How to Break A Heart(Hardback) - 2015 Edition

by Kiera Stewart

This time, even ice cream won't help.

Nick Wainwright is definitely the love of thirteen-year-old Mabry Collins's life, and when he dumps her in the most mortifying way possible, her heart is shattered. So, maybe they'd never kissed, but they had shared something special. They'd shared LOVE. True love. She's sure of it.

And Mabry would know. She's watched countless episodes of her favorite telenovela with her best friend, Sirina, and the characters have taught her everything about romance.

But when Sirina's usual methods for comforting Mabry fail, she has an it's time for Mabry to break a heart of her own. And who better than Thad Bell to teach Mabry how to do it? He was the source of her very first heartbreak, and he seems to have his own reasons for wanting to see Nick suffer.

Mabry decides to give it a shot, but she's pretty sure Thad's advice will lead to disaster. After all, his sole passion is a burrito with extra hot sauce. Anyone with any sense knows that true love doesn't come in a foil wrapper! But if Thad can help her win back-um, that is, break-Nick's heart, then it might just be worth it.

Genres: Romance, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Teen, Contemporary, Friendship

Unknown Binding

First published December 22, 2015

About the author

Kiera Stewart is a writer for teens and tweens. Her qualifications include never having gotten wisdom teeth, and having the same best friend since eighth grade.

Kiera is the author of three novels: FETCHING; HOW TO BREAK A HEART; and THE SUMMER OF BAD IDEAS. You can learn more and connect with Kiera at www.kierastewart.com.

Reviews

[Fafa's Book Corner · Rating 1 out of 5]

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I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and Disney Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.

DNF

I was really excited to see this on Netgalley. I had kept on eye on this for months to see when I could request it. When the time came I did so. Unfortunately when I started reading this I did not enjoy this. Seeing as I didn't really get that far in this I am not going to use a spoiler tag.

This book begins with Marby and her best friend Sirina watching her favourite telenovela. Marby gets a call from her boyfriend Nick. She picks up and a woman answers. Marby's first assumption is that Nick is cheating on her with a woman. The woman turns out to be Nick's mother. His mother explains that Nick is currently in karate practice. She says that he wants to take karate seriously therefore he wants to break up with Marby. And has his mother do it. Marby is a mess because she believes that she and Nick are meant to be. I did not read farther.

I found Marby to be annoying, very dramatic, and kind of crazy. She had a very big obsession with the idea of love and the telenovela. She truly believed that she and Nick were meant to be. And rather than being angry at Nick she is still in love with him.

I understand that she was upset about the break up but I was surprised that she wasn't mad at him. I mean he did get his mom to break up with her. That was pretty low. Instead Marby believed that his mother wanted him to focus on karate and his mother pressured him into breaking up. It was probably because the week before the book begins she told him that she loved him. He probably freaked out.

When I read about the beginning of the telenovela I found it to be ridiculous and over dramatic. I hate shows like that. It gives me a headache and it is annoying to keep up with all the drama.

The only nice thing I have to say is that this book is funny! Some of Marby's dramatic behaviour was amusing to read about. Especially when she tried to get out of going to school by claiming that she had Alice in Wonderland syndrome.

Overall this was not good book. I cannot recommend this to anyone.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald]

DNF after three chapters. Just couldn’t get into this one; “Fetching” was much better.

[Makayla Spiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good for a early summer romance. It is good and gives you the butterflies.

[Lenni Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

I pick up every book I read thinking that it sounds interesting and I can't wait for the chance to read it. Sadly, this one was far from I had been hoping it would be like. How to Break a Heart was just kinda stupid. It belongs on Hallmark channel, it was so cheesy. Usually I don't mind cheesy but something about this book just bugged me. I couldn't stand this book and I'm happy it's over. Sorry, I just wasn't liking this book.

[Vanessa Linares · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to break a Heart is a really good story. The interesting part was reading about Mabry trying to break a heart because Nick broke hers. I recommend this book if you love romance stories.

[Emily Avila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book, How to Break a Heart because I like how there watching tv. And her friend is like what is going on ans she doesn't get all the romtiac stuuf becuase she is more of a tomboy unlike her friend.The one that thinks that the tv show is intersing likes all the romtiac stuff like how she has a boyfriend. Her doesnt have a boyfriend. I really recommand this book. I recommand this to people who like drama.

[Mileena · Rating 3 out of 5]

How To Break A Heart
3/5 stars

I loved the Spanish/telenovela elements, the idea of the book, and the side characters. Not to mention this cover is gorgeous. But the main character is not a good role model for young girls.

