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Cures for Heartbreak
"If she dies, I'll die," are the words 15-year-old Mia Perlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Twelve days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and their father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden, unfathomable loss.
For Mia, this means getting through a funeral led by a rabbi who belongs in Las Vegas; dealing with a social worker who appears to have been educated at the local beauty academy; sharing "healthy heart" meals with her father, who seems to be seeing her for the first time; trying to relate to her sister, whose idea of fun is solving quadtratic equations; and developing a crush on Cancer Guy, who is actually kind of cute. But mostly it means carrying the image of her mother with her everywhere, because some kinds of love never die. Still, even in grief there is the chance for new beginnings.
For Mia, this means getting through a funeral led by a rabbi who belongs in Las Vegas; dealing with a social worker who appears to have been educated at the local beauty academy; sharing "healthy heart" meals with her father, who seems to be seeing her for the first time; trying to relate to her sister, whose idea of fun is solving quadtratic equations; and developing a crush on Cancer Guy, who is actually kind of cute. But mostly it means carrying the image of her mother with her everywhere, because some kinds of love never die. Still, even in grief there is the chance for new beginnings.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 13, 2007
14 people are currently reading
899 people want to read
About the author
Margo Rabb
11Ìýbooks162ÌýfollowersMargo Rabb is the author of the novels Lucy Clark Will Not Apologize, Kissing in America, Cures for Heartbreak, and the Missing Persons series. Kissing in America and Cures for Heartbreak both received four starred reviews; Kissing in America was named a best book of the year by the New York Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, and the American Library Association, and was named to the Amelia Bloomer Project’s List of Recommended Feminist Literature. Her essays, journalism, book reviews, and short stories have been published in The New York Times, The New York Times Book Review, The Atlantic, Slate, Salon, Marie Claire, The Rumpus, Zoetrope: All-Story, Seventeen, Best New American Voices, New Stories from the South, One Story, One Teen Story, and elsewhere, and have been broadcast on NPR. She received the grand prize in the Zoetrope short story contest, first prize in The Atlantic fiction contest, first prize in the American Fiction contest, and a PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award. She’s received fellowships from The MacDowell Colony, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference, and the Sewanee Writer’s Conference. Margo grew up in Queens, New York, and has lived in Texas, Arizona, and the Midwest; she now lives in the Philadelphia area with her family.
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Instagram: @margo_rabb
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website:
Instagram: @margo_rabb
Twitter: @margorabb
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 131 reviews
April 20, 2017
It’s not so much that Mia Pearlman’s mother dies, but that it happens so quickly—just 12 days after being diagnosed with melanoma. She’d had a stomachache. Initially, this is Mia’s dilemma, and in the first few pages of Cures for Heartbreak, Margo Rabb introduces this dilemma exactly how one would expect a 15-year-old girl to comprehend it—with anger, sadness, and a glaring need to find any ounce of humor in a situation a million miles away from being funny. As the story progresses, Mia’s dilemma changes drastically as she comes to understand what the loss of her mother really means to her, especially in light of having nothing in common with her sister and recollecting the dysfunction in the relationship between her parents.
At the height of her grief, Mia is dealt another gut-wrenching blow when her father suffers a heart attack just three months after the death of her mother, and all at a time in Mia’s life when building friendships and finding love weigh heavy on her mind. In the hospital, she falls for a young doctor, and later, for a teenage boy who shares a room with her father. She nicknames him Cancer Boy, and throughout the rest of the novel, he haunts her by the mere fact that he represents the uncertainty of life and death, especially when she struggles with being a newly developed hypochondriac and the budding relationship between her father and another woman. Mia’s journey ends with the discovery of a new friendship, the development of a fresh bond with her sister and father, and in the end, Cancer Boy comes back to be the stepping stone toward a new beginning.
Mia’s voice is powerful—sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes filled with sarcastic humor. I was immediately drawn to her struggle, not just at being a 15-year-old girl trying to make her way through life the way any other 15-year-old girl would, but at trying to survive with her father and sister in a house suddenly void of the mother she loved so much. The mother/daughter bond was both glorious and painful, making Mia’s struggle that much deeper. Rabb’s portrayal of Mia’s constant battle between grief and acceptance, between want and need is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and is a lesson for any writer wanting to tackle such a topic.
