Heartbreak Symphony is the story of Mia and Aaron who are both dealing with the death of a parent, enforcement of immigration laws which tears the community apart. They use music to help them get through their grief. Enjoyed the pace of the story, great story with a nice cover. I enjoy stories that address real life issues In this story they address grief and social issues.

Thank you to NetGalley for this Arc!

I read this as part of the blog tour hosted by TBR & Beyond Tours. Special thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4.5 stars rounded up!

Heartbreak Symphony was everything and nothing like I imagined it would be. While I was expecting an emotional story about two young adults dealing with grief, finding understanding with each other, and falling in love through the magic of music, the author goes beyond that and crafts a story that covers a wide spectrum of hard-hitting and very timely topics in America’s current discourse. We get a powerful story about a community that’s affected by racism and police brutality and devastating immigration policies that tear families apart. We get a story about complex family relationships, loss and coping with grief by acknowledging that mental health matters, even when it’s considered weak and unmanly. We get a story about the power of music and how it connects communities and helps heal internal wounds. There is just so much to unpack and I can’t even begin to think I could do it justice with my review but I'm gonna try!

I will admit that at the start there was something about the writing that made it tough for me to feel immersed in the story and connect with the characters. But once I reached the 20-30% mark, it grabbed me by the throat and took me on a whole rollercoaster of emotions that had me laughing out loud, giggling with glee, gritting my teeth in rage and crying into my pillow at various points. The story definitely picks up in the latter half as the momentum of the days leading up to the protest creep closer and the tension in Mia and Aaron’s lives grows more taught as they begin to face their insecurities, doubts and mental health head-on.

Mia and Aaron are beautifully and lovingly crafted characters and you can tell how much heart and care went into shaping them. There’s a lot of pain in them that’s centred on the loss of their parents and their understanding of their identity. Although Mia lost her father years ago and Aaron’s pain is more recent, they struggle to find ways to cope with the overwhelming impact of these losses in their lives. My heart hurt so much for both of them—there were times as I was reading that their pain left me breathless because it was so acutely described! Aaron’s pain in particular was gut-wrenching as he’d talk about the purest love he had for his mother and how he lost the one person who truly cared for and understood him in his family. I love how the author brings up the toxicity of the machismo culture and the stigma of mental health as “weak and unmanly” through his character arc. It's not shameful to openly grieve, show sad emotions, and ask for help and I'm glad that Aaron did what was best for himself because mental health matters! I adored Aaron and I wanted to scoop him up in a big hug and never let go.

In contrast to Aaron, Mia was full of anger due to loss and abandonment, and confusion and doubt as she tries to figure out where she belongs, whether she deserves to pursue her dreams and what comes next as high school is ending and the rest of her life begins. She had a fantastic support system through her brothers, Andres and Jazzy, her teacher/mentor, Mr Barrera, and other members of the community. I loved her sibling relationship so much and my heart hurt knowing what all three of them have been through and how they’ve each coped with their loss and abandonment. They're doing the best they can and they deserve a world of happiness!

When I started this book, I expected the romance to take centre stage and while it is a sub-plot, if I’m being very honest, I didn’t become particularly attached to it. It was a little “insta” especially because we don’t actually see them spending that much time together and what they know of the other is gathered from years of orbiting each other. It was sweet and heartwarming that they found comfort and safety with each other because of their grief. I loved how they understood each other through the language of music and how they (literally) made beautiful music together. However, the other themes about community, family, immigration, racism, and police brutality, eclipsed the romance—and deservingly so, but if you’re looking for a romance-centric read, this isn’t the one.

That said, through all of what happens in the story, there’s music and its universal language. Music is not only what brings Mia and Aaron together but it’s also what brings the community together in solidarity during a time when there’s so much violence, fear and uncertainty surrounding them. This is an absolutely beautiful story full of heart and emotional depth, and I absolutely loved it and hope that more people will read it.

