Totally loved this book and the thematic that were explored in the book

Will totally check out more from this author

This book had so much depth to it while still being an easy to read romance. I remember reading and really liking Maggie Horne’s children’s book so I was happy to find that her teen book was just as good!

The friendship with Gray and the gay relationship with Talia are both something to envy at times, and at other times, obviously messed up and in need of fixing. I think that says a lot about the nature of toxic relationships and how perfect that they can seem from the outside. Because everyone wants a best friendship like Alana and Gray, but when you dig deeper into it, you see how co-dependent they are and how, in many ways, Alana is scared to go against what Gray wants.

I also loved how it explored a lesbian who is out of the closet, but her relationship with lesbianism is still kind of screwed up. I’ve read a lot of coming out stories where the person comes out and every accepts them and they get their happy ever after. And I’ve read a few where they’re not accepted, but this was the first time I’ve seen this level of complication in the experience. How Alana’s friends claimed to accept her, but were still committing micro-aggressions towards her. How she was out, but not quite ready to be dating someone publicly. It made the whole book a very interesting read.

This has been a long review for me so I’m just gonna repeat that although it dealt with a lot of complicated issues, it was still easy and fun to read and that I highly recommend it!

I adored Maggie Horne's middle grade novel, Hazel Hill Is Gonna Win This One, so was SUPER excited to read and review Don't Let It Break Your Heart, and although I personally didn't enjoy it I think it will appeal to plenty of other readers. Definitely one for fans of Casey McQuiston (especially her new novel, The Pairing - the friendship between Gray and Alana reminded me so much of a platonic Kit and Theo!) or Courtney Stevens' Dress Codes For Small Towns. It's probably not for you if you prefer a book where characters Use Their Words.

Overall this was such a beautiful read, I loved the characters and the exploring the life changes they are going through. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

😭😭😭

That hurt. It's beautiful and wonderful, and I'm soo happy the author made the book more about coming of age and Alana's growing into her identity and new skin than the melodrama of the love triangle. The claustrophobia of being surrounded by people you've known forever when their perception of you has changed is very realistic, and Alana's struggles are very familiar.

Gray and Alana's relationship is painful because both of them are trying to navigate their new status, and neither are ready to move on from each other. Tal is amazing and lets Alana have the conversations she needs to take the next steps in her life.

And yeah. I recommend this one hard.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

It would be, I think, safe to say that no one in MG/YA at the moment is writing messy lesbian characters like Maggie Horne is writing messy lesbian characters. Do you want your lesbian protagonists to screw up? To hurt people? But more importantly, to have the space to make those mistakes and learn from them? Well, I have three books (for now) that can be for you!

Don’t Let it Break Your Heart follows Alana who, having come out as lesbian, finds herself in pretty much the same position as before, except she and her (now ex) boyfriend are just not technically dating. They’re best friends and still inseparable, which gets tested when a new girl arrives who they both happen to like. As per Maggie Horne’s previous protagonists, Alana decides that the only way to deal with this is to get Gray (the ex) together with Tal (the new girl) as a sort of apology for the break up. Because that makes sense and is totally healthy!

Each of Maggie Horne’s books so far has been kind of tragically funny, so I had some expectation of that going into this. “Don’t let it break your heart,” she says. Well, it’s a bit late for that, Maggie! Heart is well and truly broken! Because this isn’t just a love story between the protagonist and the girl her best friend is crushing on. It’s also about a girl who has been forced out of the closet before she’s ready and a group of friends who, if asked, would say they totally support her, but are actually just as unsure about how to deal with it all as she is. It’s about a girl who is, ostensibly, comfortable with being gay, but more in name than in action, who comes to see she deserves so much better than she’s settled for. All while being a complete and utter lesbian mess.

All of Horne’s books are quite character-driven, and her characters leap off the page. You feel like, for a lot of it, you could be stood right next to them as it’s all happening. But you’re also aware that everything you see in this book is through Alana’s eyes. So, every time you (and Tal) think that Alana’s being treated like shit, you get that kind of dissonance, because (for a lot of the book) Alana doesn’t see it (or even almost seems to think she deserves it/it’s normal). The whole seeing through Alana’s eyes works too on Tal, who is this perfect girl almost idolised by Alana, but it’s when that all breaks down that their relationship is most compelling. Some books you want to stave off any angst for as long as possible: this one I wanted it all (okay, perhaps some of this heart breaking thing was my own fault) and it was juicy when I got it.

All of which to say: I couldn’t recommend this one enough. It’s definitely one you don’t want to be missing out on (along with all of Horne’s other books, yes that’s a hint).

Ah, I have intensely mixed feelings about this book. Our protagonist Alana has been best friends with Gray (lol at UK autocorrect trying to change that to Gary) all their lives, and they started dating in high school. When Alana came out as a lesbian, they swore not to let it affect their friendship even though they'd no longer be romantic partners. Now Tal is new in school, and Gray is immediately interested in her - but so, secretly, is Alana. As Alana realises that Tal might be into her, too, she has some difficult decisions to make. There are some real strengths to Don't Let It Break Your Heart, Maggie Horne's Maine-set YA debut. Most queer YA I've read is either focused on the turmoil of coming out, or stars queer characters who are already comfortable with their sexuality. It was so refreshing to read about the realistic experiences of a teenage girl who has already managed to come out when the book begins, but is still struggling with what that means for her. Horne so effectively captures the selfish discomfort of straight friends who know what the right thing to say is but are still not able to support Alana, and how alienated that makes Alana feel. I really liked how Alana accepts their attitudes without question at the start of the novel but gradually learns to challenge them. Again, a lot of queer YA I've read tends to depict its secondary cast as either straightforward allies or outright homophobes, so this exploration of a much more common grey area was very welcome.

Despite this great material, though, I felt less engaged with most of Don't Let It Break Your Heart than I wanted to be. I struggled with Alana as a protagonist, finding her at first frustrating, and then selfish, given how badly she ends up treating both Tal and Gray. The climax of the novel sees her reckoning with her flaws, which is well-handled, but it took us so long to get there. I wonder if this character arc would have worked better if the book was just a lot shorter. The first half felt somewhat repetitive and I think quite a lot could have been cut to get us to the meat of Alana's dilemma sooner. I also struggled with Tal for the opposite reason - she's just too idealised, the absolutely perfect lesbian who swoops into Alana's school, falls for her, and wants to introduce her to queer culture despite Alana blocking things at every turn. I did get that Tal could see how difficult things had been for Alana much more than Alana herself could, and so this made some sense of her selflessness, but she didn't feel convincing to me. The only scene that came alive between them for me was the big argument they have over Lavender Menace. In contrast, Gray gets to be an actual real human being, and so I was much more invested in their friendship than in Alana and Tal's relationship.

However, the very fact that I wanted to write this much about this book still sets it head and shoulders over many others, and I did love how Horne managed to balance the importance of friendship, romance, and your own ambitions by the end... so I would read more by her. 3.5 stars.