At the height of her grief, Mia is dealt another gut-wrenching blow when her father suffers a heart attack just three months after the death of her mother, and all at a time in Mia’s life when building friendships and finding love weigh heavy on her mind. In the hospital, she falls for a young doctor, and later, for a teenage boy who shares a room with her father. She nicknames him Cancer Boy, and throughout the rest of the novel, he haunts her by the mere fact that he represents the uncertainty of life and death, especially when she struggles with being a newly developed hypochondriac and the budding relationship between her father and another woman. Mia’s journey ends with the discovery of a new friendship, the development of a fresh bond with her sister and father, and in the end, Cancer Boy comes back to be the stepping stone toward a new beginning.
Mia’s voice is powerful—sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes filled with sarcastic humor. I was immediately drawn to her struggle, not just at being a 15-year-old girl trying to make her way through life the way any other 15-year-old girl would, but at trying to survive with her father and sister in a house suddenly void of the mother she loved so much. The mother/daughter bond was both glorious and painful, making Mia’s struggle that much deeper. Rabb’s portrayal of Mia’s constant battle between grief and acceptance, between want and need is both beautiful and heartbreaking, and is a lesson for any writer wanting to tackle such a topic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
attempted-to-read
April 15, 2009 I actually read a good chunk of the book, but after a while there was just too much suckage going on. I skimmed the rest of the book, but it took me about 2 hours to "skim" so I ended up reading most of it. I guess I liked how it ended, and Mia's voice was very honest and raw. It's hard to say what exactly kept me from reading the whole thing through. I think it's because I didn't understand Mia. I know that she was mourning her mother's death and that there are a lot of other things going on, but I hated the decisions she made. Just because she has a lot of stuff to deal with doesn't mean that her judgment is completely impaired. I know it sounds like I'm judging the way she mourned, but I couldn't understand why she did things. There were funny parts and it was very honest to life. I just couldn't bring myself to read the whole thing through.
May 6, 2009
I found this book to be very well written and touching.
When Mia is 15, her mother is diagnosed with melanoma, then dies 12 days later. Mia had been very close to her mother. They understood each other, in the same way Mia's sister Alex and their father understand each other. Just as the family is figuring out their new roles, Mia's father has a heart attack, followed by Alex leaving for college.
The book is about Mia, her growing up and her healing. Along the way, we see some of her father's story and her sister's story as well. Each of them is an interesting character, but only Mia is truly compelling. Mia meets some very intriguing people along the way, usually through her father's hospital stays. We see all the other characters through Mia's teenage eyes, and it is quite a sight.
The author does a wonderful job of showing us Mia's grief without wallowing in it. We see her explosion at school, and her sorting through her memories of her mother. We see her translate her concern for her health as well as her father's into an obsession with healthy eating, and a panic over her own mole. We also see a number of normal teenage moments in a not-so-normal situation. We see Mia's search for a new best friend, and her quest for a boyfriend, which swings between funny, touching, and (at one point) terrifying.
This was a book club read for me, and not one I'd have picked up on my own (I hadn't even heard of it). Everyone in the book club enjoyed it. We didn't have a very in-depth discussion. We each pointed out parts that we'd enjoyed, had discussions about some of the characters, and talked about the link between the book and the author's life. The discussion then drifted to other subjects.
I think we could have had more of a discussion, and we might have on a different month. I'd evaluate this as an OK book club book, with material worth discussing, but you have to work at finding it.
This book was a very quick read, seeming even shorter than its 238 pages. I read it in one sitting, and we all found it moved quickly. The book delivers what it promises, so if the description appeals to you, give the book a try.
When Mia is 15, her mother is diagnosed with melanoma, then dies 12 days later. Mia had been very close to her mother. They understood each other, in the same way Mia's sister Alex and their father understand each other. Just as the family is figuring out their new roles, Mia's father has a heart attack, followed by Alex leaving for college.
The book is about Mia, her growing up and her healing. Along the way, we see some of her father's story and her sister's story as well. Each of them is an interesting character, but only Mia is truly compelling. Mia meets some very intriguing people along the way, usually through her father's hospital stays. We see all the other characters through Mia's teenage eyes, and it is quite a sight.
The author does a wonderful job of showing us Mia's grief without wallowing in it. We see her explosion at school, and her sorting through her memories of her mother. We see her translate her concern for her health as well as her father's into an obsession with healthy eating, and a panic over her own mole. We also see a number of normal teenage moments in a not-so-normal situation. We see Mia's search for a new best friend, and her quest for a boyfriend, which swings between funny, touching, and (at one point) terrifying.
