Broken Heart Club

by Cathy Cassidy

Andie, Eden, Ryan, Tasha and Hasmita love being part of the Heart Club. They've promised to stay best friends forever and nothing can tear them apart. But sometimes things happen that you couldn't ever have expected and forever might not be as long as you think. Now, two years later, Eden and Ryan are haunted by memories of the past. Can they find a way to bring the club back together or is it too late to mend a broken heart? A gorgeous new story from the bestselling author of The Chocolate Box Girls series.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Young Adult, Summer Reads

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

I was born in 1962 in Coventry (scarily ancient, I know). I wrote my first picture book for my little brother when I was eight or nine. I loved making comics, too - pages and pages of picture stories, features and competitions.

I went to Art College in Liverpool, then got a job as fiction editor on the fab and legendary Jackie magazine.

I have worked as agony aunt on Shout magazine and also as an art teacher in the local primary & secondary schools, as well as as a freelance illustrator. These days, I am a full-time author.

I love my family, I love living in the middle of nowhere and I love my work. Of all my jobs, writing has to be the best - it's the perfect excuse to daydream, after all!

Reviews

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting during the slow bits of helping out with the summer reading challenge. I used to really love Cathy Cassidy books when I was in secondary school, and because of that I still feel a bit of obligation to keep supporting her - I'll always be interested in her stories!

Broken Heart Club wasn't exactly what I was expecting I wanted a story about a strong 5-piece girl friendship group, but instead I got 4 girls, 1 boy and worst of all they fall out and their group seems irreparable! I enjoyed what was there in the end, but felt it was a mix of too slow paced and then ultra fast at the end. I was surprised by how fickle 12-year olds could be and how they simultaneously felt mature for their age, while also reading a bit younger.

The ending was a real twist though, and gave the book that special Cathy Cassidy-ness that I felt it was otherwise lacking!

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the story in theory. Cute, supportive...the idea that five friends that have lost touch over two years decided to rekindle their friendship is lovely. But, I'm cynical. Sometimes, it's healthy to move on and find a new group of people. Forever isn't really a word that realistically applies to big, childhood friendships. I also guessed the plot twist instantly, though I have a nose for that kind of thing.

[Beth Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

More reviews on The Books Are Everywhere!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Cathy Cassidy and Penguin Random House in exchange for an honest review.
Edition: Hardcover, 320 pages, published April 21st 2016 by Puffin
Synopsis: Andie, Eden, Ryan, Tasha and Hasmita love being part of the Heart Club. They've promised to stay best friends forever and nothing can tear them apart.But sometimes things happen that you couldn't ever have expected and forever might not be as long as you think.Now, two years later, Eden and Ryan are haunted by memories of the past. Can they find a way to bring the club back together or is it too late to mend a broken heart?

I admit, I was worried with this one. It's been a while since I've read any new stuff of Cathy's and now I'm a little older I was concerned the magic would kind of...go away.

But of course, there was no reason for me to doubt Cathy's writing or skill. No matter how old I am, it will be the amazing constant that only she can achieve.

The plot...it was so intriguing! I expected this book to be a light, easy read but far from it! It follow a compelling and emotional story, and that's just the plot.

The characters...I would have loved to have seen more of them! Although Eden and Ryan were perfect main characters, I think it would have been great to have little sections from Andie, Tasha & Hasmita, too! Maybe in a diary form or bonus letters or text conversations between the characters at the end of the book?

The writing...Cathy could never fail! She made a simple break between friends into a complicated, deep, meaningful story. It was beautiful and poetic, making me laugh and cry. I couldn't have hoped for anything more.

Something I liked...as I mentioned above, this book was beautiful. Yet it was so easy to read and follow, I couldn't stop! I love the mix of amazing quotes and raw, honest emotion. It worked perfectly, and both things completely bounced off one another.

Something I disliked...nothing! This book gave me everything I could have hoped for and more.

Thoughts...what a perfect book. It reminded me very much of Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard, both books a poetic and raw way to describe the complicated beauty of broken friendships. If you love unique books that don't focus wholly on young love, you need to try this novel.

