This year I’m slowly trying to catch up with some overdue eARCs and Every Borrowed Beat was one of these books. It’s also one that I wished I read sooner. YA isn’t what I read the most of anymore, but this is a hidden gem. Let me tell you all about it and what I thought.

A big thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with an eARC to read and review. This doesn’t affect my opinion in any way.

For fans of FIVE FEET APART, this emotional and romantic YA offers an unflinching look at not only the realities of heart failure, but at memory, grief, guilt, and what it means to live—in spite of another, because of another, for another. For yourself.

Sydney Wells should have died. She was supposed to die.

She never expected, after years of waiting, to receive a heart transplant. Now, seventeen-year-old Sydney doesn’t know what to do with her life. Her daily routine consisted of staying indoors, eating heart-healthy foods, and posting about her transplant list experiences on TheWaitingList with her long-distance BFF (and heart failure buddy) Chloe.

Now, Sydney latches onto the one thing that gives her learning as much as she can about the person whose heart she inherited. After finding the family of her likely-donor, Mia, Sydney falls deep into her world—and may also be falling for Mia’s best friend, Clayton.

But Sydney isn’t the only one hiding something. Mia’s brother Tanner won’t talk to Clayton, and Clayton won’t tell Mia why. And hundreds of miles away, Chloe’s health has taken a turn for the worse. Sydney needs to face what’s in her heart—the truth, the guilt, and the future—before it’s too late.

Review

Every Borrowed Beat is one of the cases of I should’ve read this book a lot sooner! I used to read a lot of YA books, but I read a little less these days. This book is a hidden gem I think I read at the perfect time. Erin Stewart hit me in all the feels with this book and it was an emotional rollercoaster. I was even tearing up while on my commute to work reading this story.

I can’t imagine what it’s like having your heart fail you and not knowing if you’ll be able to get a transplant in time. Our main character, Sydney, got a second chance in life when a heart became available for her. Sydney never expected to get this chance or all of the feelings she’s experiencing after the transplant. Especially the guilt that someone had to die for her to still be alive. I loved Sydney’s journey. It has to be incredibly hard to also continue on with your life. So she decides to see if she can find her donor’s family.

In Every Borrowed Beat we see Sydney learn how to fall in love with life again, believe in her heart, and fall in love. I appreciated that Erin Stewart didn’t sugarcoat anything. Just because she got a new heart doesn’t mean everything is magically better. There’s guilt, doubt, friends that are still sick, and learning to think about the future. This is a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time.

After reading this book and loving it, I’ll definitely catch up with Erin’s backlist. Have you read any books lately that you know you will be thinking about for awhile? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!