This was a book club read for me, and not one I'd have picked up on my own (I hadn't even heard of it). Everyone in the book club enjoyed it. We didn't have a very in-depth discussion. We each pointed out parts that we'd enjoyed, had discussions about some of the characters, and talked about the link between the book and the author's life. The discussion then drifted to other subjects.
I think we could have had more of a discussion, and we might have on a different month. I'd evaluate this as an OK book club book, with material worth discussing, but you have to work at finding it.
This book was a very quick read, seeming even shorter than its 238 pages. I read it in one sitting, and we all found it moved quickly. The book delivers what it promises, so if the description appeals to you, give the book a try.
August 28, 2008
The design of the jacket does not really suit the actual book. I read Margo Rabb's piece in the New York Times about how her agent had trouble selling this as an adult trade title, and ended up selling it as a YA. I understand the publisher's wish to have a jacket that they thought would appeal to a YA audience, but I think they could have come up with something better than wasn't a disservice to the book.
The copyright page notes that a lot of the chapters are in revised form from earlier published stories. I found myself wishing I could read the original stories, to see what had changed. It didn't quite work as a novel for me; more like connected stories.
I thought that the parts where she dealt with how the Holocaust had changed her family were strong and connected in terms of theme with her mother's death -- how people's absence from your life shapes it just as much as their presence does.
The afterword was moving. If she could bear to write a memoir, I would read it.
The copyright page notes that a lot of the chapters are in revised form from earlier published stories. I found myself wishing I could read the original stories, to see what had changed. It didn't quite work as a novel for me; more like connected stories.
I thought that the parts where she dealt with how the Holocaust had changed her family were strong and connected in terms of theme with her mother's death -- how people's absence from your life shapes it just as much as their presence does.
The afterword was moving. If she could bear to write a memoir, I would read it.
April 18, 2010
In the book "Cures for Heartbreak" by Margo Rabb. This girl Mia Pearlman she was having a difficult time. Her mother just passed away. Her father was having a heart attack. When she first met Felix. She wondered if her mother saw would she be happy. When she found out that she didn't like Felix. She met someone else new that she felt bad for. "Cancer Guy" Whenever she hears that name she would always think to Sasha. Her father was going to get married to Felix's mom. Before the day of their wedding she passed away with cancer. Felix was very sad and Mia and Alex her sister felt sorry for him. He only had a mom and Mia and Alex only had a dad. They thought they could relate to each other.
May 27, 2021
What an amazing book. I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked it up -- girl boy relationships, I guess. But instead I felt like I was reading my own story... the experiences of the protagonist helped me work through my own issues (a never ending process) surrounding my mother's death, and helped me understand that the things I experienced, so isolating at the time, are a normal and understandable part of grieving for a lost parent.
The writing is beautiful, and there's humor waiting for you in every dark corner... if only you know to look for it.
The writing is beautiful, and there's humor waiting for you in every dark corner... if only you know to look for it.
August 3, 2007
This is very much a novel centering on how one copes with the loss of a parent or a loved one. It speaks very much to the idea of resiliency - the spongy defense mechanism that bounces us back from the edge of despair in the face of some heavy, life changing episode. What it doesn’t do is overwhelm the reader with a message, or through the use of literary devices map out a path to inner peace. Mia’s voice and the other characters are genuine, and readers will hopefully trust their narrator.
January 2, 2016
Mia Pearlman's mother has just died of cancer, twelve days after being diagnosed, and suddenly she, her older sister Alex, and her father must figure out how to survive together. Mia's story is poignant and sad, but leavened with hope and black humor, as she searches for a cure for her grief and for love. If you like Sarah Dessen, I'd strongly recommend this.
December 12, 2008
Gorgeously and seamlessly written, and moving to boot.
March 2, 2017
Raw. Heart-breaking. Eye-opening. Beautifully captured sadness... what a thoughtful way to express sadness and heartbreak of losing someone...
June 30, 2020
*Trigger warning for kind of graphic sexual assault
As a childhood cancer survivor, I had high hopes for this story, especially about "cancer guy" in the description. I had hoped this would be a story about grief and learning to accept the world around you, and okay, I hoped it would feature childhood cancer more prominently.
Instead, what I got was a teen book about a girl who makes bad choices and lusts after older men all the time, which eventually leads to a sort of sexual assault she doesn't even realize. An unnecessarily graphic one, I might add.
I know from personal experience that events like those Mia experienced in the novel often change a person: make you wish for normal when there's nothing, make you grow up faster, affect your decisions. In Mia's case, the circumstances of her life just made her even more of an annoying narrator.
