Book Review: The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James

The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James by Ashley Herring Blake

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Book Blurb

Twelve-year-old Sunny St. James navigates heart surgery, reconnections with a lost mother, first kisses, and emerging feelings for another girl in this stunning, heartfelt novel–perfect for fans of Ali Benjamin and Erin Entrada Kelly.

When Sunny St. James receives a new heart, she decides to set off on a “New Life Plan”: 1) do awesome amazing things she could never do before; 2) find a new best friend; and 3) kiss a boy for the first time.

Her “New Life Plan” seems to be racing forward, but when she meets her new best friend Quinn, Sunny questions whether she really wants to kiss a boy at all. When the reemergence of her mother, Sunny begins a journey to becoming the new Sunny St. James.

This sweet, tender novel dares readers to find the might in their own hearts.

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My Thoughts

TW: alcohol addiction, heart transplant, talk of the death of a loved one- death by cancer and death by motor accident, grief, panic attack, etc.

It’s weird, wanting something so bad for so long and not wanting it at the same time.

It’s the sixteenth day of January, and so far I’ve only read amazing, five-star books. I really had no idea I was gonna read this one, and I’m super happy that I got a chance because The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James is so beautiful and heartfelt, and I think everyone needs to read it!

This book follows the story of Sunny, who has had a heart transplant. Sunny wants to leave her old life behind — her best friend betrayed her, she could never have fun while she was sick, so her life was very limited, and she never got to kiss anyone. So, after she gets the transplant, she wants to become a new version of herself and do things she didn’t get to do before, find a new bestie, and kiss a boy. However, her birth mother comes back looking for her after her transplant, and when Sunny meets Quinn, she questions if she really wants to kiss a boy at all!

This book is so gorgeous and so lovely. When I saw this beautiful cover for the first time, I fell in love with it right away. I love these bright and vibrant and summery colors. And when I opened it and started reading, I realized how in love with it I was! I loved the beautiful story. I loved the simple writing. I loved the characters, and I loved everything about it!

I love books that talk about friendship and how sometimes friends grow apart, and how difficult it is to accept it and deal with it, and this one does talk about it in a very realistic way.

I also adored this book because it shows what Sunny feels like about her new life after the heart transplant and with her biological mother showing up after eight years. She is hurt and she has so many questions, and she worries that she’d come off as ungrateful for her new heart, and she even acknowledges that it’s hard to wrap your mind around it all.

We’re all a little lost, Sunshine.

I also liked that music was a huge part of this book – Kate, who is Sunny’s guardian has a boyfriend, Dave, who is a musician. Sunny’s mother was a talented musician, and Sunny writes songs…or rather, poems. And you do get to read her beautiful thoughts!

I loved Sunny’s family – I love Kate and Dave. They’re so precious and I really, really wanna hug both of them. I really adore them because of how much they care for Sunny. However, Lena and Sunny’s scenes made me cry a lot. I sobbed a lot while reading this whole book and that’s part of the reason why I think y’all should stop doing whatever you’re doing and read this book right off.

I’m gonna sound like a broken record, but I really think this book is gorgeous and you should all read it. It’s so heart-warming and I’m sure it will make you tear up!

So, have you read this book? What did you think of it? Let’s talk!