Heart Like Mine by Amy Hatvany
Narrated by Cassandra Campbell
Publisher's Summary
Thirty-six-year-old Grace McAllister never longed for
children. But when she meets Victor Hansen, a handsome, charismatic
divorced restaurateur who is father to Max and Ava, Grace decides that,
for the right man, she could learn to be an excellent part-time stepmom.
After all, the kids live with their mother, Kelli. How hard could it
be?
At 13, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents' divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother - she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father's new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they'll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances - and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli's life than either ever knew.
Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli's troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life.
©2013 Amy Hatvany (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
My Take: I have never read a book by Amy Hatvany before but this was a good start. This story is told from the view points of alternating chapters of the characters Grace, Ava and Kelli. At Times throughout the entire book I really didn't care for any of the characters. I thought they were all selfish at times and just plain insensitive to the other characters. The character I most disliked though was Victor. He expected Grace to take on the responsibility of mothering the children but he wouldn't back her up in the discipline area. Having three children of my own I know that they will find a nick in the armor and chip away at it. My heart broke for Ava as she had to try to make sense of what happened to her mother while keeping the secret that she really was the parent in the relationship. I wish that there was more of a definite conclusion to Kelli's story but we are left with several unanswered questions as far as she is concerned.
Audio: I thought that Cassandra Campbell did an excellent job with the narration in this book. She just did straightforward narrating, no voices but I didn't have trouble telling who was who as each chapter's title told who's point of view it was.
Not sure if I would read another book by this author. It would depend on what the subject matter was.
I received a review copy of this audio book from Simon and Schuster in exhcnage for my honest opinion.
At 13, Ava Hansen is mature beyond her years. Since her parents' divorce, she has been taking care of her emotionally unstable mother and her little brother - she pays the bills, does the laundry, and never complains because she loves her mama more than anyone. And while her father's new girlfriend is nice enough, Ava still holds out hope that her parents will get back together and that they'll be a family again. But only days after Victor and Grace get engaged, Kelli dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances - and soon, Grace and Ava discover that there was much more to Kelli's life than either ever knew.
Narrated by Grace and Ava in the present with flashbacks into Kelli's troubled past, Heart Like Mine is a poignant, hopeful portrait of womanhood, love, and the challenges and joys of family life.
©2013 Amy Hatvany (P)2013 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
My Take: I have never read a book by Amy Hatvany before but this was a good start. This story is told from the view points of alternating chapters of the characters Grace, Ava and Kelli. At Times throughout the entire book I really didn't care for any of the characters. I thought they were all selfish at times and just plain insensitive to the other characters. The character I most disliked though was Victor. He expected Grace to take on the responsibility of mothering the children but he wouldn't back her up in the discipline area. Having three children of my own I know that they will find a nick in the armor and chip away at it. My heart broke for Ava as she had to try to make sense of what happened to her mother while keeping the secret that she really was the parent in the relationship. I wish that there was more of a definite conclusion to Kelli's story but we are left with several unanswered questions as far as she is concerned.
Audio: I thought that Cassandra Campbell did an excellent job with the narration in this book. She just did straightforward narrating, no voices but I didn't have trouble telling who was who as each chapter's title told who's point of view it was.
Not sure if I would read another book by this author. It would depend on what the subject matter was.
I received a review copy of this audio book from Simon and Schuster in exhcnage for my honest opinion.
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