The pacing on this novel was also odd. It seemed like everything happened spontaneously, without regard to previous happenings. For instance, Kelsey. Just when Mia decides she needs a best friend, she meets Kelsey on the train, a built in best friend. Things like this made characters seem a lot less real.
There was also the issues with "cancer guy." I had imagined from the description on the back of the book and the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ page that he would be someone from school, someone she works with often and begins to see past the cancer even though cancer took her mother. I was very disappointed by the idea of him as this figurehead, and the references to his ever-looming death. I strongly believe it needs to be represented more in books like this that cancer is not always a death sentence, especially childhood cancer, and while this novel got at that somewhat, there was a lot lacking.
I'm just going to say, this was one of the more disappointing childhood cancer novels I've read. The characters weren't interesting or even that real, and the plot was lacking in many ways. I do not plan to read this again.
As a childhood cancer survivor, I had high hopes for this story, especially about "cancer guy" in the description. I had hoped this would be a story about grief and learning to accept the world around you, and okay, I hoped it would feature childhood cancer more prominently.
Instead, what I got was a teen book about a girl who makes bad choices and lusts after older men all the time, which eventually leads to a sort of sexual assault she doesn't even realize. An unnecessarily graphic one, I might add.
I know from personal experience that events like those Mia experienced in the novel often change a person: make you wish for normal when there's nothing, make you grow up faster, affect your decisions. In Mia's case, the circumstances of her life just made her even more of an annoying narrator.
The pacing on this novel was also odd. It seemed like everything happened spontaneously, without regard to previous happenings. For instance, Kelsey. Just when Mia decides she needs a best friend, she meets Kelsey on the train, a built in best friend. Things like this made characters seem a lot less real.
There was also the issues with "cancer guy." I had imagined from the description on the back of the book and the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ page that he would be someone from school, someone she works with often and begins to see past the cancer even though cancer took her mother. I was very disappointed by the idea of him as this figurehead, and the references to his ever-looming death. I strongly believe it needs to be represented more in books like this that cancer is not always a death sentence, especially childhood cancer, and while this novel got at that somewhat, there was a lot lacking.
I'm just going to say, this was one of the more disappointing childhood cancer novels I've read. The characters weren't interesting or even that real, and the plot was lacking in many ways. I do not plan to read this again.
February 5, 2020
I thought I would like this book a bit more than I did. I found it at the Dollar Tree and I've had really good luck at picking ones out there that I really enjoy. This book was kind of meh for me though.
First of all, it seemed kind of choppy. There were parts that seemed to jump forward without any sort of segue and it was a bit disorienting. I also felt that the ending was rather rushed and unfulfilling.
Reading the afterward, it turns out that the book was inspired by the author's own loss, this review is not meant to discredit that in any way. I think the subject matter was very easy to relate to, and I think the characters were well developed. I just wasn't a fan of the writing style.
First of all, it seemed kind of choppy. There were parts that seemed to jump forward without any sort of segue and it was a bit disorienting. I also felt that the ending was rather rushed and unfulfilling.
Reading the afterward, it turns out that the book was inspired by the author's own loss, this review is not meant to discredit that in any way. I think the subject matter was very easy to relate to, and I think the characters were well developed. I just wasn't a fan of the writing style.
September 23, 2018
“If grief has a permanence, then didn’t also love?�
April 5, 2007
'If she dies, I'll die' are the words fifteen-year-old Mia Pearlman writes in her journal the night her mother is diagnosed with cancer. Twelve days later, Mia's mother is dead, and Mia, her older sister, and their father must find a way to live on in the face of sudden unfathomable loss.
Cures For Heartbreak has it all: humor, sadness, love, laughs, and embarrasing firsts. There are so many things I loved about this novel. Mia is a great true-to-life character. Whether she's resorted to bringing out all her stuffed animals from the closet to give her comfort, to her first date, to her obsession with romance novels, to her first experiences loving a boy, to her fears about her father's health, to her worries about normal teenage life...it's all in the details. And the details are here.
I was always daydreaming, getting a crush on some guy. Unrequited or not, during even the most awful day a crush could change everything--it could make you forget the two classes you failed last semester, and the general overall suckiness of your life. A crush removed the world, at least for a little while (139).
