General
Heart on a Chain
pages: 311
Genre: Young adult, contemporary
December 2010
Buy it here: Amazon
Synopsis
17-year-old Kate has lived her whole life in abject poverty, with an alcoholic father and drug-addicted mother, who severely abuses Kate. At school, her second-hand clothing marks her as a target. Her refusal to stand up for herself makes her the recipient of her classmates taunts and bullying. That is, until Henry returns.
Henry Jamison moved away six years earlier, just as he and Kate had begun to develop feelings for one another. He returns to find the bright, funny, outgoing girl he had known now timidly hiding in corners, barely speaking to anyone around her, suspicious of even him. Kate can't figure out what game Henry is playing with her - for surely it is a game. What else would the gorgeous, popular boy from her past want with her?
Kate finally decides to trust Henry's intentions, opening her heart to him. Just when it seems he might be genuine in his friendship, tragedy strikes, threatening everything Kate has worked so hard to gain. Can Henry help her to overcome this new devastation, or will it tear them apart forever?
This was the first YA Indie Fiction I had read. Let me point out that I first read this book when it first came out, which was a while ago. This book was a little out of my usual type of reading but I thought I would give it ago because it had great reviews on Amazon.
I wish I could say this novel was over the top but unfortunately, these situations are not few and far between. Told in first person, Kate grew up in an abusive home. Kate is scared at home and at school, having no safe haven to go to. She doesn't trust anyone-with good reason. She has the thoughts and feelings that anybody who has gone through any form of abuse has.
I can't tell you how many times I had teared up, yelled at my poor Kindle and the characters but I also laughed, smiled and fell in love. I hadn't expected to stay up half the night reading this story, but I COULDN'T put it down. Yeah, one of those stories.
Henry was amazing. Their love started out slow but progressed, as did the circumstances around them. Henry became Kate's hero, a knight in shining armor. This is an innocent yet harsh story but it shows that there can be happiness and yes, a happily ever after, to those that don't believe they deserve it.
I loved the supporting characters, very little there were. Henry's little sister was adorable, dressing Kate up and adoring her like an older sister. The parents were amazing and I can only hope there are people out there just like them-amazing, kind and understanding.
Many times I had to clench my hands into fists while reading certain parts. Bully's were a huge factor in this story, just as much as Kate's mom and dad I believe.
This really is an amazing story. I don't normally give five stars to the books I read, but this one I happily give five stars to. More if I possibly could.
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