TRIGGER WARNING: TOUGH SUBJECTS.

There is some racism, violence and other tough issues in this novel.

I was intrigued by the synopsis, title and cover of How to Build a Heart. Don't be fooled, this is not a slushy love story. What is is is a raw, realistic heartfelt and honest portrayal of a teen's life as she comes to terms with everything it throws at her.

Izzy loves her mother and young brother Jack, but she's fed up of not feeling like she belongs. Her father passed away in Iraq six years ago and she lives in a trailer park.

School is a place she's challenged and where image is everything. She wonders if life will ever change.

When her family is chosen for Habitat for Humanity, they have to relocate again. This time, they have to help out building their home and others' homes. But will they find stability? Is home really where the heart is?

How to Build a Heart is full of love, family issues and a feeling of yearning to belong. It is much more than a teen romance and is an excellent portrait of what some people have to go through to find themselves.

Thanks to Maria Padian and Algonquin for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

5 stars.

The pacing, atmosphere and characters are all top notch and I loved this novel for how it all fit together perfectly. Maria Padian's writing flows so well. I loved all the references to Latino culture, and speak Spanish so thought the smattering of Spanish words throughout were well-placed and carefully chosen so they made the book even more heartfelt and realistic. I really wanted some of Izzy's "mami's" arroz con pollo as it's a favourite dish of mine, too.

I don't think there are enough books with Spanish speaking characters and I adored all the cultural references. I am half Irish and married to a Peruvian so there's plenty of good food in our house. I really identified with the cultural references in this book and the importance of family was such a strong theme and what you have to do to keep it together.

I am really glad I had the opportunity to read How to Build a Heart. It's a YA coming of age book that deals with so many issues that teenagers have to go through on a daily basis and it does it in a way that is quite realistic. I'm a 40 something mother of a teenager and while I don't necessarily relate to the book now or with some of the racial issues, the issues that are dealt with in the story are very relevant and something that I could relate to when I was much younger.

Izzy is a 16 year old attending a catholic school on a scholarship. Her mother is Puerto Rican and her father was white. He was a marine that died while overseas and now her mother is raising her and her brother Jack in a small town. They live in a mobile home park and Izzy hides that from her private catholic school friends. The only person that knows her home life is her neighbor, Roz that goes to the local public school. But Roz is only one part of her life and she keeps both of her lives separate. Roz knows the poor, mixed raced teen with a mother that is a nurse aide. But her school friends know the smart and talented girl that can 'pass' as white, mother is a nurse (she leaves off the aide) and doesn't know her financial struggles.

Izzy is learning to figure out who she is and where she came from. Who to open up to and who to keep on the sidelines. How to love and keep part of her life a secret from those that she is learning to care about most. How to Build A Heart is a story of family, love, friendship, a mother-daughter relationship, young love, racism, bullying, depression and mental health. All of this in a coming of age book that is well written and with characters that you really can connect with.

I think this is a book that anyone 12 and over can relate to and will enjoy and get a lot out of. How to love, how to understand others and how to figure out who you are. Teens aren't perfect, but they are looking for all the right answers. Izzy may not have handled everything correctly, but she was learning who she was and how to navigate life in a way that would make all parties happy. Unfortunately, she made a lot of people unhappy, but she also didn't give others enough credit. Luckily, we get to see the outcome of all these situations playing out in this book and see Izzy grow.

Overall, I enjoyed getting to know Izzy and the people she grew closest with and reconnect with over the period of a few months. The story included a lot of issues, but I never felt overwhelmed with the plethora of issues. They all seemed necessary to Izzy's journey and her finding herself as well as others understanding their own actions. The story flowed well and I liked that we got a bit of romance mixed in with Izzy's life. It made it all more real. I hope others enjoy this book as much as I did and can share it with an age appropriate audience.

What an absolutely amazing, beautiful, emotional book. The characters really shine in this story. Izzy is a character you really feel for. She was three-dimensional and realistic. It was a nice change having her be the more confident one and her love interest be a little shyer! And Mami is such an amazing character. Made me get emotional in some places.

