Title: Unbreak My Heart
Release Date: May 22, 2012
My Rating: 4/5
Synopsis: “Sophomore year broke Clementine Williams’ heart. She fell for her best friend’s boyfriend and long story short: he’s excused, but Clem is vilified and she heads into summer with zero social life.
Enter her parents’ plan to spend the summer on their sailboat. Normally the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat with her parents and little sister would make Clem break out in hives, but floating away sounds pretty good right now.
Then she meets James at one of their first stops along the river. He and his dad are sailing for the summer and he’s just the distraction Clem needs. Can he break down Clem’s walls and heal her broken heart?“
Unbreak My Heart is a sweet and insightful story about the heartbreak and guilt of damaging a friendship. Melissa Walker does a great job of taking an issue and making readers see a different side of it than what is normally portrayed.
Usually when we see a story about “boyfriend stealing”, it is from the perspective of the girl who has been cheated on. In Unbreak My Heart, we see the heartbreak that comes when Clementine crosses some lines and hurts her best friend. I like it when an author can take a moral issue that is usually seen as black and white, and show the shades of grey that lie between.
On top of all of this, we see a unique setting when Clem spends her summer sailing on a boat with her family. This creates a very active involvement of the family in the story, which is also nice to see.
I think the most important part of this story is Clem’s realization of the importance of friendship and how nothing should have been worth damaging such an important relationship in her life. As the story is pieced together bit by bit, it is easy to see how Clem got so wrapped up in things for a boy who, in the end, was clearly not worth it. Luckily, as she heals herself over the summer, a much sweeter, more worthwhile guy is there to help her along the way.
I love the characters in this story, especially Clem’s family. She has such understanding parents, and a wise little sister, who put up with a lot from her. It is nice to see a main character who is able to appreciate her family, and open up to them when she needs it.
On a completely random note, I love the name ‘Clementine’ for a YA heroine, but everytime I hear ‘Clem’, I think of this guy:
Clem, a particularly friendly, kitten gambling demon from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A strange visual to get when reading a about a 16 year old girl on a boat.
Also, I seriously am incapable of reading the title of this book without mentally bursting into song à la Toni Braxton.
But, back to the point, Unbreak My Heart is a nice summer read for any lover of contemporary YA. Great for dreaming about being on a boat, and getting away from those everyday troubles. It is everything a summer read should be, though I kind of went crazy at the lack of resolution in the end.
Along for the Read 
I read this book on my vacation and I loved it so much. I thought it was the perfect length and I loved the idea of a character being sequestered in a small space & having to deal with so much. Olive was adorable, I adored James and I really liked to read about sailing. It was new for me.Glad you liked it too & you are so right aout the Toni Braxton thing. haha
Hey Estelle! It must have been nice to read about her sailing adventure while you were off on the cruise! Hope you had a great vacation.