Instructions for a Second-hand Heart, Book Review

Instructions for a Second-hand Heart by Tamsyn Murray

Rating: 2.5/5 

Goodreads Summary:

Jonny knows better than anyone that life is full of cruel ironies. He's spent every day in a hospital hooked up to machines to keep his heart ticking. Then when a donor match is found for Jonny's heart, that turns out to be the cruellest irony of all. Because for Jonny's life to finally start, someone else's had to end. 
That someone turns out to be Neve's twin brother, Leo. When Leo was alive, all Neve wanted was for him (and all his glorious, overshadowing perfection) to leave. Now that Leo's actually gone forever, Neve has no idea how to move forward. Then Jonny walks into her life looking for answers, her brother's heart beating in his chest, and everything starts to change. 

Together, Neve and Jonny will have to face the future, no matter how frightening it is, while also learning to heal their hearts, no matter how much it hurts.

*Just wanted to say thank you to Hachette Book Group Canada for providing me an ARC of this book*

*Spoiler near the end*

Thoughts and Opinions:

          When I got the list of books to choose from I was intrigued by the synopsis and even though I kinda knew what was going to happen at the end, I still wanted to read it anyways. My overall thoughts was that it was okay, but it had its frustrating moments. 

          I love books that have independent and strong characters, and the MCs in the book did have their good moments, but I got so annoyed and I couldn't just get past it that I think it became the reason I didn't enjoy the book as much. 

         Jonny has been sick his whole life and the only way for him to get out of the hospital was if he were to get a heart transplant, but a heart transplant means that someone else's life ended. Enter Neve, Leo's twin sister who becomes Jonny's organ donor (you can probably already see how the rest of the book will go). Jonny was an interesting character, he liked comics and drawing, but once he got his heart transplant, I think his fascination (or curiosity) about who the heart came from was a bit over the top. I am a curious person in nature, and I would want to know who it came from as well, but personally, I don't think that I would go as far as acting like the guy who it came from. Yes I understood that he was just trying to find himself after expecting that he wouldn't live long enough, but I think something was lacking in the writing and what the book was trying to convey. What I really liked about the book though were the comic drawings by Jonny, they were fun for me because it helped visualise what Jonny liked and his drawing style/technique. I thought it was a good way of showing a little insight on who the real Jonny is and not  who he was trying to become. As for Neve, she's an angsty teen, she got used to being in the background of her golden-boy twin, and I could see how that will turn someone bitter. But, I never really understood why the need for those pills, I feel like there were unresolved problems that the book didn't expound on. The MCs did go through a character development, but I felt like it wasn't enough, and that it was a bit rushed especially since it happened so close to the end of the book and the events leading up to it weren't really connected.     *Spoiler* I also did not understand Emily's death, it felt forced and I think there could've been a better ending for Emily. *Spoiler*
          I liked the idea and the trope, but this book wasn't really my cup of tea. A lot of people seem to like it, so I recommend this for people who like teenage romance, and I guess in a way, characters who try to find their identity.