Fierce Fragile Hearts

Another fantastic title from Sara Barnard, Fierce Fragile Hearts is the follow-up to Beautiful Broken Things. It picks up the story two years after Suzanne leaves Brighton and this time is told from her perspective.

After recovering from her lowest ebb, Suzanne is starting again. She is moving back to Brighton and most importantly, her best friends Caddy and Rosie. She hopes that this will be a fresh and positive start for her, but this could be jeopardised by the fact that her best friends are both destined to leave for university at the end of the summer holidays. Who will be left to give her the invaluable support she has always received from them?

Life post care at 18 holds many challenges for Suzanne; living alone in a bedsit, holding down a job in a cafe; and dealing with a plumbing emergency. Throughout this story she encounters many people who are there to love and guide her. Most poignant is her friendship with Dilys from the ground floor flat, a friendship which spans the generation gap and is beneficial to both of them.

Be prepared to feel the whole range of emotions whilst reading this novel, at times it is hard to empathise with Suzanne when she makes some decisions but underlying this there is a heavy investment in all the characters who are all meeting transition points within their lives. I really hope that the author decides to revisit this friendship group again in the future! Most definitely a 14+ read due to the many young adult themes contained within the book.

354 pages / Reviewed by Sharon Bolton, School Librarian.

Suggested Reading Age 11+