Book Review: My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga

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My Heart and Other Black Holes
Author: Jasmine Warga
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Released: February 10th 2015
Review Source: Balzer + Bray

A stunning novel about the transformative power of love, perfect for fans of Jay Asher and Laurie Halse Anderson.

Sixteen-year-old physics nerd Aysel is obsessed with plotting her own death. With a mother who can barely look at her without wincing, classmates who whisper behind her back, and a father whose violent crime rocked her small town, Aysel is ready to turn her potential energy into nothingness.

There's only one problem: she's not sure she has the courage to do it alone. But once she discovers a website with a section called Suicide Partners, Aysel's convinced she's found her solution—Roman, a teenage boy who's haunted by a family tragedy, is looking for a partner. Even though Aysel and Roman have nothing in common, they slowly start to fill in each other's broken lives. But as their suicide pact becomes more concrete, Aysel begins to question whether she really wants to go through with it. Ultimately, she must choose between wanting to die or trying to convince Roman to live so they can discover the potential of their energy together.

I really, really, really wanted to love My Heart and Other Black Holes. Like, really. I just couldn’t. The story was not original and at times I felt bored. I think the reason is the fact that this book is extremely hyped and I had high expectations. When I finally got the chance to read it… it felt like other stories I’ve read.

My Heart and Other Black Holes is the story of Aysel. She wants to commit suicide. At times, she doesn’t think she will go through with this alone. She feels like she needs someone else. Someone that will understand her and commit this action with her. She stumble upon a site and finds a partner. An extremely cute boy. A boy named Roman. A boy that lost his sister. A boy that wants to die the same day he claims he killed his sister. As she gets to know him, Aysel falls in love him. Making it hard for her to commit suicide the date they chose. But Roman is determined to end his life.

The book is depressing, which I usually tend to like. I like dark stories and this one is well written. But having two people trying to help each other commit suicide is a bit… too much. I didn't even know there is such thing as support team - to support suicide. This is something new to me and it definitely broke my heart. Aysel start falling in love. She tries to save him and they start fighting. I didn’t like this. I was hoping they would both fall in love and help each other. In a way they did but it wasn't enough for Roman. My biggest issue with this book is the “secret” Aysel is keeping. Trust me, not a secret at all. And the book drags to keep this secret secretly. Which in reality, one can easily guess from the start.

Overall, I personally wouldn’t recommend this to my friends. They know I love sad books but this one wasn’t it for me. I know sometimes the books I read have the same issues but they are unique in their own ways. With My Heart and Other Black Holes, I cannot say this.