It was a romance novel entitled Larissa's Love Royale, which I'd bought in the gift shop. It wasn't one of those romances with a subtle cover that try to pass themselves off as ordinary books, either. No. This was all luscious bosom, gold embossed letters, and tanned male chestage, set on a Renaissance pirate ship (109)
In romance novels this would change everything. A hand holding on page fifteen and you knew for certain, no matter what, that the couple would end up together, that not even 350 pages of pirates, wars, family deception, or evil twins could keep them apart. That's what I liked about those books. I wanted to believe when I read them that that kind of love was possible and real, that it truly existed (217).
Part of me knew that it was unrealistic to hope for something, to transform our brief meeting into some whirlwind of eternal devotion...I wasn't sure what I'd do if I didn't have Richard to think about. Even if it was unrealistic for us to be together now, what was to stop us from connecting in the future, like the characters in a romance novel, meeting on page two and again on page two hundred? I could see Richard and myself at more appropriate ages...me, having graduated from college, in a job (anything but social worker), until some minor incident--a friend's baby, a sprained wrist--took me to the hospital. Years would have passed--no matter. He'd have been through girlfriends, many of them, but never married. In hours, it would happen as we'd always known it would: we'd kiss outside the hospital, a deep, shocking kiss, and the other doctors, the passengers in traffic, the visitors, the social workers--the whole world--would stop and stare in surprise(61-62).
Cures For Heartbreak has it all: humor, sadness, love, laughs, and embarrasing firsts. There are so many things I loved about this novel. Mia is a great true-to-life character. Whether she's resorted to bringing out all her stuffed animals from the closet to give her comfort, to her first date, to her obsession with romance novels, to her first experiences loving a boy, to her fears about her father's health, to her worries about normal teenage life...it's all in the details. And the details are here.
I was always daydreaming, getting a crush on some guy. Unrequited or not, during even the most awful day a crush could change everything--it could make you forget the two classes you failed last semester, and the general overall suckiness of your life. A crush removed the world, at least for a little while (139).
It was a romance novel entitled Larissa's Love Royale, which I'd bought in the gift shop. It wasn't one of those romances with a subtle cover that try to pass themselves off as ordinary books, either. No. This was all luscious bosom, gold embossed letters, and tanned male chestage, set on a Renaissance pirate ship (109)
In romance novels this would change everything. A hand holding on page fifteen and you knew for certain, no matter what, that the couple would end up together, that not even 350 pages of pirates, wars, family deception, or evil twins could keep them apart. That's what I liked about those books. I wanted to believe when I read them that that kind of love was possible and real, that it truly existed (217).
Part of me knew that it was unrealistic to hope for something, to transform our brief meeting into some whirlwind of eternal devotion...I wasn't sure what I'd do if I didn't have Richard to think about. Even if it was unrealistic for us to be together now, what was to stop us from connecting in the future, like the characters in a romance novel, meeting on page two and again on page two hundred? I could see Richard and myself at more appropriate ages...me, having graduated from college, in a job (anything but social worker), until some minor incident--a friend's baby, a sprained wrist--took me to the hospital. Years would have passed--no matter. He'd have been through girlfriends, many of them, but never married. In hours, it would happen as we'd always known it would: we'd kiss outside the hospital, a deep, shocking kiss, and the other doctors, the passengers in traffic, the visitors, the social workers--the whole world--would stop and stare in surprise(61-62).
May 19, 2007
Cures For Heartbreak by Margo Rabb deals with the subject of loss throughout the novel, as its title may suggest. Set in 1991 in Queens, the story revolves around Mia, her sister Alex, and their father. Semi-biographical, the novel chronicles the family's grieving process when Mia's mother (Greta) is admitted to the hospital with a stomachache and dies twelve days later from advanced melanoma.
The most surprising thing about the novel is how vivid Rabb's imagery is throughout. Rabb's simple language and conversational tone make the story and characters come alive on the page. Mia's loss is palpable throughout her narration: "My father handed [the death certificate] to him and recounted the details about our mother--a sudden death, twelve days after the diagnosis; no, no one expected it he was sorry too. Forms were filled out. Then Manny invited us to view the coffins." Rather than sympathizing with Mia in an abstract way, readers are completely drawn into the story. It feels like the novel is describing the reader's personal experiences and talking about their own loss instead of the characters'.
Another dimension is added to the novel because Mia's family is Jewish, her mother arriving in the USA as a baby with her parents in 1939 before America closed its borders to refugee Jews. Rabb uses these close memories of World War Two and the Holocaust to examine Mia's loss in a larger context. The story is incredibly sad, obviously, but also beautiful. It's comforting to see the family try to move forward. Rabb's level of realism is amazing--I felt like I was reading stories from my own life, the details were that vivid.
