Unbreak my Heart by Melissa C. Walker

ARC, 231 pages
Released: May 22, 2012
Published by: Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Stand-alone
Source: Won awhile ago from an ARCycling giveaway!
For fans of: Contemporary, Chick-lit, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Summer Love,YA

     Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life. 
     Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now. 
     Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart?
     Told in alternating chapters that chronicle the year that broke Clem’s heart and the summer that healed it, Unbreak My Heart is a wonderful dual love story that fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Susane Colasanti will flock to. (From GoodReads)


*MY THOUGHTS*
     To me, the best contemporary romances have a bigger issue behind it rather than just being a love story. This is one of those stories. What I love even more about this is one is the fact that there are actually TWO of those bigger issues going on in this book. And those two reasons are why I enjoyed this book so much.
     In the beginning the first issue isn’t really told. All we know is that Clem is really upset and mad at everyone. Including those who tried to help her, like her family. This is unfortunate because her and all her family members are stuck on the same boat for the entire summer. As the story goes on the reason behind her anger and sadness is revealed. I counted this as a big issue because in the high school world (and even in the real world for that matter) what she does can result in becoming an outcast. 
     Enter James. Clem randomly meets him at a dock along their family’s sailing route. She starts off blowing him off, but as they realize their family is going on the same route she and her sister Olive start to hang out with him. After she lets him in they become fast friends. And soon after that, it becomes clear that there is something else between the two of them. I loved that the romance wasn’t instantaneous and it was paced just right. Especially after what she went through before hand. It felt real as he melted her old thoughts of love and replaced them with new ones. After this, Walker brings to light the next big issue the book covers. Something huge ties the two issues together and for a second it left me a little worried. But in the end it all turned out just fine. 
     This book drives home the definition of friendship and love. It will remind you of all that you have to make you happy and to hold on to it.