Friday 6 November 2020

Foolish Hearts by: Emma Mills

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary 

Published: December 5, 2017 by: Henry Holt and Company 

Pages: 320 

Rating: 5/5 stars 

CW: panic attacks, seizures, high-risk childbirth



Claudia is trying to get through helping out with her school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. There's just one problem. She is working with Iris, a girl who has little respect for Claudia after Claudia accidentally eavesdropped on Iris' rough breakup with her girlfriend Paige. Claudia and Iris must work together to keep the production afloat, all while dealing with their sourness for one another, and working with Gideon, a goofy guy who Claudia just might have a crush on. 

I LOVED this book. I read it unexpectedly for a Shakespeare readathon I participated in a while back, and I didn't really know what to expect. What I got was a fun, heartwarming book about love, friendship, and Shakespeare. Not to mention that the cast of characters were diverse and so easy to love. 

First off, I will say that we need more books that show teenage boys having deep friendships with other teenage boys, and not being afraid to be emotional. Gideon's friendship with his best friend Noah was so lovely to see, especially considering that toxic masculinity makes most teenage boys afraid of being emotional with another boy. I loved how Gideon and Noah were able to call out the bullshit of the boys in their school who were disrespectful, and we love seeing white men who are able to check their privilege and do something to help those who are not privileged. It was awesome to see. 

This book tackles a lot of subjects that I don't see much in YA. For example, Claudia's sister is dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, and Claudia is concerned for her safety. I thought this was an interesting topic to deal with in a YA book, because high-risk pregnancies can be very stressful situations and are not usually discussed in fiction. I thought it was handled really well. 

I also loved how this book had a sapphic relationship that represented the "It" couple at the high school. Usually in really tropey YA high school novels, the "It" couple are straight. But Iris and Paige are the relationship that all the girls wish to have. Yay for sapphic representation! 

This book was super easy to get through, and I loved the Shakespeare references as well. It wasn't too much Shakespeare that left me overwhelmed or bored. Mills is able to bring Shakespeare into YA in a really crafty way. Shakespeare does not overshadow the stories of the characters, and I can appreciate that. 

Overall, anyone who loves YA contemporary, needs to read this book. I loved how the diverse characters in this book aren't necessarily put into upsetting situations. This book really lifted my spirits. 

Have you read Foolish Hearts? What did you think? 

Emily @ Paperback Princess

10 comments:

  1. That cover has all the patterns going on! Lol.

    Sounds like this one was cute and fun, but also had deeper moments - which is not a bad combo to have! :)

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    1. I thought that too when I bought the book! It's a bit of a random cover for sure. But, I'm glad I didn't judge this book by its cover!

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  2. So glad you loved this one, Emily! I've said this multiple times, but this is still one of my top favorite books of 2020, and I agree with everything you said in your review. Such a soft, cute book but with many deeper topics, as well.

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    1. I'm glad we share a love for this book! I'm so happy I bought it so I can reread it for years to come.

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  3. This has been on my TBR for ages but I really want to read it soon based on your review! The whole deep male friendship thing is so, so amazing. I completely agree with you, we definitely need more of this in books. And of course, bring on the Shakespeare references :) (I'm going to willfully ignore that I've read/seen maybe three of Shakespeare's plays) Lovely review, Emily!

    Laura @BlueEyeBooks

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    1. No prior knowledge of Shakespeare is required, haha! To be honest I am not a loyal fan of Shakespeare either but I still loved this book. I hope you'll be able to get to it soon :D

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  4. Glad this was good! Shakespeare, plus this too "First off, I will say that we need more books that show teenage boys having deep friendships with other teenage boys, and not being afraid to be emotional." We do need more of that. Love the relationships also.

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    1. Absolutely! Strong male friendships is definitely something that I will look for now in YA.

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  5. Oh boy, I had a copy of Foolish Hearts but donated it when I moved! Damn. 😭 I'll look for a copy at my library then - thanks for the great review!

    Glad to see you're still blogging, Emily! Your reviews are still the best 😊

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    1. Nice to hear from you again, Anna! I hope you're well! If you are able to get your hands on a copy again I would so recommend this one! :)

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