It's raw and it hurts...but it's also full of love. It'll make you cry and make you laugh...but emotion is what makes this book what it is. And that, that is exactly what a novel should be.

My rating is...

☽ ☽ ☽ ☽ ☽
5 out of 5 moons...
...and all of my heart

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

[Sophie Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow; I've just finished reading this, and I'm pretty sure it's Cathy Cassidy's best book yet. I won't give anything away, but the ending had be in tears - even though I never usually get emotional about any books or films, this one had me crying buckets! I only got the book yesterday, but I've been reading it none-stop since then; it's the kind of book that's impossible to put down!
The characters were brilliantly written and easy to relate too; all their emotions and thoughts seemed really realistic and well-written, and I really felt for the two main characters, Eden and Ryan. The style of the story was also really effective and engaging, with beautiful touches, such as the story of the paper cranes. I don't want to say too much in case I give away spoilers, but there were many brilliant parts of the novel. All together, the story was funny, sad and hopeful at the same time, and definitely one of the best books I've read for a while. I would definitely recommend it!

[Mochi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this book before (irl) and it’s fantastically written. The beautiful ways that’ll make you cry. Honestly, I can’t say any bad things about this book.

I gave it a four star rating because it’s not the type of book I’d find in my shelf anymore.

[SAMAR ♌︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry I dnf it that’s enough

[chloe🐭 · Rating 5 out of 5]

lord almighty that twist. not over it till this day and i read it like 5 years ago. i still feel warmth when i think about this book i love it sm

[Marin Zabed · Rating 3 out of 5]

An obviously glaring pre-teen version of the Pretty Little Liars! 3 stars simply because of its contemporary urban Brit-ness.

[Alex Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh this book was so beautiful. I admit, I miss Cathy Cassidy's hippy, dreamy quirkiness with her older books, such as the weird and wonderful names she gave her characters, and their dreamlike and interesting lives. Despite my longing for the Cathy Cassidy books of old, I still found Broken Hearts Club amazing and loved every word of it. Without giving away the book, I will say only one or two things.

I found the differing points of view between Eden and Ryan worked very well, and it really helped to see the situation from their points of view. Admittedly, Eden sorta annoyed me a little; I kept thinking "It was just a fight. Get over it. If Andie cracked it at you because of something that unimportant, then she's not worth being your friend". I was so happy and yet so sad to find out the real reason why Eden was so depressed and Ryan so angry at the world.

When I was reading the beginning and around the middle of the book, I was slightly disappointed about the lack of Cathy Cassidy-ness in the story and characters. Then I found it again, her wonderful, dreamy strangeness, in the appearance of a certain someone (not gonna say who, but those who've read this book will know who I am referring to). Then, near the end of the story, something new happened, and made me struggle to hold back tears. The end of the story was something very different to how Cassidy usually writes, yet it still worked so well, and it carried so much impact. Nevertheless, the story still had a happy ending, and I am happy with how the story turned out.

[Lau ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un de mes livres préférés depuis très longtemps et accessoirement le premier livre qui m’a brisé le coeur.

L’histoire est assez simple 5 amis de primaire qui se sont disputés puis perdus de vue, ce qui les a énormément changé. On va suivre Éden, qui a décidé de ne plus faire confiance à personne et Rayan qui lui s’est transformé en bad boy du collège. Ils tentent de réparer les erreurs faites par le passé.

C’est un livre plutôt collège à la base mais il est toujours incroyable de mon point de vue. Il est a la fois joyeux et triste (je repleure à chaque fois…). Bref lisez le.

[Saee :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is vanilla scented hugs, yellow paint on cheeks,paper cranes on string,gold fish in bucket,apple pies,sleepovers , daisy chains,friendship forever,
a cute disguise for cruelty it packs.

This book broke my heart and stiched it again.
Made me want to hug my friends.
Contact those friends I lost in past .

[Lin Let · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely entertaining and what you would expect from a Cassidy book, romance but realistic problems. I had some issues and this wasn't my favourite of her books but it was still good.

