Another Piece of my Heart by Jane Green is book #15 in my 50 book challenge of 2012. In addition it is my first first-reads book from Goodreads and the first book I have ever won. Ever. There are several mini celebrations and milestones that I had upon beginning this book, which perhaps is the perfect way to introduce it.

At the age of thirty-seven years old, Andi has finally found her perfect man. Never been married before, Andi has never really felt the need to search high and low as other women may have; although, as she feels her youthful days beginning to ripen, she begins to feel the urgency, the need, and the want to have a child. Ironically enough, the man in her life comes with a ready-made family of two daughters and the baggage of an alcoholic of an ex-wife. And it is up to Andi to find the perfect balance in proving her love for her stepdaughters, supporting her husband through trying situations, and keeping enough love to hold herself grounded.

Husband, Ethan, has always been able to keep the family running. After separating and divorcing his alcoholic ex-wife Brooke, he has felt the heavy burden of taking care of his two daughters: Emily and Sophia. His younger daughter adores Andi and similarly, Andi adores Sophia viewing her as the daughter she had always wanted. Emily on the other hand was more of a handful. Having resented her father's new relationship from the get-go, Emily is compelled to treat Andi as nothing more than a parasite to her family, causing tantrums and creating havoc whenever she can. And its her rebellious manner that keeps Ethan on bended me, waiting on her every command and willing to soothe her pain away, even if it compromises his own marriage and happiness.

This book tells the altruistic tale of the balance of a family without the boundaries of etiquette. It delves into the realistic recesses of the family life that no one ever sees beyond the front door. And like a good novel, Another Piece of my Heart has found ways to break even my heart, as a reader, over and over again, to the point where I had to pause, put the book down and catch my breath. The narrative whisks you away in whirlwind of drama and events, that similar to the characters, seek a sense of peace and resolution that can only come by enough experience of heartache, loveloss and resentment. And of course, that is just how it happens.

Finding this fictional story almost parallel to my own realities of finding a nice man born into a certain type of family, I felt myself instantly drawn towards Another Piece of my Heart, its trials and tribulations, and the overbearing flood of emotion that leaves you with an ache in your chest that is so bad that it gives you butterflies --and that was a constant happening as I read this book. Read in a day, I found myself remembering back to a time when I felt like Emily --lost in my own home, receiving the support I needed but not necessarily feeling it since it was not the attention that I wanted as well as Andi --controlling a patience that has run its course to the grave. Families truly are a tricky thing to balance and this book will definitely reinstate that into your mind.

Admittedly, there is one setback which I had with this book: it's lack of consistency in writing styles. At times, I caught myself flipping back a few pages to see when the point of view had changed. And as much as I enjoyed this book, I do have to say that it was confusing at times. The verb tenses are inconsistent and the point of view changes constantly, even several times within the same chapter. If the writing technicalities were not so overbearing that it interrupted reading ease, I would have loved this book even more.

Overall, I am rating Another Piece of my Heart by Jane Green 4 stars out 5 stars. The book is definitely one that connects to a person's life experiences. However, I must admit that I may not have enjoyed this book as much if I had read it when I was younger and was still facing the difficult in-law familial distresses.

But there you have it!

Another Piece of my Heart - 4/5

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for giving me a read that was so fitting! I am still in awe that this book would find me and that we carried out a fabulous relationship from the get-go.

The next book lined up for my 2012 reading challenge is 2011's award winning book: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt.