ARC Review: Symptoms of a Heartbreak by Sona Charaipotra

Shelly's Book Corner received a review copy from Amazon Vine and voluntarily provided an honest review. This does not affect the opinion of the book or the content of the review.

Fresh from med school, sixteen-year-old medical prodigy Saira arrives for her first day at her new job: treating children with cancer. She’s always had to balance family and friendships with her celebrity as the Girl Genius—but she’s never had to prove herself to skeptical adult co-workers while adjusting to real life-and-death stakes. And working in the same hospital as her mother certainly isn’t making things any easier.

But life gets complicated when Saira finds herself falling in love with a patient: a cute teen boy who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And when she risks her brand new career to try to improve his chances, it could cost her everything.

It turns out “heartbreak” is the one thing she still doesn’t know how to treat.

In her solo debut, Sona Charaipotra brings us a compelling #ownvoices protagonist who’s not afraid to chase what she wants. Symptoms of a Heartbreak goes from romantic comedy highs to tearjerker lows and is the ultimate cure-all for young adult readers needing an infusion of something heartfelt.

Review

As a fan of the t.v. show “Doogie Hoswer, M.D”, I was excited to read this book. Saira is an Oncologist working with children that have cancer. Not going to lie, this was a tough subject for me to read at times. I had a good friend that passed away from cancer and reading about kids with this disease wasn’t easy. At one point during the book, I had to stop reading and compose myself. This book definitely showcased the highs and lows of the disease and the struggles the families faces during the whole process.

In this story Saira is trying to find a balance between being a doctor and being a teen. Reading this story I got to see Saira excel in certain areas but stumble in others. I’m happy that she even though she was billed as a ‘girl genius” she still had flaws and dealt with typical teenage angst and drama.

This was my first time reading this author and I really enjoyed this story. I loved the diversity of the characters, and the meddling family members. The story was good, the plot is refreshing and the writing was solid. This book made me laugh, smile and get emotional. I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.