*Review will be posted during the blog tour on 1/30/21*
**3.5 Stars**

What I liked:
*Izzy is going through a lot as a teenager. She lost her dad, her best friend is in a rough situation at home, her mom is working as hard as she can to make ends meet, she meets a boy and her family has a chance to have their own home through Habitat for Humanity. We see Izzy navigate life, making a mess of things by lying and just trying to cope and find her way.

*I learned a lot about Habitat for Humanity and how someone earns their own home through reading this book. I always thought the organization was amazing, but I didn’t know about earning hours and such, so that was eye opening.

*Izzy is bi-racial, half white, half Puerto Rican, but takes after her white father the most. In the story she deals with certain situations like racism within her own family, from her Crawford’s side.

*Izzy isn’t perfect but I give her credit for trying in the end to sort of make it right.

*My favorite part of this book is when her cousin Mark comes into the picture because Izzy desperately needs that connection to her father’s side. When Roz, her best friend, reaches out to her cousin for her – it helps her deal with some questions she had about her Crawford’s side. Mark helps her open up and calls her out on running away from her problems and lying. I also love Izzy’s mom who is a good person (she helps protect Roz as best she can), and works so hard for her family.

Random Notes:
Izzy’s relationship with her best friend Roz was just not okay to me. They were tight in the beginning, best friends, and then Izzy goes for the guy Roz likes and doesn’t even bother mentioning any of it to Roz. Izzy comes off opportunistic to me because she doesn’t even mention running into Sam at all…I’d tell my “best friend”. I know she’s a teenager and she’s making mistakes, but I couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t even just mention it…it really felt like Izzy was throwing Roz away for a new set of friends and life. Roz has her issues though and one of them being she almost physically hurts Izzy in anger. Obviously Roz needs a lot of help because of her the scars of her upbringing and it was awesome to see some people in the end help her out. I think what bothered me was that Izzy was about to just end their friendship and here was Mark and Betts willing to help Roz and they barely knew her.

Final Thoughts:
How to Build a Heart is a journey of a teenage girl trying to find her bi-racial identity, deal with the loss of her father, searching for her place in the community, and also finding family and love. If you like stories that have romance, family and coming of age themes, you will definitely enjoy this one. In the end, we are all as imperfect as Izzy but we try to do the best we can.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Izzy just wants to be a normal 16-year-old, which means keeping her life at her new private Catholic school separate from her home with her Puerto Rican mother and little brother in a mobile home park. The family is selected for a new home courtesy of Habitat for Humanity, and Izzy must choose to keep her secrets, even as she's building new friendships.

The author did an amazing job of constructing a main character who's struggling with her identity in really relatable ways. Regardless of family background, most of us can relate to wanting to fit in with our peers--or, like Izzy's best friend/neighbor Roz, being resentful toward those who fit so effortlessly. Meanwhile, Izzy grapples with her continued anger toward her father's side of the family, whom she hasn't seen since her dad's funeral six years ago. As Izzy grows closer to Aubrey, a school friend, and Aubrey's hot brother Sam, she has to choose how much of herself to reveal.

One thing I really loved about this book is how seamlessly the subplots were woven together. You've got Izzy's friendship with Roz and the drama at the mobile home park, her struggle with whether or not to reconnect with her dad's side of the family, her school relationships that cause her to keep parts of herself a secret, and her family's big opportunity to build a real home. I love how each of these elements met in the last quarter of the book as Izzy decides that she doesn't want to just be one part of herself, but her whole self with people in her life.

This book might be really powerful for teen readers. As expansive as YA is, we don't get enough books about teens living in poverty, and we get to see a lot of Izzy's real experiences with trying to keep her poverty a secret and the toll it takes on her whole family. Ultimately, although this book has important elements like friendship and romance, the heart of this book is in Izzy's quest for her identity. She doesn't feel truly Puerto Rican since she hardly speaks Spanish and looks white, yet she doesn't fully belong with her dad's side of the family either. She keeps her scholarship to St. V's a secret, yet she doesn't fully fit into Roz's expectations either. In that sense, I feel like this book contains so much universality for young readers and adults alike. I would definitely recommend this one.