This novel actually feels more like a series of inter-connected short stories. The plot moves through funeral preparations, friendship, an engagement, and another funeral as Mia's wayward family tries to reconfigure itself without Greta's grounding presence. And eventually the family does figure it out. When the novel ends it is clear that the situation is not ideal, can't be ideal, but that it does get easier to keep going. Because, as Rabb suggests, the most important thing is to keep going in the face of loss. Rather than stay with the grieving process, Rabb shows that losing someone is never the end of a relationship. It's just a reason to value memories even more.
The most surprising thing about the novel is how vivid Rabb's imagery is throughout. Rabb's simple language and conversational tone make the story and characters come alive on the page. Mia's loss is palpable throughout her narration: "My father handed [the death certificate] to him and recounted the details about our mother--a sudden death, twelve days after the diagnosis; no, no one expected it he was sorry too. Forms were filled out. Then Manny invited us to view the coffins." Rather than sympathizing with Mia in an abstract way, readers are completely drawn into the story. It feels like the novel is describing the reader's personal experiences and talking about their own loss instead of the characters'.
Another dimension is added to the novel because Mia's family is Jewish, her mother arriving in the USA as a baby with her parents in 1939 before America closed its borders to refugee Jews. Rabb uses these close memories of World War Two and the Holocaust to examine Mia's loss in a larger context. The story is incredibly sad, obviously, but also beautiful. It's comforting to see the family try to move forward. Rabb's level of realism is amazing--I felt like I was reading stories from my own life, the details were that vivid.
This novel actually feels more like a series of inter-connected short stories. The plot moves through funeral preparations, friendship, an engagement, and another funeral as Mia's wayward family tries to reconfigure itself without Greta's grounding presence. And eventually the family does figure it out. When the novel ends it is clear that the situation is not ideal, can't be ideal, but that it does get easier to keep going. Because, as Rabb suggests, the most important thing is to keep going in the face of loss. Rather than stay with the grieving process, Rabb shows that losing someone is never the end of a relationship. It's just a reason to value memories even more.
May 4, 2008
Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com
CURES FOR HEARTBREAK reads more like a series of interconnected short stories than a novel, but the format works. It gives the readers brief, poignant glimpses into the life of its narrator, Mia, during the first year after her mother's sudden death. Told with both humor and painful rawness, the novel should resonate with those who have experienced a loss, and make those who haven't feel almost as if they've been there, too.
What makes the disjointed structure work better than anything else is the many well-developed characters. Each chapter focuses on Mia's relationships with those around her: her father, her older sister, her friends and teachers at school, the people she meets at the hospital, and her memories of her mother. Every character is fleshed out on the page, with distinctive voices and quirks, so even in the short glimpses readers get, they get a clear picture of the relationships and how Mia is starting to get back to "normal" life among them.
Mia's voice is equally important in making the novel work. Where it could have been flat-out depressing and perhaps overwhelming, her sarcastic comments and comic approaches to certain situations (for example, she images the funeral home as a morbid Broadway musical) break the sadness, while also making the tragedy seem all that much worse in its absurdity. Wavering between jadedness and insecurity, Mia comes across as fully human, too old to be a kid any more but too young to know how to be an adult. Teen readers should find her an easy character to sympathize with, and an entertaining narrator for the journey.
CURES FOR HEARTBREAK is not an easy read, simply because of the subject matter and the depth with which it is portrayed. But the humor and the engaging characters will draw readers in, and Mia's progress through mourning will keep them reading, wondering how she will reshape her life after this unexpected turn. She makes mistakes, and struggles with her emotions and fears, but she grows and learns as well. And in the end, there's more hope than sorrow.
CURES FOR HEARTBREAK reads more like a series of interconnected short stories than a novel, but the format works. It gives the readers brief, poignant glimpses into the life of its narrator, Mia, during the first year after her mother's sudden death. Told with both humor and painful rawness, the novel should resonate with those who have experienced a loss, and make those who haven't feel almost as if they've been there, too.
What makes the disjointed structure work better than anything else is the many well-developed characters. Each chapter focuses on Mia's relationships with those around her: her father, her older sister, her friends and teachers at school, the people she meets at the hospital, and her memories of her mother. Every character is fleshed out on the page, with distinctive voices and quirks, so even in the short glimpses readers get, they get a clear picture of the relationships and how Mia is starting to get back to "normal" life among them.
