I was interested to read this book as it dealt with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition my husband was diagnosed with some years ago. From the start I liked Abby and felt her pain when she discovered that she had HCM and could never swim competitively again. She made some very rash, stupid decisions along the way but her journey of self-discovery was an interesting one as she finally came to terms with the loss of her dream.

I loved that she had a close-knit family with two parents who adored her. This is often unusual in YA novels. I also enjoyed the friendship Abby had with her bestie, Jen. Jen was such a read, supportive character who stood by Abby.

Unfortunately, there was a love triangle involved, but Connor was so shallow and self-centred that it was easy to see that Abby was going to end up in Alec's arms. Overall, though, "A Matter of Heart" was an engaging, touching read showing what it truly means to have heart. ( )

This was a book I received in a subscription box, and I truly thought I would read a chapter or 2 and then DNF this. However; I was wrong. The next thing I knew I was 100 pages in and then I found myself finishing the whole book in less than one day.

This is a book about a young girl who is living the dream of becoming an Olympic swimmer. It is who she is and all she knows. When a life threatening condition comes out of nowhere, her life it turned upside down. You find yourself scared for her and scared for what will happen to her if she does not learn to let her dream go (or will she die for her dream.)

The writing was really good and I found myself flying through this. As I mentioned, I read this only one day.

I think this is a great read for anyone, but especially teens. It shows how much more to life there really is and how one day everything can change. ( )

I wanted to read this one because I am drawn to the heavy contemporaries, especially those dealing with teen illness. It has kinda been my thing since loving Lurlene McDaniel in middle school--well I still do really. Plus the aspect of her swimming competitively and the Olympic goals.

I liked that I got a full sense of Abby's life before she got her diagnosis. I got to see how much she loved swimming and how it has been in her blood since she was young. I got to see how much time and effort she put into it and even though her dad was once an Olympic hopeful and his chance was ruined by an injury, I could see how much Abby took ownership over pushing herself, wanting to get to the next level, and her passion and drive that comes from within.

I liked the family aspect in this one. It was nice to see a father being so involved. Yes, he would talk with Abby about her meets, giving her advice, and being supportive, but I could see that even though it helped her that he loved it and was there for her, the desire to compete and get to the next level was within her, and he just supported. Her mom was also a constant in her life, and as a mom myself, I can totally see where her worry came in. She worried that her husband pushed too hard, and that Abby was depriving herself of the normal teenage life. But she ultimately supported Abby.

When she got sick, Abby saw her as trying to keep her away from her dream. But Abby didn't really grasp, or she refused to understand the seriousness of what the doctor told her about her illness. That getting her heartrate up could cause death or cardiac arrest. She heard the word that it was mild to moderate and she thought that meant that she was out of danger. Abby's mom just wanted to protect her and wanted to see her daughter live, not be involved in risky behavior and the sport she so loved end up killing her in what would have been preventable death.

The romance was a little problematic for me. She is with a handsome guy and he is one of the top swimmers, but there is a lot of tension and she is hyper-aware of his competition Alex. They are thrown together a lot and I liked their chemistry but with she wouldn't have been with Connor, and there wouldn't have been the doubt on her part compounded by accusations from Alex. I wish it would have been one guy or the other, and not have her back and forth. Connor and her at first seem to be mostly the physical attraction and having swimming and being good as their main connection. But Alex is kind, and he is great with kids while they are working together giving swim lessons. He seems to be more understanding of her illness, and worried about her instead of freaking out.

I did enjoy the friendship in this one. Her bestie Jen would tell it like it is, and that was something that Abby needed, she had her dad to help with the swimming, but Jen would tell it to her straight about both her illness, and boys. She was smart and she shared interests with Abby, but she was tough and bold, and I loved her for it.

I like the way that things wrapped up and the important discoveries about herself, her passions, and what it means to have heart, even if there is a physical problem. I think that the only way for her to learn was the hard way, and since a lot of young adults really have a hard concept of not being indestructible, I think that it was a lesson that would only be learned by making some poor decisions and being faced with consequences.

Bottom Line: Great look at a teen reevaluating her dreams and what she considered a fundamental part of her identity when faced with a heart condition. ( )

3.75/5 ( )

A 3.5 star book. ( )