Mabry-
She is honestly I think the most irritating, infuriating character I've ever read from. Like the last book I read before this one was in the perspective of a fourteen year old girl and that protagonist did not irritate me at all, so I know that it wasn't just her age. It was her lovesick obnoxiousness and how naive she was. Plus she treated the people closest to her, Sirina and Thad like shit. She only cared about that stupid ass Nick. I couldn't stand being in her head.

Thad-
I ADORED him. This little precious cinnamon roll had to deal with such a shit hand. His home life storyline was so endearing. Seeing his dynamic with Mabry and seeing him slowly falling love with her was one of the most precious things ever. Even though I didn't care for her, I loved looking at her through his eyes. My little thug muffin.

Pictured as: Lil Xan

Sirina-
I loved how ambitious she was with her dedication to the school paper. And she put up with so much from Mabry and didn't deserve to be taken for granted as much as she did. Also the goodnight texts were precious.

Nick-
He was irrelevant. A bit of a cutie, but was a pussy with how he broke up with her, and he only liked her when she wasn't being herself, despite how annoying her real self was, which is sickening.

Pictured as: Shawn Mendes

Overall-
It is very good for the middle grade audience, it has such a precious slow burn romance, and a refreshing concept. Would recommend, but I don't think it's for everyone.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stewart, Kiera How to Break a Heart, 320 pages. Disney-Hyperion, 2015. $16.99. Language: G (0 swear, 0 ‘f’, ) Mature Content: G; Violence: G (hints of abuse).

True love is something that everyone wishes to find and thirteen-year-old Mabry Collins is lucky enough to have found her one true love, Nick Wainwright. Mabry is utterly shocked when Nick's mother breaks up with her, over the phone on Nick's behalf. Mabry can't help but feel absolutely heartbroken. With the help of her best friend Sirina and Thad, her former boyfriend from fourth grade, Mabry will learn how to break a heart, but not just any heart. Mabry must break Nick's heart. The book was nicely written and had hints of Latin culture throughout the story.

It was good to read a book where the main character, Mabry, was into something that was different than most girls her age, that being telenovelas. I loved that How to Break a Heart not only shared the story of Mabry but of Thad as well. Although, it was confusing how the narrative changed from a first-person to a third-person. Kiera Stewart did a good job at showing how girls in middle school can obsess over their crushes. I have to admit reading this book took me weeks to finish. Normally I can finish a book this long in a matter of days but How to Break a Heart just wasn't my cup of tea. The plot was pretty bland and everything was very predictable. The biggest problem for me was Mabry's personality. She was very dramatic throughout the whole book.

MS-OPTIONAL Student Reviewer: ML
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...

[Mikayyy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pick up this book thinking that the cover was cute, it was really a cover buy for me, since I got this book I was really having a hard time of reading it continuously because of my reading slump but when I overcome my slump I found the story very cute and entertaining. There are some parts which makes me cringe because of its immature content, but it has a lot of funny stuffs as well that makes me laugh real hard. I kinda actually enjoy this book I feel like im gonna gove it a 5 stars if I just read it when I was 15 years old.

[Amy]

Content: There are some instances of crude humor. Maybe some mild cursing, but I can’t remember. Maybe the p word for anger.

I really thought this book was pretty funny. If you can look past a main, female character that has unrealistic feelings and thoughts on love, I think this book is very fun. I liked it more than I thought I would.

[Ria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good, cheesy teenage romance novel. nothing too spectacular, but it was a good happy break from my usual, sad novels lmao.

[Norlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

People who like childish, cringe type of love will love this.

[Piper Pringle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really cute, feel-good ya contemporary romance. The touches of telenovela drama added just enough flair and humor to an otherwise predictable but overall cute contemporary.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was a decently cute book, with some classic middle school problems, emotions, and relationships. It didn't hold my attention but it wasn't bad, I just think I was outside the target audience.

[Dini Prastyadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's really light and cute. I love the way Thad Bell keep calling her "Collins" instead of Mabry because it's just too cute. I found myself giggling and smiling, the puppy love is always so cute!💕

[Megan]

This book is astonishing, and I have read it many times. Can't wait to get a copy!

[Samenta Doristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is your all into it but really good if your like 12

[noah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a kid and it was great

[Brittney McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t remember it but I enjoyed.

[Kiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once someone asked me what kind of movies I liked seeing in theaters and I had told him that I hated rom-coms because I thought they were stupid. Well, only half of that statement was actually true. The truth is I LOVE rom-coms, but I still think they are stupid. The characters are usually very two dimensional, the plot lacks realism, and they usually have scenes that are I find uncomfortable because I feel embarrassed for the characters. But still, they’re just so darn addicting. Why is this relevant? Well, because this book is nothing but a rom-com movie on paper for middle school student. And I LOVED it. This brought out the teenage girl in me that lives somewhere in the corners of my brain. It was so cute. The little romance and the way all the characters interacted with one another; I just couldn’t turn away from the book.
Honestly, after the first 5 pages I decided that I already didn’t like Mabry, but that was pretty much expected. I mean, really, she’s 13 and she’s so melodramatic. I mean, I guess I am sort of a skeptic on the whole idea that you can meet your true love at 13 and know he’s your true love, but Mabry somehow thinks you can. And when her “true love," Nick, breaks up with her through his mom (truly horrifying) she spirals into a middle school depression. I’ve read enough of this genre to know that Mabry is going to try to win back Nick and then after Nick starts to get interested in her again she’s probably going to reject him for the boy that has been helping her win Nick back (her “coach”). I almost stopped reading after Nick breaks up with her and she acts like she’s dying, but I didn’t. I knew (or at least I was really hoping) that if I could make it past the Mabry is mopey stage and see her with her new coach that I would like her better. And thankfully, I did. She didn’t really chill out or anything, and there were still some moments in the book where she has monologues about how much she loves Nick, but I sort of just read through those quickly and waited until she meet up with Thad again.
The one thing that I wanted more of was moments of Nick getting jealous of Mabry and Thad, but Nick barely interacted with Thad at all. When Nick runs into Mabry and Thad at the mall, I was absolutely thrilled because I thought there was going to be an intense showdown (it wasn’t as dramatic as I'd hoped it would be). Nonetheless, when Thad comes running to the mall to interrupt Nick and Mabry’s date, I couldn’t help but smile stupidly. The whole situation was so clichéd as was the romance, but sometimes I’m a sucker for those. The moment I meet Thad, I was already rooting for him and Mabry to get together and when they did I was so satisfied.
Overall, I thought this book was amazing and I wish there were more I could read. I couldn’t put this book down. Starting this book right before bed was a really bad idea. Throughout the night, I kept telling myself, “Once I finish this chapter I’ll go to bed.” Then I would finish the chapter and then say to myself, “Just one more.” Even though I loved this book, I can see why other people wouldn’t. It’s riddled with clichés and stereotypes, and like I said above it has the typical flaws of a romantic comedy. The characters are incredibly one dimensional (even Thad who’s had a tragedy hit his family) and sometimes it’s hard to imagine that they are 13 and in eighth grade. I do feel that I should mention that I read this from 11:30pm to 3:30am at night, so maybe my judgment was a little cloudy and I was too tired to accurately critique this book. Still, I was able to find a lot of enjoyment in it, so I think it’s worth recommending to people who love a good clichéd romance. This is definitely directed to the younger audience, which I actually thought worked really well because the romance wasn’t too “heavy,” if you know what I mean.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 2 out of 5]

How to Break a Heart is the latest novel from Fetching author Kiera Stewart. Mabry is sure she is in love with her boyfriend, Nick, so she is utterly shocked when his mother breaks up with her over the phone on his behalf. She is so desperate to have him back that Mabry teams up with Thad, her former boyfriend from fourth grade, who promises to help her get her boyfriend back if she will promise to hurt him in the end. With encouragement from her best friend and inspiration from her favorite telenovela, Mabry begins to learn how to break a heart, all while secretly plotting to derail the plan at the last second.

I have to admit that I had a really hard time getting through this book. It should have been possible for me to finish it in a couple of hours, but it wound up taking me weeks. The main problem of the story - that Mabry has lost her boyfriend - is introduced through an utterly inauthentic interaction between Mabry and Nick's mom, where the mother spouts a series of cliches that make her more of a talking head than a character. Then, the narrative shifts from Mabry's first-person telenovela-inspired gushing to Thad's third-person complaints about his lot in life. There is no connection at all between Mabry's chapters and Thad's chapters during this early part of the story, so this shift in perspective is jarring and almost caused me to abandon the book entirely.

As I stuck with the story, it did become more interesting, especially in the middle of the book. Thad's difficult family situation makes him much more sympathetic than he is at first glance, and, after he breaks a window at Mabry's school, there is a sense of suspense surrounding why he did it and whether Mabry will find out that it was him. Sadly, though, my building interest was thwarted yet again when his motivation for punching the window is revealed, as it is not nearly interesting enough to warrant all the build-up. The resolution of Mabry's original problem is also predictable, and therefore not very interesting, so the whole book just winds up feeling "off."