My Rating: 4 Stars

The Heartbreak Symphony is a layered story with expressive prose. Mia’s brothers were sweet characters and they (and the others) didn’t deserve the pain and misery added to their lives. Mia and Aarón’s anxiety permeated the story. I liked how they made their voices heard against violence through music. I wasn’t aware of ICE, so this book was an eye-opener for me. It threw light on contemporary matters and mental health issues breaking the stigma around seeking mental help. There's so much packed in this book, and I don't want to spill everything here. Do pick it up if you want something real and a reminder of the violence inflicted on the Latino community in America.

Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, NetGalley, and TBRBeyondTours for the eARC of the book!

i loved this book a whole lot more that i originally anticipated when going into it.

Star Rating- 5
Release Date- April 5th 2022

Characters- I loved the two main characters of this book, Aarón and Mia. It was told from both of their povs and I really feel like I got to know them from that. The side characters aswell were all really developed, and I got to see the main characters view on them.

Plot/Spacing- The plot was fantastic, and this is all about finding the why in life, and grief, and finding those people who will support you no matter what, and there was also music involved. I like the bit of romance, it was overshadowing the main point of the novel, the grief, which was amazingly written. The spacing was also faster paced which kept me on my feet.

What I Liked- I loved the music aspect, the fact that it can bring people together in a good way, and just magical it is, while also being real. I loved the relationships between the different characters, and you can find your home in people, and not always in a place.

What I Disliked- There wasn't really anything I disliked.

At the heart of Heartbreak Symphony is two teens whose worlds have shattered with the death of a parent. Mia and Aaron meet when they both are too afraid to go ahead with a music school audition, but it's their pain and heartbreak that really bonds them. Both use music to express all the emotions they can't find any other way to deal with. Their loss is set against the backdrop of the losses their Latinx community is suffering due to ICE raids and a planned community protest.

There's a lot to unpack in this book, with Aaron visualizing his grief as a trash-talking robot and communicating with a mysterious person who may be a famous musician who sends him on tasks to help the community. Mia's music teacher also gets Parkinsons, leading to more grief. But Mia and Aaron give each other the courage to pull out of their grief and learn to live again.

I felt this moved a little slowly at times, and I had a hard time remembering which characters were connected to which tragedy. But the love and strength of the community shines through in all of the supporting characters who make up Aaron and Mia's shared world.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC from the publisher and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
Heartbreak Symphony is a beautiful, poignant love story about two teens who each are coping with the grief of losing a parent, and seeing music as an outlet with which to cope. It’s a wonderful exploration of these complex emotions, and how Aarón and Mia help each other on their respective paths to healing.
I love the nuanced approach to the exploration of grief and navigating care for one’s mental health. Aarón and Mia find themselves struggling in similar, yet also subtly different ways; Mia with self-doubt and Aarón with crippling anxiety and fear. And the way they not only provide support for each other, but also end up seeking outside professional help, was wonderful to see.
I also appreciate the way issues like gentrification, racism, and deportation that the wider Hispanic American community face in the narrative is incorporated. And the fact that there are also some wonderful side characters that make up the community who come together in protest of these injustices adds another layer of beauty to an already excellent book.
I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a hard-hitting YA contemporary romance.

Heartbreak Symphony is nearly exactly what the title offers; a community of people who have experienced heartbreak and are able to turn it into something beautiful.

I absolutely loved Heartbreak Symphony. From the stunning cover art to the utterly compelling summary to the lyrical writing between the covers, this book was an easy 5 star read. As you follow both Aarón and Mia, who have both experienced loss and are using music to help themselves cope, you find yourself pulled into their world.

Aarón and Mia both live in a community plagued by police and ICE visits, grief and loss, as well as music. Although I have never first hand felt what the characters in Heartbreak Symphony have felt, I was able to understand the other side, the side that these people go through on a nearly daily basis.

Mystery, romance and music come together to form the absolute masterpiece that is Heartbreak Symphony.

Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and Laekan Zea Kemp for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Heartbreak Symphony is a book that develops in front of your eyes into a symphony. Sorry about that one, I had to do it! It's like where you hear a melody that keeps repeating - this constant string of complex family relationships full of unspoken silences, love, and pain - with new additions weaving throughout. There's a story line of love, of people who inspire us to see what they see in us. At the same time, it's rooted in grief and trauma, of this paralyzing fear of our loved ones being take from us.