Mia's voice is equally important in making the novel work. Where it could have been flat-out depressing and perhaps overwhelming, her sarcastic comments and comic approaches to certain situations (for example, she images the funeral home as a morbid Broadway musical) break the sadness, while also making the tragedy seem all that much worse in its absurdity. Wavering between jadedness and insecurity, Mia comes across as fully human, too old to be a kid any more but too young to know how to be an adult. Teen readers should find her an easy character to sympathize with, and an entertaining narrator for the journey.
CURES FOR HEARTBREAK is not an easy read, simply because of the subject matter and the depth with which it is portrayed. But the humor and the engaging characters will draw readers in, and Mia's progress through mourning will keep them reading, wondering how she will reshape her life after this unexpected turn. She makes mistakes, and struggles with her emotions and fears, but she grows and learns as well. And in the end, there's more hope than sorrow.
October 30, 2012
Reading the summary, it looks like you shouldn't be bothered to read this--just another "oh my life sucks" kinda book where the girl complains to much, but it's a lot more than that.
The story is divided into different sections to separate different scenes from others even though all of them are connected chronologically.
A story about a girl dealing with her mother dying from cancer and only has her father and her sister left, who annoy her. She goes through the different stages of loss--overeating, failing classes, oversleeping, not really caring about anything, not to mention her dealing with her dad's heart attacks and his moving on from his passed wife.
Mia's character felt so real. She was connectable and always made her opinion clear to the reader. While other books may be about whiny girls who want boyfriends, Mia's want for love was different--she didn't really care who it was from, from a best friend or boyfriend or family member. There was no censoring (which I love); she just screamed cuss words when she needed to and stayed silent in other times.
A story about everything really--outbursts, friendship, love, awkward moments, etc.
The story is divided into different sections to separate different scenes from others even though all of them are connected chronologically.
A story about a girl dealing with her mother dying from cancer and only has her father and her sister left, who annoy her. She goes through the different stages of loss--overeating, failing classes, oversleeping, not really caring about anything, not to mention her dealing with her dad's heart attacks and his moving on from his passed wife.
Mia's character felt so real. She was connectable and always made her opinion clear to the reader. While other books may be about whiny girls who want boyfriends, Mia's want for love was different--she didn't really care who it was from, from a best friend or boyfriend or family member. There was no censoring (which I love); she just screamed cuss words when she needed to and stayed silent in other times.
A story about everything really--outbursts, friendship, love, awkward moments, etc.
February 13, 2012
Cures for Heartbreak follows the story of 15-year-old Mia Perlman as she deals with the repercussions from her mother’s death. Reeling from the sudden loss, Mia, her older sister Alex, and their father try to gather the pieces of their lives. Mia is stuck in place, trying to figure out who her mother was and what kind of life her parents shared together. From the ups and downs of puberty, to the constant meetings with death, Mia must pull her tattered life together in order to survive.
This book focuses on the serious issues of a parent’s death and how that affects the entire scope of a child’s life. Based on Rabb’s own life, the book delves into the tangled emotional journey that takes place. The writing is raw, not holding anything back, allowing the reader to directly experience the journey with Mia.
This book focuses on the serious issues of a parent’s death and how that affects the entire scope of a child’s life. Based on Rabb’s own life, the book delves into the tangled emotional journey that takes place. The writing is raw, not holding anything back, allowing the reader to directly experience the journey with Mia.
March 26, 2012
Her family is cursed, at 18 the only child (always a girl) will become impregnated adn after giving birth the mother will go healthy. The only way to break the curse is to complete 3 near impossible tasks.
I picked this book up because I've seen a lot of people read it, I in fact wasn't wholly intrigued by the synopsis on the back of the book. The reason I decided to pick it up was, for the most part of it because of the amount of people I'd seen with it.
I finished it because to my surprise it was really good. I was curious to see what happened at the end when she finished the tasks, and how exactly she finished them because I didn't have a clue.
I would recommend this to someone looking for a modern setting for that fantasy and drama that can get boring because you see it a lot in of setting, back in a time with less technology. That is the only way I can explain it.
I picked this book up because I've seen a lot of people read it, I in fact wasn't wholly intrigued by the synopsis on the back of the book. The reason I decided to pick it up was, for the most part of it because of the amount of people I'd seen with it.
I finished it because to my surprise it was really good. I was curious to see what happened at the end when she finished the tasks, and how exactly she finished them because I didn't have a clue.
I would recommend this to someone looking for a modern setting for that fantasy and drama that can get boring because you see it a lot in of setting, back in a time with less technology. That is the only way I can explain it.
