The Brokenhearted

✍ Scribed by Amelia Kahaney

• Book ID: 111976750
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: en-US
• Weight: 312 KB
• Series: Brokenhearted
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780062230942

✦ Synopsis

Perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer's The Lunar Chronicles and Marie Lu's Legend series, Amelia Kahaney's The Brokenhearted is a gorgeous, gritty, and imaginative take on the superhero story. Anthem Fleet, talented ballerina and heir to the Fleet fortune, has always been closely guarded by her parents in their penthouse apartment. Lured by the handsome and dangerous Gavin, Anthem is drawn into the dark and exhilarating world on the wrong side of town. But when the couple runs into trouble, Gavin goes missing and Anthem winds up dead . . . only to awaken in an underground lab with a bionic heart ticking in her chest. Now she can run faster, jump higher, fight better. But the only thing that matters to her is getting Gavin back. And when she uncovers the sinister truth behind those she trusted the most, she is determined to use her newfound powers for the ultimate revenge.

Set in the ruined fictional landscape of Bedlam, a Gotham-like city, this tale of heartbreak and revenge is both gripping and cinematic.

From Booklist

In the dystopian city of Bedlam, rich, privileged teen Anthem Fleet falls madly in love with Gavin, a poor artist of the South Side. Risking her parents’ wrath and the ire of her abusive, vindictive boyfriend, Anthem sneaks to Gavin’s warehouse apartment for a night of lovemaking, only to have it broken up by masked individuals who kidnap Gavin. Alone, she struggles to find her way back home, a journey that gets her killed and then revived with a hummingbird heart transplant and a determination to avenge her lover’s kidnapping. Kahaney approaches this rather troubling story with a light touch. Bedlam’s newspaper is the Daily Dilemma, and people get hooked on Droopies, MoodEases, and Pharms; smoke Rollies; and frequent the Hades Mall. Bad guys gas-and-dash, poisoning people with giggle gas to harvest their organs and sell them at the Chop Shop, while rich drug addicts detox at Weepee Valley after Interventions or Anxiety Assessments. But the story itself is troubling and violent, a miserable juxtaposition of a society—and love—gone bad and the surprising power of hope. Grades 8-12. --Frances Bradburn

Review

“Gorgeously written and richly imagined, this heart–pounding, high–octane novel of suspense, romance, and revenge introduces a stunning new voice in YA fiction as well as a new kind of superhero. You won’t be able to put this one down.” — NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Aimee Friedman

“An urgent dare–ya through a darkly, wildly imagined future. Go ahead and try to predict the hairpin turns and steep reverses as you race through this sharply–conceived urban odyssey.” — Adele Griffin, author of ALL YOU NEVER WANTED

“A ripping…page-turner.” — Kirkus Reviews

“graceful world–building [with] strong characterizations and an enveloping plot…” — Publishers Weekly

“Anthem, with her unwillingness to be just another brokenhearted girl, will likely inspire legions of teenage girls to forget the guys and go kick some butt.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“With the dystopian angle, the fast–paced action, and the stellar cover, this novel is bound to float/fly off the shelves.” — School Library Journal

From the Back Cover

Some kinds of Heartbreak aren't temporary.

High in her tower above Bedlam City, prima ballerina Anthem Fleet has lived her whole life by her parents' strict rules, never leaving the sparkling, pristine North Side. Until she meets Gavin. An artist from the dangerous South Side of town, Gavin is like no one Anthem has ever met—and she falls for him suddenly and completely.

But Gavin's world is as dangerous as it is intoxicating, and their romance crashes down around them one terrible night when they are attacked on the South Side and Gavin is kidnapped. When she wakes in a dark, blood-soaked lab, Anthem has a jagged scar down her chest . . . and an experimental bionic heart ticking inside her.

As Anthem will soon realize, her new mechanical heart didn't just save her life—it left her with a strange and terrifying new strength. A strength that she's going to need if she has any chance of rescuing Gavin and mending the scattered pieces of her broken heart.

About the Author

Amelia Kahaney grew up in San Diego, California, and Hilo, Hawaii. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, she moved to New York City and received her MFA in fiction writing at Brooklyn College. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Nonrequired Reading and appears in several literary magazines. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and son.