OF COURSE a city with an unofficial mandate for weirdness would be the epicenter of paranormal activity.Īnti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting If you could have any wish granted, would you? Is there a price too steep to pay? Evidently not for Dee and the rest of the heartless, who all have intriguing backstories of their own. I AM PEDANTIC.) Although full props for going in a different direction than most Harry Potter shout-outs in YA. (Barring an existential debate about teddy bears, it’s impossible by definition to vivisect inanimate objects. One minor nit to pick is Dee’s roommate’s oft-mentioned hobby of vivisecting teddy bears. (As far as I can tell, at least, and I hope there are no plans to change that.)

(It reminds me of recent FYA Book Club selection Roses and Rot in that regard.) Deftly blending together fantasy, horror, and even sci-fi, in an otherwise realistic contemporary setting, The Hearts We Sold has the scope of a story that could be easily stretched into a series but is better off as the brisk standalone novel that it is. (ARE YOU TIRED OF HEART PUNS YET?)įairy tales are a recurring theme in the book, which in itself is kind of like a fairy tale. It takes a while for the romance between Dee and heartless artist James to build up, but the payoff definitely pulls at the heartstrings. I can’t blame her for being jaded about humanity, but I can’t help feeling sad about that, too. Growing up in a toxic environment like she did, Dee had little use for her heart long before she gave it away in a deal. And to fulfill the rest of her bargain, Dee must join a group of fellow heartless teens in completing strange and dangerous tasks for the Daemon. But for Dee Moreno, who only wants to finance her boarding school tuition after her scholarship unexpectedly runs out, the Agathodaemon wants her heart. When a demon grants a wish, they usually take a body part as payment. Bonus Factors: Deal with the Devil, PortlandĪnti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful ParentingĪside from finding a cover model who looks like Dee, the effort here is really… halfhearted.

The hearts we sold