Your heart will feel every emotion while reading Heartbreak Symphony. Mia and Aarón's lives orbit around family expectations, around secret moments, and music which connects us. The weight of what it would mean not only to fail, but also to want something so badly. Leaning into immigration, fear, community, and solidarity, Heartbreak Symphony takes place after Zea Kemp's first book. It's a delightful twist, for fans like I am, but also grounds these fears, gentrification, and community in a larger context and picture.

Keeping this short and sweet! i loved this book i thought it was such a good read! highly recommend if your looking to dive into a romance that will keep you turning the page!

This book covered a lot, and I think it did a wonderful job of diving into heavier topics like ICE and immigration, mental illness and grief, all rolled together but it balanced it out with warm warming romance and a great cast of characters, Aarón and Mia are both super likable characters, and the secondary characters all feel like real people too.

Both Mia and Aarón have two things in common. They love music, and they lost a parent. This was an emotional rollercoaster the whole way, but the high at the ending made it worth every single emotion that it yanked from me.

This was an extremely beautiful, coming of age, love story about grief and identity in modern times. I loved seeing Mia and Aaron’s story unfold and how the author tied in topical current events and the issues specific to the Latinx experience in America. Fans of Elizabeth Acevedo will fall in love with Heartbreak Symphony. I also adored the role music plays in bringing the two characters together and helping them heal and grow individually. I can’t wait for everyone to read this.

The heaviest topics can often be the hardest to read about.
The Heartbreak Symphony takes us through the lives of two teens who are at the cusp of adulthood where everything is going to change. New chapters are on the horizon, but Aaron and Mia are navigating through the challenges of deportation of loved ones, the loss of parents, and growing up in times of extreme uncertainty. They're dealing with all of this through the only way they know how: music.
Both seek entrance into the prestigious Acadia School of Music but sometimes fear is a hard thing to conquer.

At times the point of views could get a little confusing, but I loved the way the stories intertwined.

Not only did I find this book to have some factors that I relate to in regards to the death of a parent, but it also informatively detailed the risks and efforts some of our Hispanic people go through to live in America.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Publishing for providing an advance copy of this book for me to enjoy. As always, this book was read and reviewed voluntarily, and the opinions stated above are completely my own.

This book was really good, it felt a lot like On the Come Up, but with vibes from other books as well and I think it was a great book. It hurt my heart in some places and I can’t wait to see what else this author can do.

This book was intense, and as I read the about the author I thought she definitely succeeded in accomplishing her three objectives. To make people laugh, cry and crave Mexican food. I felt all three of those things. But like I said this book was definitely a journey through the world of Mexican immigrants, their children and their community. It was empowering, insightful and endearing at moments. This is a must read for anyone who wants to truly know what it feels like to be an immigrant, to be undocumented, to be a dreamer. Life is not easy and you are always worrying about everyone else and yourself, it's hard. This book was hard at times but it was real and it was raw.

Must read. Period.

Very easy to get into and straight forward: Aarón and Mia have both lost a parent and are using music to help them through their sadness. When they both run away from a music school audition, they begin talking and realize they can help each other heal. The story touched on conversations that need to be had addressing issues of :grief, mental illness, and immigration policies.

<i> First of all, thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown and Company for providing me with an electronic ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. </i>

My first five star read of 2022, and what a beautiful one it was. <i>Heartbreak Symphony</i> is that rare book that presents as a quiet story of family grief, love, and music but grows into a complicated, heartbreaking story of grief for the world, hope, finding your place in the world, and being true to yourself.