Maria Padian has written another beautiful story. This time it's about Izzy, a girl who is half Puerto Rican, half-white, and trying to figure out where she fits in the world. Her father died 6 years ago, and her family has moved 6 times since then, her mother trying to figure out how to make ends meet. Izzy goes to a Catholic private school but lives in a mobile home neighborhood, and she spends a lot of time keeping the worlds separate. Her family is given a great opportunity in having a house from Habitat for Humanity, but it would involve some of her worlds colliding. Add in a budding flirtation with a boy who her best friend also has her eye on, and you've got a great story with drama and heart.

It did not surprise me at all that Izzy would act the way she did. A lot of people hide their backgrounds to make people think more highly of them. I also liked Izzy's struggle with the fact that her mother and younger brother speak much better Spanish than she does, based on their respective ages when both parents were alive. A lot to chew on in this one.

3 stars ⭐

Going into this book, I had no idea what to expect. Although I had read the synopsis, I wasn't too sure what the main focus of this story would be so I was prepared to love it.

How to Build a Heart is about a teenage girl named Izzy whose father, a marine, died a few years back and, for that reason, her family has had to move towns every year. This year, they are given the chance to build their own house with the support of Habbit for Humanity and Izzy has to juggle that, her new popular boyfriend and her complicated relationships with her best friend and her extended family.

This story didn't have much of an emotional impact on me which is surprising since it focuses on themes, such as racism, family and friendship, which usually have that effect; that being said, the discussions revolving these subjects are treated with care and I took something out of most of them. I very much appreciated the conversations between Izzy and her mother regarding who your true family is and how being blood related isn't everything as well as the one about race as Izzy is Puerto Rican and has light brown skin and her mother is dark-skinned. On the other hand, there's an incident involving Izzy's best friend which I found incredibly serious, but it's basically brushed off at the end without a proper apology or real consequences considering the severity of the situation.

In addition, I think the characters could have been much more fleshed out, the only ones I see as three-dimensional are the protagonist and her best friend. The romance really didn't work for me, the love interest is like a slice of white bread - so dull, no personality other than being popular saying that Izzy is not like other girls, and having a sister, Aubrey, who's struggled with mental ilness. Speaking of, I liked Aubrey and I think she was written realistically, specifically when it comes to how much she latched onto Izzy since she is quite shy.

The writing wasn't terrible by any means, but, in my opinion, it can use some tweaking because there are a few expressions and sentences that I believe are unnecessary and/or don't make sense. For example, a character drinks a fizzy beverage and the author describes how drinking it feels and compares it to an ocean wave which I found odd.

Although this book won't stick with me, I don't regret reading it as I took something out of the exploration of the aforementioned themes. I would recommend it to YA contemporary readers who enjoy stories focusing on teens navigating their ever-changing lives and the challenges they face along the way.

This was a really heartwarming book to read. Issues such as immigration, poverty, family, relationships were explored with great sensitivity, and it simply just touches the heart.

I love Maria Padian's Wrecked. It was so heart wrenching and raw. That's why I was really excited to get into How to Build a Heart.

However, I just couldn't. I got about 42% in before I simply decided I couldn't force myself to keep reading. I even tried skimming through some of and gave up because my interest was completely lost.

I feel like a lot of the book was fluff. Then most of it was filled with stereotypical and cliche references. Izzy's family being Puerto Rican -- although constantly thought of as Mexican -- living in a trailer park and being poor. Poor girl dating the rich boy, etc.

Somewhere I know there's a heart wrenching story. Especially since I know Izzy's father passed away and there's drama on her father's side of the family and how her mom never takes the kids to see them. I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading to find it.

All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzy’s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico.