[Sneha Mankar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, elegant, happy and heartbreaking story about five friends; Hasmita, Eden, Andie, Ryan and Tasha.
"The Heart Club" was meant to be forever. Andie was the glue who was holding them together, she was like the Sun at the centre with everyone revolving around. They promised to stay best friends forever. They promised to go to the same college. But sometimes things are not in our control. And when things called 'like' and 'love' comes in between friendship then definitely somehow the friendship takes a totally different path and that's what happened with these five friends. Situation changed, everyone changed. Tasha shifted to different country, Hasmita went to different college, Eden and Ryan were in same college but were complete strangers and Andie was gone too. The Heart Club was now broken, all those promises were broken. But Andie had promised that she would come back to fix everything.
And she did came back. She only met Eden, she made her understand that though the Heart Club can never be the same again but they all can start fresh. Everyone made mistakes somewhere and they all accepted it and started mending the lost broken heart.
The only difference was Andie was no longer with them, she died on the 3rd after their big fight, when she shifted to Scotland, but she had forgiven them and that's what kept the other 4 going.
They all found their way back somehow.

I somehow found myself related to this story in some ways. We become teenagers, we make friends, we fight, we grow apart and still we find our way back 'if' that is meant to be, even though the friendship is not the way it used to be.
This is what friendship is and this is what growing up is like.

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Broken heart club is made up of:

Hasmita
Eden
Andie
Ryan
Tasha

At a sleepover at the end of year six, Eden had her first kiss from her secret crush Ryan whilst her friend Andie saw and was gutted as she thought she and Ryan would get together.

That night changed Eden's life as she became a withdrawn and depressed black clad girl who see's life happening all around her. Including her old friends at new schools and Ryan at her school dealing with a lot of anger issues.

The group went from being the best thing to the worst memory of Eden's as she misses the friends she had. Yet a chance meeting with Andie again doesn't break her but instead rekindles relationships and brings her out of her sadness as she mingles with people at a party leading her to Ryan and helping him with Miss Smith, a woman his anger caused disturbance to.

As the pair grow closer old feelings become reignited but then Andie pulls away from Eden again leaving her feeling less lost but still unsure just what will become of all their hearts?

The club is a unique idea and based on Cathy's meeting with a real group of friends of the titled group. I really enjoyed this book and the story of their friendship and how jealousy and change can cause rifts between friends regardless of years of friendship beforehand. I also liked how even though Ryan went down the bad boy style route, he still cared enough to choose Eden again and reunited them.

[oriana]

i wish i could go back to age thirteen and read this for the first time again. it’s books like these that remind me of a better time, a time when i was different, sweeter, so innocent despite it all.

also, it feels weird to simp over a fourteen year old boy at seventeen. especially since i’m steadily approaching legal adulthood.

there’s a sense of nostalgia that’s lost in these yellowed, slightly stained pages. i’ll never get that time back again, but i can try.

cathy cassidy’s books dominated my childhood from age nine to thirteen; it’s been weird picking up rose coloured glasses from my pre-teen years and viewing them with a hazy clarity that my youthful prescription didn’t allow at the time.

that is why i never rate my childhood books. first off, it feels like i’m tainting the past (and we all know the past is not to meddled with). secondly, i don’t believe i could ever give it an accurate rating, and giving it anything lower than a preteen dreamer’s five-stars feels like sacrilege.

it’s fun to be pensive sometimes.

anyway, i have to get out of the bath now.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think any other book has ever made me cry.....

This is one of the first Cathy Cassidy books I've ever truly liked (The very first one was "Daizy Star")

The beginning of the book features a little introduction from Cathy: she mentions that the book is a"bit of an emotional rollercoaster"
And she wasn't wrong.....


I loved Eden and Ryan as main characters: I could relate to a lot of the things they said.

Ryan is probably one of my favourite male main characters of all time: he is so sweet and really cares about Eden (who he has the sweetest, most innocent crush on!) I don't often read from the perspective of a boy, so it was interesting to see what goes through their heads sometimes.

I wasn't emotionally prepared for the plot twist: I won't tell you what it was as I don't want to spoil it. But it really got me, even though I haven't gone through a similar thing.

The last sentence absolutely destroyed me. I was in tears. Such a heartbreaking but somehow heartwarming book.