Aaron and Mia both know loss closely. Aaron's mom died 8 months ago; anxious since he was a kid, his mom was his sole friend. Since her death, Aaron can see the robot persona of his favorite musician and DJ, Xavier Lopez, a real musical star and his impoverished community's seemingly only positive call to fame. His twin brother and his father are grieving too, but in different ways that make Aaron feel more alone than if they didn't exist. Mia's mother abandoned the family when she was 12, soon after, her father - an alcoholic who had been slowly killing himself - died. She's been brought up by her brothers, barely older than her, and by Mr. Barrera - a former trumpeter who could see both her gift and her family wounds since she was little - Deb - the librarian - and others in their community.

The characterizations were superb. Aaron and Mia, who share POV in this book, were both distinct people. With Aaron, you could sense the anxiety, the loneliness, the way he was barely holding on to sanity. With Mia, you could sense the fear, the self-doubt, the hopelessness. And through the story, you saw them change. Laekan Zae Kamp masterfully drew them out of their shells and pulled them together, to help each other in a way that only people who'd gone through so much, who'd grown with the same fears and hopes, could.

If there's one thing I wish to make clear is that while Aaron and Mia are our individual conduits into this world, the melody that draws us in, the story is much bigger than just them. It's a veritable symphony of life in a community fighting against gentrification, a community struggling with its very real ills but also the desire of a white supremacist system to negate any good that they have. It's a story of activism, of how your voice matters, even when - maybe even more so - when you think you don't even have one. It's a story of family trauma partly caused by immigrating into a country with a system that doesn't want you, that refuses to acknowledge the value and worth you add except when it's convenient to them and on their own terms (there's a paragraph about "ethnic" food and fake allies that hit home). And it's a story of how you fight, you fight to make space, you fight for your community, you fight for your people, your culture, your roots and also your wings.

The plot zips at a good pace once you get past the first couple of chapters in which we get situated. Once we reach past the halfway mark, when our entire cast is hard at work setting up a peaceful protest against the ICE raids that are making Austin feel the opposite of a sanctuary, it flies. I couldn't put it down. I needed to know if they'd make it, if they would be able to speak up, be heard. If it'd make a difference.

I recommend this book to absolutely everyone who might read this review, but especially if your Latinx -you'll see yourself even if none of the stories are exactly like yours- or live in a community with a strong Latinx population - you might understand a bit better.

<i> "No," Mr.s Barreo shakes his head. "We don't smash our dreams to pieces, do you understand me?" He grips my shoulders. "We don't give up." </i>

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

Heartbreak Symphony put me on a never-ending emotional elevator ride. It dove into so many hard topics that were eye opening and realistic. We see grief, mental illness, and immigration policies in play throughout the entire book. Some frustrated the hell out of me. Others made me sit back and think on everything.

In this, you will meet Aarón and Mia. They have one thing in common and that's losing a parent. Well, I guess you can say that they have two things in common because they love music. It helps them cope with everything and anything.

Now these two were pretty likable. I honestly really enjoyed getting to know them and watching them grow throughout the book. Leaning on one another and seeking help were the best things they could do in order to really heal.

As for everything else? Well, when protests and such came up due to ICE it definitely had me worried. Mostly because of how the media/police handles these situations and kind of twists and turns certain protests in a darker light. Even if it's peaceful. So, when that is what exactly happens in this book, well, it pissed me off.

Other than that, I was really happy with how this all ended. Especially the last chapter because it was so freaking cute, and they truly deserve a better and happier life. I'm so happy that I got the chance to dive into this book and look forward to the next one Laekan writes!

This book packed an emotional punch, addressing issues of grief, mental illness, and immigration policies. Despite these heavy issues, there's a sweet romance throughout and plenty of fun moments to balance out. Aarón and Mia have both lost a parent and are using music to help them through their sadness. When they both run away from a music school audition, they begin talking and realize they can help each other heal.

This was so easy to dive into and I loved both characters. There are also several great side characters, like Mr. Barrero, Andrés, and Jazzy. I love seeing a community come together and when people are being pulled out of their homes by ICE, everyone bands together and uses their strengths to protest. I can't say I know the fear of having my loved ones taken by the police, but the author does a great job of giving the reader a glimpse into what it's like.

What a great debut novel and so relevant to issues people face everyday. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this author!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thank you to Little Brown Books and NetGalley for the copy