The Anatomical Shape of a Heart

by Jenn Bennett

Overview

Winner of the Romantic Times Best YA Protagonist Award (2015)

Artist Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she's spending the summer before her senior year. Determined to follow in Da Vinci's footsteps, she's ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital's Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.

Jack is charming, wildly attractive . . . and possibly one of San Francisco's most notorious graffiti artists. On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is-and tries to uncover what he's hiding that leaves him so wounded. But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in Beatrix's own family's closet tear them apart?

The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett is an irresistible, deeply romantic story about a girl and boy who help each other heal and grow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250104274
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	01/17/2017
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	706,508
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Lexile:	800L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jenn Bennett is the author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series with Pocket and the Roaring Twenties historical paranormal romance series with Berkley. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two pugs.

Editorial Reviews

Winner of the Romantic Times Best YA Protagonist Award (2015)

"An appealingly realistic romance that will curl toes and inspire sighs." —School Library Journal

"Swoonworthy, sex-positive romance." —Booklist

"A fulfilling read." —RT Book Reviews, Top Pick

"Artsy, cool, and everything you want a San Francisco adventure to be. Get ready to be swept away." —Maximum Pop

From the Publisher

09/07/2015
In her first book for teens, adult author Bennett (the Arcadia Bell series) presents a story about two unusual, talented artists: Bex (short for Beatrix) Adams, who dreams of becoming a medical illustrator, and Jack Vincent, who has a double life as a San Francisco street artist, traversing the city by night to spray paint words like “Fly” and “Trust” in gold. Their chance meeting—and Bex’s quick discovery of Jack’s secret—sets off a sweet romance between these two struggling teenagers. Bex lost her father to divorce, and her family can barely make ends meet, while Jack has family problems of his own. Jack’s fascination with Buddhism intrigues Bex, and he sees in Bex some of the peace he so desperately seeks. As they fall in love and make their first forays into sexual intimacy, Bennett doesn’t let their story fall prey to melodrama, even when their relationship is challenged. Readers interested in art and Buddhism will find this novel a satisfying read. Ages 12–up. Agent: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

10/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Beatrix is not a typical teen artist. Her specialty is anatomical drawing. She wants nothing more than the chance to get into the Willed Body facility at a San Francisco medical school to draw the cadavers, sure that her precise work will win her a scholarship in a museum-sponsored drawing competition. Being a medical illustrator is an ambition she works toward by clerking in a local organic market to save for college and help her divorced RN mom keep their household afloat. Stuck waiting for the late bus one day, Beatrix meets a mysterious and gorgeous boy. They connect at once, staring into each other's eyes while flirting on the bus, but when a can of gold spray paint rolls out of Jack's bag, she knows why he's nervous and who he is: a notorious street artist who leaves single words of graffiti around the city. It should turn her off that he appears to be trouble, but Jack turns all of Bex's buttons to ON, and he is just as smitten, tracking her down and wooing her, even as she comes to understand that the words he's painting have as much to do with family and secrets as they do with art. Characters are well wrought, and dialogue feels realistic as the two navigate their lives and a fledgling relationship with humor and frank talk about sex, parents, and art. VERDICT An appealingly realistic romance that will curl toes and inspire sighs.—Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

School Library Journal

2015-07-27
Take a contemporary San Francisco, add an undertone of classic Romeo and Juliet, some grit and viscera, and this story of two remarkable teens is the result. Beatrix, 18, isn't your average artist; she does anatomical studies and wants to attend school to become a medical illustrator. She feels her only chance is winning a scholarship by drawing from life—or rather death—a real cadaver. Bex is intensely focused, but then she meets Jack, and her focus expands. Jack is also an artist, notorious for his beautifully executed graffiti—and wanted by the police. Beatrix is intrigued by his wit, Buddhist beliefs, and "retro-rockabilly" looks. However, there's a sorrowful secret in Jack's family that, to Bex's initial consternation, causes him to be mercurial. Their romance flourishes as understanding grows into a deepening respect for one another. When the relationship becomes sexual, they are careful to spend time tenderly discussing it first. Bex narrates in a trenchant past tense, her wit on display in both dialogue and exposition, and art becomes both a point of connection for the two lovers and their weapon. In the face of family opposition to their relationship, Beatrix and Jack strive to convey that art is meaningful and healing for both creator and beholder. A thought-provoking exploration of art as an expression of love and pain. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews