While there wasn’t too much heavy romance in The Anatomical Shape of a Heart, I loved the mature discussions about sex between Beatrix and Jack. Regarding intimacy, Jenn Bennett does not shy away from intimate scenes and romance. Beatrix is a fairly independent and responsible protagonist, which for better or worse, gave more space for her relationship with Jack to grow. One of my favorite elements of Jenn Bennett’s books is the characters’ maturity. This has been one of my own summer jobs and being that so many teens find themselves working in the same place, it was such a cool and relatable element. A personal like, but I also loved Beatrix’s summer job as a grocery store cashier. I’ve read a few books that take place in San Francisco, but Jenn Bennett really sets the scene between SF’s artistic scene, and yes, its public transportation system (thank you to Stephanie Perkin’s Lola and the Boy Next Door for giving me some prep on BART!). Beatrix is a very responsible and fairly independent protagonist. We follow eighteen year old and rising high school senior, Beatrix, and her budding romance with graffiti artist, Jack. Less than 300 pages long, The Anatomical Shape of a Heart is the perfect way to escape to summertime San Francisco. It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Jenn Bennett’s books- did I mention here before that Serious Moonlight and Starry Eyes are two of my all-time favorite YA contemporaries? And that I have much for love for Alex, Approximately? AND that I am so happy that I have my hands on a ARC of The Lady Rogue?That being said, it was time to read the only published YA book of hers I haven’t read, The Anatomical Shape of a Heart.

But will these secrets come back to haunt him? Or will the skeletons in her family’s closet tear them apart?

On midnight buses and city rooftops, Beatrix begins to see who Jack really is-and tries to uncover what he’s hiding that leaves him so wounded.

But when she tries to sneak her way into the hospital’s Willed Body program and misses the last metro train home, she meets a boy who turns her summer plans upside down.Jack is charming, wildly attractive, and possibly one of San Francisco’s most notorious graffiti artists. Determined to follow in Da Vinci’s footsteps, she’s ready to tackle the one thing that will give her an advantage in a museum-sponsored scholarship contest: drawing actual cadavers. Beatrix Adams knows exactly how she’s spending the summer before her senior year.

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