Reading this book made me relate to so many emotions that Gene was going through- not in the same way, but I found myself rooting for him, wishing him well and also feeling his loss, love and outlook on life and second chances.
I can't believe this stayed in my shelf for such a long time!
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

Gene Hull is a very relatable character. He has experienced his first love and is trying everything to survive it after makes a poor decision. He is just starting into college and is trying to decide what he wants to do with his life and how to manage everything at the same time. After the loss of his Dr father, he turns to his father's past coworkers to try to learn more about his father and to find out for himself if he is interested in following in his footsteps. I found Gene to be imperfect, but genuine in his pursuits to figure out who and what he is. I loved the heart analogy and how it intertwined into the subject matter and reality of this novel. The open heart surgeries were a little more complex than I felt was really necessary for this type of book, however you could definitely tell the research was there. I thought parts of the book were wordy and a little excessively drawn out, but was pleased with the overall solidity of this book. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Open Heart: A poignant and gripping historical novel about the enduring power of love by Gregory D. Williams is one of the best coming-of-age stories I have read. Williams nails the atmosphere of the early 1970s. The book moves between 1971 and 1974. Set in Phoenix, Gene McClellan is a senior in high school who has a summer job painting fruit trees white to keep the heat from the sun off of them. On the job, he meets Patty who has moved into the neighborhood and he falls in love. She has a medical problem on their first date, and he immediately calls his father who is a doctor. Gene’s quick actions saves Patti’s life.

In 1974, we find his father had died in an accident and he is hoping to get a summer job shadowing a heart surgeon at the hospital where his father worked. I loved the quirky characters at the hospital (especially Jessie). The author is gifted in writing about Gene’s feelings about Patty and moving back and forth between the two time periods. My nose was in this book from the moment I started this book until I finished. I laughed. I cried. I found myself having conversations with the author.

When I did finish the book, I looked up the author and discovered that he was a doctor, but unfortunately he passed away in 2020. I want to thank Grand Canyon Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

This book was very interesting and a good look at what the first steps into a medical career could look like. The main character did not endear me and was difficult to read at times. I understand he was coming to age and had just lost his father, but he was truly difficult to like. I did like the blend of the medical world and the family drama of dealing with grief. His mistakes seemed to pile up and he didn’t seem to grow as much asI would have liked. I did love the patients and scenes in the operating room. They were very interesting. I felt bad for Patty because she was a pretty likable character. I liked the beginning of their love story although the jumps in time were a little hard to follow in the beginning, but once the book settled into the summer of Gene’s internship the story flowed a lot better. I wonder if it was just the times but the fact that Gene accepted the title “Dr. Hull” without once saying anything annoyed me.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book. To me, Gene came off as a shallow guy who made some stupid decisions which cost him the girl of his dreams. For awhile only the time he spent in the Heart Room as an observer and sometimes helper with the different heart surgeries were the only things I was interested in. I found those parts very fascinating with the details and the patients like Mr. Mead. That side story was really sweet with him and Lily Mead.

Partway through the book Gene starts changing and dare I say, growing? He does this as he heals from the heartbreak of Patty. That is when I started liking him (when he admits he made mistakes) and rooted for him. There is still sadness but the ending is sweet and I ended up liking the book. I think the big thing to remember (and it was hard for me) is the Gene is only a young guy and so I shouldn't have expected him to be perfect.

So this turned out to be a good book after all.

Gene knows that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Patty from the first time he laid eyes on her. When he and his father save her life, it looks inevitable. All through their senior year their love deepens and when they leave for different colleges they stay together. Then tragedy strikes, and Gene’s life is no longer the same. As he tries to navigate the pain, he ends up losing more than he was willing to give up. As Gene follows the doctors in the Heart Room for a summer, he finally learns to bypass the past and start anew. A beautifully written coming of age story.

I loved everything about this book, the setting and the characters. I got so into the story and cared so much. I adored this.