This definitely was an interesting book to read, a little different from the ones I usually pick up. It was enjoyable but I wouldn’t say I loved it. I did like Izzie though.

How to Build a Heart is a well written young adult book that will appeal to young teens and older "teens at heart". It addresses relevant topics like worrying about fitting in, falling in love, and having a stable home.

Izzy Campbell's life is one tragedy after another. She’s constantly on the move from one place to the other after her father is killed in Iraq. Her family finally a permanent home, thanks to Habitat for Humanity, and Izzy's hopes of establishing a more stable life growing roots finally seems possible. Then teenage life steps in and she has to make choices involving the in crowd at school and how others perceive her.

Izzy's friend, Roz, the hot rich boy in town, Sam. The problem is that Izzy and Sam have a growing attraction between them. You will find many of the typical YA issues in this book. There could have been more character building, but overall it was still an entertaining read.

3.5 Starts (Rounding to 4)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It being a YA novel, I was honestly a bit nervous on how the story would play out, but was pleasantly surprised there was more to it than just romance. What follows is a coming of age story that brings to light many important topics such as racism, mental and physical abuse, friendship, family, and acceptance. I cannot believe I waited this long to read it!

I really loved this book it was super awesome. Really really good. The characters were really good. There was so much chemistry and fun between them.

i went into this book not really knowing much other than A) the cover is beautiful and B) it'd be the story abut a teenager. however, i didn't know what to expect.
this book was a surprise in a good way. is not just about Izzy's life. is about finding the way back to the person you really are, finding your essence even in the chaos that life can be sometimes.

Izzy, a half Puerto Rican, feels like she doesn't belong. Ashamed of her small house and too loud mother and father in the marine who had died, life in small Virginia was alright. Better still, than she could ask for. And things start to look way better when they are selected for a house in the Habitat for Humanity. This seems like a spark of hope for Izzy, who's only looking to belong to a community for real. But then secrets that she's been keeping comes to surface and everything seems to collide.

This story was funny and heartwarming, Izzy's story told in the most beautiful way. I related to her character and the inner conflicts that made her question herself.

HTBAH shows a glimmer of hope in the midst of poverty, and the relationships that stay true to you. Family plays a big role in the story, the family that you're born into and the family that you build. Being half Puerto Rican, Izzy had always questioned her father's line of the family. Questions of race do come in too, the acceptance of culture in marriage.

I loved the book more than I had expected. Told in easy narrative, the story literally flows and Izzy's story grabs you - her turmoils, her fears, her dreams. I love the friendships and the healthy family relations that was portrayed. And can I say that I absolutely loved the cute relationship between Izzy and her brother 🥺 it was soo adorable!! Of course, sprinkled with drama and romance, How to Build a Heart is definitely a stellar YA about family, hope, culture and friendships.

I liked this one. Easy to read and a decent story. I'd read further books by the author. I'm rating it 3/5 stars.

This book was good. Not good enough to be favourite; but it was nice to break up the heavier books I've been reading with this somewhat feel good, coming of age book. I would recommend this to somebody who is looking for the drama but also the good feels. Sam, a rich, athletic love interest with a good heart? Unheard of. A perfectly mundane main character with a strong personality? Obsessed. Overall, very well written and would recommend to anyone looking a quick and easy read.

Sometimes the friendship between two protagonists is a bit over the top, but I loved reading about the family dynamics, the romance, and the new friendships between characters. This book isn't perfect, but I really enjoyed reading it and will recommend it to others.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher Algonquin for this advanced copy of How to Build a Heart by Maria Padian.
This is a young adult contemporary about a girl who is still trying to figure out who she is and how to let people in. I really liked the main character Izzy, her family and even her best friend Roz. There is a sweet love story in the middle when Izzy falls for the boy from the “right” side of the tracks who also happens to be Roz’s crush. I liked learning about Habitat for Humanity and how the program works.
I recommend this one for contemporary fans who enjoy love stories wrapped up into coming of age family dramas.