What to Read: The Heart Between Us
Every once in a while I get the notion to stay up and read a whole book. It usually surprises me how fast I can get through one when I have no interruptions. Part of the challenge of reading a whole book in one sitting is finding one that is so enthralling I can’t put it down. Something told me The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel was going to be a book like that. So, one night while Billy was traveling for work, I put the boys in bed, and got started. Was I right?
The Heart Between Us is the story of twin sisters Megan and Crystal. Megan was diagnosed with a heart problem at a young age. While Megan spent her life in and out of hospitals, Crystal lived her life to the fullest, experiencing all the joys of being a normal teenager, then growing to adulthood. She went to school, traveled off to college, got a degree, got married, got a great job, and seems to have the perfect life. When Megan got a heart transplant, she thought her life would finally change, and she’d be able to do all the things she’d always dreamed about.
But it’s been three years, and she’s still living with her parents, and working a part-time job. When Megan runs into an old friend from her hospital days, he encourages her to meet her donor’s parents. When Megan meets her donor’s parents, they give her a journal that contains their daughter’s bucket list–twenty-five things she had hoped to accomplish before she died. Megan decides it’s time to take a leap out of her comfort zone, and complete the list. The list will take her around the world, to all the places she always dreamed of visiting. When Crystal asks to go along, Megan can’t figure out why. But, Crystal has lost her own way, and her life is a mess. She’s convinced that repairing her broken relationship with her sister could help her start to fix all of her other problems. The two estranged sisters set out on an epic journey, that could help them both realize their dreams, or lose them forever.
The more I read, the more I see that I cherish relationships in stories. I like to read a good (clean) romance, but I really enjoy stories that are about other relationships, too. Since I have a sister, I do find sister stories to be very relatable. This one was no exception. The dynamic between Megan and Crystal was so interesting, and not really something I’d thought about before. How would it affect one twin if the other was so ill? What would it be like to watch your healthy sibling enjoy life, while you could only watch from the sidelines? This book really made me think about the sister relationship in a new way.
It was amazing to read about all of Megan and Crystal’s adventures, too. The book covers so many beautiful scenes, including the Eifel Tower, Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, multiple sites in London, and a lot more! I felt myself cheering for Megan as she checked each item off her list…even though I think she made a bit of a mistake on her way to that last one! One of the best parts of this book is watching Megan learn to really live for the first time, as her donor heart truly becomes her own heart.
The book took a turn that I really never expected. Actually, it took several. I was never able to guess quite what was going on the character’s heads, and that made it even better.
When I turned the last (digital) page, I literally said, “Wow.” The Heart Between Us is an incredible book. It’s deeper than a love story. It’s a story about fear, and being stuck. It’s a story about losing who you are to pursue something you don’t really want. It’s a story about the bond between sisters, and how forgiveness changes everything.
I was right about The Heart Between Us. It’s totally worth staying up until 2am to read the whole thing!
If you want a copy of The Heart Between Us click here!
I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own, and a favorable review was not required. This post contains affiliate links.
