The Quick Cut: A sister is desperate to save her younger sibling who was born with a heart defect known as stenosis. Things take a dramatic turn when help comes in shall we say, mythical ways?
A Real Review:
Thank you to Kaylie Jones Books for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The bond between siblings is one of those oddities that many people share. Love them or hate them, you have a bond that can never quite be broken and they always know how to drive you crazy. However, when they get sick? All that emotion gets thrown out the window in most cases because family is a powerful thing. In this book, the story of sisters Quinn and Riley spend their lives working off just that feeling.
From the moment Riley was born, she's had a heart problem that everyone said would kill her. Known as stenosis, the hole means that she continues to degeneration and even with a new organ, there would be no guarantee of a relapse. Hope isn't a word in her vocabulary as her doctor says she wont make it to her 7th birthday and she's 6 now. So what does her older sister Quinn promise herself she'll do? Find a way to get Riley a new heart.
Quinn's journey takes an unexpected turn when the answer to her sister's problem comes in the form of an alternate realm with a mysterious bulb. Like any perfect cure though, this comes with consequences for both Quinn and Riley. Will this bring them closer together or split them apart?
Oh this poor family. Beyond the fact that Riley was born with a malfunctioning heart, she also has no dad and an older sister who plays mom more often than sibling out of necessity. I couldn't help but root for them as they jumped through each hurdle to keep going (especially once Quinn got the other realm solution involved). The sibling relationship here is palpable while the relationship with mom starts to fall apart a bit. It's interesting seeing which connection stays strong and which gets torn to pieces.
One particular piece bothered me about this story and it was the historical subplot. As cute as it was and the author tried to connect it to what was happening with the sisters, this really felt more like distraction than adding to the world or its character's depth. By the end, we really could've done without it and still been fairly well off (although I understand why the addition was made).
With two sisters and their willingness to go to the ends of the earth for each other, this book will tug at your heart strings till the very end.
My rating: 4 out of 5