that was a nice surprise. I love novels that get under my skin. And Heartwood Box certainly did that.
As for the main character in this novel – Araceli – I was fascinated by her. She's a well designed character, for starters. Her backstory is so unique compared to so many of us who are stuck in one place. Yet it was easy to understand why she didn't love that lifestyle, while still being fully capable of learning so much from it. I adored her conviction and willingness to put herself on the line for her friends. It made her endearing.
I love that Ann Aguirre is experimenting with her writing. And that Heartwood Box was the result of that. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

3.5 Stars

Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre is a book that I picked up unsure of what to expect. It is thrilling and mysterious, and it blends multiple genres to create something that I have never seen before. I enjoyed the main character and her determination to makes things right in her new town, however the ending didn’t work out for me, and it impacted my enjoyment of the book. This is still a fantastic read, but I would have enjoyed a different outcome.

This book takes place in a mysterious town in which people suddenly disappear. The main character finds a wooden box with a letter inside and decides to write back as part of a school assignment, but she ends up receiving a reply from a boy named Oliver. As it turns out, Oliver is a soldier in World War I. I enjoyed how the book is a mix of genres, from contemporary to sci fi to thriller. As well, it is fast paced, and the writing style is very suspenseful. This is such a gripping read that I had trouble putting down.

❀ CAPTIVATING MAIN CHARACTER

Araceli is an enjoyable character, and I liked how she is always willing to take action. She is brave and truly wants the best for people, and she uses her communication link to the past to help out the soldiers. For instance, she is able to send battle information which in turn saves the lives of many. As well, I found Araceli’s voice to be captivating and realistic for her age, which is an important aspect for me. Ultimately, I found her character to be likeable and believable.

❀ DRAMATIC ENDING

To me, this book would have been around 4 stars, or even 4.5, but the ending didn’t satisfy me at all. I can’t go into details without spoiling, but the way the romance works out and the whole multi-generational thing take a wild turn. I appreciate the efforts made to tie everything together, and I can see some people enjoying the end, however, I was a little bit uncomfortable with the result. Normally, the ending of a book wouldn’t influence my opinion too much, but this case was quite dramatic.

Heartwood Box is a unique story that blends multiple genres. I loved the concept as well as the main character, but the ending frustrated me and heavily impacted my overall enjoyment of the book. I would still recommend this one to those who are looking for a mysterious and fresh novel.

Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre is a young adult novel that is part romantic mystery part science fiction thriller. This novel definitely packed the sci fi compared to Like Never and Always which was why I was kind of disappointed in that book. Heartwood Box follows the story of Araceli Flores Harper as she is sent to live with her Great Aunt in New York, while her parents are going to war torn Venezuela which they deem is too dangerous for her. Araceli has traveled all over the world but she isn’t quite ready for what awaits her in a remote town in New York State. The first thing she notices are all the posters of people who have gone missing from the town. Then she starts to receive mysterious messages in a box that appear to be coming from the past, while Araceli’s Great Aunt leaves out food for the husband that disappeared twenty years ago. Araceli begins to believe that the mysterious lights in the forest and the creepy laboratory close to town have something to do with the disappearances.

The story has a lot going on and it’s pulling Araceli in different directions in order to solve the rash of disappearances. She decides to use her parents’ journalistic traits in order to investigate. It begins to get real personal when the one person Araceli knew before coming to town disappears. She does what no one else in town has done, actually investigate (thanks to a corrupt cop).

Araceli is an opinionated teenager and she has no problem telling it like it is especially when it comes to racism, as a Mexican American who has mainly grown up outside of the United States so she has definitely seen some things. She acts like she is proud but when someone tries to inquire about her accent or heritage she gets super defensive and refuses to answer. I get not wanting to tell people about yourself but I didn’t like how she handles those situations.

I didn’t quite get the romance aspect at first, especially since she thought someone was messing with her but then she abruptly falls in love. It just seemed to happen very fast. Then a bunch of timey whimey science things happen. I found the ending to be quite satisfying. The science didn’t have to be fully detailed to understand what was happening in the context of the story. I loved the writing and the mystery. I kept me intrigued with what was happening and kept me enthralled with the story. I didn’t want to put this book down until I knew exactly what was happening to this town.

Heartwood Box was a surprise. I read nothing about it before I opened the book. The mixture of sci-fi and haunted town was great. I liked Araceli as a character, and I thought she was well fleshed-out. The other characters were better than one-dimensional, but not great. I'd like to know more about the other characters' backstory or motivations.
Racism was a major theme, but I don't think it was adequately addressed. In the beginning, the characters of color self-segregate for safety. In the end, they still self-segregate, and nothing changed with that, while seemingly everything else changed.
With the pull of different genres, clues, and impossible romance, not every thread was wrapped up in the end. The ending felt rushed and choppy. I still have many questions, all starting with "why?" I would love to talk with others who read it and find out if I missed something, or if there really were plot holes.
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor Forge for the advanced review copy.

Araceli’s parents have decided that she needs to spend her senior year with her great-aunt Ottilie in a small New York town. They thought it would be a safe and quiet place for her to get ready for college, but they didn’t know that people have been going missing for over twenty years and there are mysterious lights in the woods that Araceli is explicitly told to NOT follow. After Araceli begins receiving letters from a GI during the First World War, she wonders whether it is all one big prank or is there really a mystery that needs to be solved.

Heartwood Box is a stand-alone science fiction mystery where the characters are easy to relate to and the story was very easy to fall in to. Aguirre has taken many mysterious storylines and has blended them into a superb novel. When I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about the events and what might happen next. I also really liked that it was not part of a series and I was able to unravel all the mysteries in a short amount of time. I recommend Heartwood Box to all fans of mysteries, even if you don’t normally like science fiction.