Kiera Stewart has a good understanding of the way middle grade girls obsess over their crushes, and about the strong emotions that rule the lives of young adolescents in general. My problems with this book are, I think, symptoms of age, more than anything. This is a book written very much for its intended audience, and it may not be possible for someone over the age of 14 or 15 to get much from it. Mabry's constant chatter exhausted me, and I kept rolling my eyes at how ridiculously she was acting, even though I can still remember a time when I acted the same way.

How to Break a Heart is similar in subject matter to many of the Aladdin Mix books, and to books by Lauren Barnholdt and Lauren Myracle. For a better-written variation on the same theme, see if you can find a copy of R.L. Stine's 1988 novel, How I Broke up with Ernie.

[Dr.ShadowHallows · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was surprisingly ok. I mean it was a little hard to believe at first but I kind of get it. Mabry is at that age where you learn of love and have this whole understanding of love even though you might be wrong. I will admit some of these lines were funny. The news articles for one are hilarious I particularly love the first one with the whole band interview. It's hard to find contemporaries with a 13 year old main character and I myself thought it was ok. Funny because I ended up hating this book the first 100 pages and then got used to it and ended staying late to try and finish this book. Obviously I have to go somewhere in the morning sooooo I didn't find finish. But it all good I read it in the morning. I think the best part was when Thad was "heartsick" and I was like: "HAH IN YOUR FACE THAD!"

[Celeste Rocha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What surprises me the most is that he breaks up with her in the worsest way, I would feel the same way as her. Mabry tries all that she can to get some experience by watching her favorite telemundo show with her friend so that she can apply it to her relationship. There was a lot of parts were it was just to much handle since there was so many good things to know about between the relationship. This will really be recommended for people that like surprising twists to it that you wouldn't expect or meanings that can help you with something hard like Mabry. As you read you can just tell that being in her shoes, you could have handled it better , but she couldn't!

[Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of a kind! I love it! It almost makes me feel like im ready the story of the authors life! It is just...AMAZING! This is just too good to describe! I just love this book, its really well written and has an amazing plot! The book is really well thought of and everything, honestly, i would read that book over, and over, and over agian. This is the perfect book for teens looking for a nice and plot twisting romance story. This is a must read book, and to all you teens out there, do me a favor and just at least try this book out. I read 3 pages of it and i just couldnt stop reading! But the ending was nothing that i could have ever thought of......

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rounding up from 2.5, mostly because it was definitely part of the teen romance genre. Having said that, I had a difficult time remembering that Mabry was only 13! Many times it read like she was older, perhaps in 9th or 10th grade (not 8th) and I wonder if the author was hoping to reach a younger audience by making her 13? And Thad? Even knowing his backstory didn't make him likable. The telenovela parts were funny and it would have been great if they'd been a larger part.

ARC provided by publisher.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once you get past the fact that the main character, Mabry Collins, is perhaps the most annoying, boy-obsessed thirteen-year-old you'll ever have to read about, then you'll start to enjoy this cute plot line that is somewhat predictable but is still quite satisfying. I got this book as a gift from my friend for my birthday and decided to read it, and I thought it was well-worth the read even though I'll probably never read it again! Very cute none-the-less, but Mabry is EXTREMELY annoying and as soon as I started reading the first chapter I started cringing!!!

[julia zoel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started gaining an interest in novels when I was 12 and this was the one I read first and foremost at that age, It’s been years now and I still love the chemistry between Mabry and Thad. Thad was my first book crush so I need to give a massive thanks to the writer, Kiera Stewart for creating such a good character that a 12 year old could crush on and swoon over 😭😭😭 lowkey just a cute little story about learning what love is and all that you would do for someone you love without it being too heavy and keeping it child friendly <3

[Lisa Nagel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather sweet middle grade story about a girl who is fascinated with the idea of being in love, but is just starting to understand what that all means. This one defiantly improved as it went on, a bit uneven for me at the beginning, but I enjoyed seeing the character of Aubrey grow and her friendships develop along with her character.

[Alyssa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like this was just a bland plot. And too predictable from start to finish. She loves him she hates him and back and forth. And then she's just thirteen. I had originally mistaken this for "thirty" when I picked this book from my library. (I blame my screaming one year old for that mistake) This might be a good book for a preteen. But for a grown woman in her mid twenties, I wasted 4 hours.

[T.J. Burns]

I received a copy of this book from Disney-Hyperion via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.