Fixer Review Shop [OPEN]

~Review 99 : Heartstrings Tangled by @Lanadelreygirlie ~

Book Information
Book Title: Heartstrings Tangled
Author: Lanadelreygirlie
Genre: YA, Teen fiction, Chick lit
Target audience: 13-18
Current status: 13/ongoing
No. of pages read: 8

Reviewed by jambudweep

c

PLOT

The plot follows Maya, a sixteen–year–old high-schooler, who has moved out to Chicago after her father's job promotion. Her family of four—her parents and younger brother, Dev—seem like the picture of a content, middle-class household, adjusting to the new routines in the unfamiliar city.

On the surface, the story seems about the struggle of transition and adaptation. But, as the plot progresses, we are introduced to the inner conflicts of Maya, when an accidental encounter with someone raises the suppressed, lingering emotions, and the doubts of what-ifs or would-it-ever.

Moving further to the pacing and the writing style—the writing feels over descriptive or repetitive at times, which makes the pace slower in the first couple of chapters, mostly. Like, when Maya is paddling down the road to her new school, her monologue about the lively surroundings and the people have been stretched out in six paragraphs. It could tighten into two—in first, talk about the journey on the road, while the second explores the school environment. Similarly, the second part—entering the school lobby, approaching the locker—feels a bit overly written.

Hereby, the author might consider trimming some excessive parts to keep the pace smooth. Read the parts, and see if its absence is causing any effect, or it is good to go without it.

Additionally, there is a little inconsistent punctuations in dialogue tags throughout the writing:

"...you love riding your bike," Mom said.

The author has put a period instead of a comma.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

At first, Maya is introduced to the readers as skeptical of love and a no-nonsense girl with a practical attitude approach. But, somewhere in the corner of heart, she always dreams of, or wishes for, true love. Someone, who will look at her with love, adores her, or even perform those "clichés" moves, she cringes upon.

Though, every time she encounters the lovey-dovey interactions wrapped in cringe from her friend, Sam and her boyfriend, it seems like she is just a second away from snapping, or pulling her hair out. These scenes are fun to read, to be honest.

However, after her first long conversation with Yash in the boy's room, something inside her shifted. And, it doesn't matter how much she tries to make it sound otherwise, her expression, her inner thoughts, and her actions around him screams "emotions". But, yeah, like the saying—burnt by fire, fear the smoke—Maya is confused over her emotions, or let's say, she doesn't want to accept the truth after that bitter part of her past.

Thus, yes. Maya can be proved as a relatable character for many. The doubts, the emotional rollercoaster—everything sounds so real and believable.

That's all. The author can take things into account they think will work for their work, or just follow their own mind.