August 2, 2007
When I first picked up this book at the library, I thought it was going to be a romance (I really wish the library would keep the book jackets on the book). When I realized what it about, I was sure the author was going to write it badly was -I've read a few really awful "parent dies" books. But I think Margo Rabb did a great job. I have a lot in common with the main character - my mother died when I was a teen, I too was left with an annoying sister and quiet father, and my dad began dating very soon after my mother died as well (a matter of months). Many of the emotional moments in the book rang true for me, especially with the interaction between the two sisters.
December 22, 2007
This semi-autobiographical novel (Rabb's first after her Missing Persons series) focuses on a teenage girl whose mother suddenly dies of cancer. As she and her family struggle to cope with their loss, along with her father's failing health, she deals with the typical teenage dramas involving friends and boys. I really enjoyed this, and actually wish there had been more of it; it could easily have been a grown-up coming-of-age novel instead of a YA one. Still, it was a nicely bittersweet read. A-.
October 28, 2008
This was actually a really pleasant book to read even though it was centered around the ways a girl coped with the loss of her mother and dealing with her father alone with the departure of her sister to college. This book was different from a lot of other books because even though I read long sections of it at a time, I didn't feel dazed when I stopped and did something else. I think this was probably because it was very similar to what was happening to a lot of people in the modern world and I didn't have to immerse myself in an intricate world or her history to understand the story.
February 5, 2009
i thought it was great i dont know how to exsplain ewhy it was so good,it just was.it was just so diffrent form other books i reads i related to it on a diffrent level. I thought what she said about the romantic novels that she read was realable, the happy endings at the end of the novels made you feel compelled to read more and more and more of them.(well not me seeing as i have never read the kinds of romantic novels that she read)Every thing about the book was fantastic,from the revelations that she had to the simple conversations with her sister,it was fantastic
February 4, 2009
This was a surprisingly lovely and moving book about loss. I found the voice of the main character, Mia, very real with all the uncertainty and insight of being a teenager. I also like how Rabb draws a parallel between Mia losing her mother and the great losses of the Holocaust to show how trauma shapes and changes us forever. Rabb offers healing without easy answers and avoids any cliches about grief. Teens who have lost people close to them will be able to connect to this book, and those who haven't will be touched by Mia's honesty.
March 31, 2015
I searched for "ya book mother dies red heart cover" and "ya book about grief red heart cover" and a bunch of other things because I remembered reading this book and crying. And not much else about it. I eventually found it at #100-something on a list of books with hearts on the cover - thanks goodreads! I honestly don't remember a lot about this book except that it made me cry. I'll probably reread it now that I've found it! And I won't have to frantically search every YA book at my library in order to soothe my forgetful brain. Yippee!
April 28, 2007
Mia's mother is diagnosed with cancer and then dies 12 days later. While grieving for her mother, Mia also has to deal with her father's heart attack and her older sister leaving for college. Mia has a lot on her plate and the hospital social worker's advice is to go shopping... Throughout the year after her mother's death Mia somehow figures out how to cope in this touching novel based on the author's own experience. It deals with a sad topic without being depressing.
July 18, 2007
This is a book about grief and loss, and in some sections, Mia's emotions are nearly incapacitating, both for her and for me. Rabb is particularly good at capturing Mia's mindset, and the first parts of the book remind me of the Buffy episode "The Body" in their immediacy and their description of the strange, almost-dream logic of the moments.
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February 13, 2008
I thought this was an accurate portrayal of what happens after you become a member of the Dead Parents Club, as the main character dubs it: hypochondria, jealousy of survivors, using worry as an attempt to control life. Even though the characters deal with sickness, sadness, and death, I found the book ultimately hopeful and reassuring. I think adults will enjoy this book just as much as young adults.
August 25, 2008
Mia's mom is diagnosed with cancer, and twelve days later, she's dead. As Mia, her sister and father struggle to work through their grief and make sense of their lives, Mia keeps it real. She's funny, confused, lonely, and opinionated. She looks after her dad, fights with her sister, and struggles to just get through each day at high school. Mia isn't always graceful, but you'll cheer her on as she finds her way.
February 9, 2009
This story is about a fifteen year old girl named Mia who is coming of age in New York City in the early 1990's and is coping with the death of her mother and her fathers serious illness, and is also embarking on new friendships and relationships. It also touches briefly on the generation of Americans who were the children of Holocaust survivors, like Mia's mother, and the effect that had on them. It's a story about resiliency, in the end.
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