Author: Amy Fellner Dominy
Published: May 12, 2015
Publisher: Delacorte
Genre: YA Contemporary
High school swimmer Abby Lipman is on track to qualify for the Olympics trials when she's diagnosed with a deadly heart condition. Will she give up her dream or risk everything--including her life?
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Lisamentary:
If you didn't know, I love watching the Olympics! The competition, the patriotism, and the good-looking athletes--I just eat that all up. I'm super excited for this summer, and I was also really excited for this book because it's about an Olympic hopeful. It's also about a swimmer and good thing because I only watch gymnastics and swim usually (and sometimes volleyball).
In this book, we meet Abby Lipman. She's only a sophomore in high school, but she's already one of the best swimmers in the nation, on track to maybe be the best in the world. I liked Abby a lot because she had this determination and drive that is very admirable. She's a real and relatable character, but at the end of the day, what makes her so great is that she has "heart."
It was frustrating how she is willing to risk her life after being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyapthy (HCM), which kills many young athletes. However, I could understand because she has given her whole life to swim, and it's hers and father's dream for her to make it to the Olympics. She is only a few weeks away from accomplishing this life-long goal, but then they discover she has this heart condition that'll make the dream impossible if they she wants to live. (I read about HCM in a few articles before, and it was one of the things that caught my eye when reading the synopsis.)
Throughout the book, Abby tries to overcome these obstacles and find her identity that is not tied to swimming. She has an amazing support system in her friend Jen, parents, and Alec as well.
Jen is a friend that Abby is lucky to have because she cares more about Abby the person more than anything else. She doesn't hesitate to make the tough calls if that's what it takes to save Abby's life. For awhile there, I thought Jen had something going on with Abby's (ex-)boyfriend, Connor, but that isn't the case. Phew!
Abby's parents are great too. Her mom knew exactly where to draw the line for Abby and wouldn't relent. Even though she had to play the tough cop and say Abby couldn't swim, her mom always looked out for her best interest. Abby's dad is amazing too, although he did struggle with the ending of Abby's career at first. She was living the dream for the both of them and I could sense the how difficult it was for him to give up on. However, it's apparent that Abby and her dad have a close relationship, and her dad knew when things came down to it Abby can't swim any longer.
I loved Alec from the very beginning! Despite Abby portraying him as standoffish, when he said that Abby's best quality is that she has "heart," I was swept off my feet. They are only teammates to begin with on the swim team, but they teach swim classes in the same facilities too. Even though Abby had Connor initially, she was always looking at Alec, no matter how much she didn't want to. (There was no cheating though, so no worries). It was obvious he could see right through Abby, and they already had this chemistry going on. Alec understood Abby on a different level, so their relationship wasn't as superficial as Abby's with Connor since it wasn't more than just a common connection of swim. Also, Alec is great with kids. How cute is that? I just love Alec.
From all the play on words with heart and swimming to the compelling characters, A Matter of Heart is a win for me. The plot is well-developed, and it teaches an important lesson that there's more to life--always. People just need to put themselves out there to realize that there are more possibilities to uncover. Abby learns this the hard way, but it just reinforces that people should appreciate everything and always try their best because they never know when the end will come. My only regret is that I hadn't read this sooner.
Enjoy!!
Rating:
Story: 10
Characters: 9
Enjoyment: 10
Overall:
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