Assessment:
Plot/Idea: The plot here is well-paced and immersive. High school sophomore Jinny is mercilessly bullied at school and struggles everyday to overcome her family situation—but her intelligence and quick wit give her a possible way out. When she starts a book club at her teacher’s behest and discovers more challenging work at school to keep her engaged, Jinny’s school year starts to look up. Soon she’s trying to balance changes in her school life with her ever-increasing troubles at home, including visions of her deceased father, who seems to be watching out for her in more ways than one.
Prose: My Heart Is Hurting is readable and steady, offering a critical look at issues that plague many young adults. The prose teases out the deeper issues behind the story while still allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about the characters’ experiences.
Originality: On the surface, this novel feels like a classic YA coming-of-age story, but the author adds in satisfying twists, some splashes of danger, and an important message about mental health that give it a decided edge.
Character/Execution: Jinny’s friendship with Thomas is endearing and affords them both the chance to be themselves, free of the hurtful judgment they so often receive from others. The author develops Jinny’s character carefully, making her both relatable and powerful in her own right, and she will resonate with young adult readers
Date Submitted: August 13, 2023
There's enough grittiness in this book to make a year's supply of sandpaper. Jinny is super intelligent, but had been browbeaten and brainwashed by her mother for years. Mom goes ballistic whenever Jinny tries to talk about an accomplishment or a future involving college.
Mom also moonlights as a sex worker, often leaving her daughter to fend for herself with inadequate funds to buy food for extended periods of time. Jinny's so busy trying to survive that she has little time to realize how unnatural her life at home is, or how poor a parent she has. It takes an intervention by a very caring and persistent teacher, coupled with a traffic accident caused by her mom that lands Jinny in the hospital to make her realize she's worthwhile and deserves better. Toss in an unexpected boyfriend, Jinny starting a book club at school, plus the requisite mean girls, and you have a very well-crafted story. This is the kind of book that in the hands of certain at risk teens, might save them from a very terrible fate and that's far from exaggeration.
In My Heart is Hurting, S.E. Reed masterfully tells the heart-breaking and eventual heart-warming story of smart and sassy Florida native 15 y/o Jinny Buffett. To cope with the harsh realities of her mother’s neglect and abandonment, Jinny secretly pours herself into her love of literature and academics. But when her test scores catch the attention of school personnel, she whips out her thick-skinned defense. To Jinny, she’s white trash with no hope of a future. No need in giving anyone, including herself, false hopes. But Jinny’s exterior is softened through a surprise found family. For the first time in her life, she has friends and adults rooting for her who really care. Just when Jinny believes her life can include happiness, her mother, shows up and threatens to destroy everything Jinny has grown to love. S.E. writes with brevity, super-sonic pacing, witty dialogue, and all her characters are fully fleshed and feel like real people. While you rip through the pages of My Heart is Hurting, don’t forget to breathe!
My Heart is Hurting made me cry, as you'd expect, but it never felt forced or overly poetic or pandering. It was the pure, innocent sadness of a sweet, bright high school sophomore who deserved a better mom. For best friends, S. E. Reed wrote characters that were perfectly over-the-top. They bounced and squealed and gave each other lots of hugs. It made me happy between the moments of quiet heartbreak - like when Jinny goes with her mom, even though she was safe with other grownups, even though she knows it's dangerous with her mom, and even though she could be defiant. She goes because deep down, no matter what has happened, her awful mom is still her safe place. But that's not the end of Jinny Buffett, as this story delivers on the hopes and dreams of the reader and the community of characters that rallies around her.
What a lovely read!
A story with a strong beating heart about Jinny Buffet--or Jinny Cheeseburger as she's nicknamed--a really bright girl in terrible home situation. A coming of age tale about a girl who's hidden herself away for too long finally stepping out into the light, though she's pulled back over and over again by a lone mother, who's rarely there, doesn't protect her or provide enough food. Or nearly enough love.
Despite this neglect, Jinny craves her mother's attention and love in a way we can all relate to. But in its absence, she finds love from other sources -- new friends at school, her teachers and some kind strangers, and a potentially exciting new boyfriend. And the ghosts of some swamp relatives!
A story about a girl struggling with abuse and loss, and finding the strength to step away from the quicksand of a situation that seems bent on dragging you down,finding the courage to heave yourself up, alone, and claim a better future. Really well done!