[sgh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not for me this one! It’s the first Cathy Cassidy I’ve read, and I just didn’t connect with it. It fell into some of the tween tropes that I’m not fond of (romance/makeover/car accidents). The characters sounded older than their years and their reference points just didn’t ring true for me as 2016 teenagers. I also knew Andie was dead almost at once but the rules of the ghost didn’t quite work. Who dyed Eden’s hair? What about in the shop when Andie put things on the counter?

Not for me, but could certainly see it appealing to a year 7/8 reader, and I think I would have enjoyed it more at that age too.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book was a little bit heart-breaking. When they kept talking about the major even that changed everything, I wondered what it was. I thought Andie might have died but didn't think it possible as Eden was still seeing Andie. I almost cried when I found out that Andie had actually died. I was really sad when the Heart club broke because they seemed to have a really great friends and I'm so happy that they all made up again. Overall, it was a pretty good book. I'd recommend it for 9-12 year olds.

[xvxf · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was so utterly heart wrenching. it honestly brought tears to my eyes and made me feel so sad, it feels so much deeper and full of grief than other kids books i’ve read. to this day, cathy cassidy is still such a wonderfully talented writer and i truly hope she never stops writing. the poignant heartbreak and loss, and the fear of abandonment, of losing everything and being scared to try and make friends again, is something that is just… no 13 year old should feel that way and sadly, some do. hell, i know i did. this book was good. it was really good.

[thongeshwari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book. It has a very strong message. When the glue that binds the group dissapers the others fall out. And instead of being together coping with the unfair situations you just believe you forgot about the past and hide it away and make a hard shell around yourself masked with anger,sadness, and a 'don't-care ' attitude.

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book is like childish, kind of. I don’t know what genre it fits in, but it has some romance in it and kind of friendship based and just mending old friendships and stuff like that.

Told from the POV of Eden and Ryan (dual POV). They’re both 14. Shows them becoming friends after a ‘disaster’ that happened 3 years ago.

[Liana Creed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a page turner! It was difficult for me to put down because the plot gets you that intrigued. If you’re into stories with the friends to lovers trope, a bit of drama, and shocking plot twist or you are a fan of other Cathy Cassidy books such as Driftwood, Cherry Crush and Dizzy. This book is a must read for you!

[Emmaby Barton Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

read in one sitting. i will always love cathy cassidy.

i wasn't sure if i'd enjoy her as much now i'm an adult but this book reminded me of why i treasured her books so much as a kid/young teen - because she portrays young people with so much care and compassion.

i guessed the twist pretty early on, but still loved this book and seeing the growth of eden and ryan <3

[aadrika singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was rereading her because i was obsessed with her in my childhood and this is genuinely a really good book for a child even though it is so devastating.

i love love love ryan and eden, they are the most adorable couple.

i can't even imagine the trauma of losing a friend when you're only 11 years old.

[shrithika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it. Too much, I think. Even 3 years after first reading this, it moved me to tears. Well, it's been 4 years now and it didn't move me to tears. But, then again, this is middle-grade writing. impressive work. the final message is beautiful, to those who understand it.

[lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book first when I was little, and then decided to read it again for nostalgia purposes.

Altho probably not something I'd love now, it's well written, has a great plot and everyone within the ages it is written for would most likely love it.

For that reason it gets 4 stars.

[Tanisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book captivated me. childhood friendships seemed so important when we were in them, we never realise how much we miss them and require them when we are older until we read beautiful stories like this. a rollercoaster of emotions!

[wei-lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this book. i read this when i was 9, when i was 10, 11, 12, and now 14. i’ve got to say, despite the simple prose, this book is my go-to for when i’m in a book slump. it always gets me back in the mood for reading. it’s a quick read that you’re bound to love!

[Pisinat · Rating 5 out of 5]

je pensais avoir deviner la fin mais non ! encore une belle histoire de Cathy Cassidy qui sait raconter sans chichi tous les maux de la vie

[Karine SIMON · Rating 4 out of 5]

Du grand Cathy Cassidy comme d'habitude. J'ai adoré