Shari Maurer

A well written story about a 16 year old female soccer player who faints on the field and later finds out that she needs a new heart. The events leading up to the transplant form the majority of the story, with a tiny bit of teenage drama and romance thrown into the mix. The last quarter of the book deals with Emmi's life post transplant. Don't want to spoil anything but I will tell you there's a boy or two who are significant to the story, so if you're someone who needs a little romance in your stories, you won't be disappointed.… (més)

CHANGE OF HEART, by Shari Maurer, is a story of one teenage girl fighting against a life-threatening virus and trying to hold onto some semblance of her life. Maurer created a strong, successful high school athlete and then stripped away everything that Emmi thought was important, giving her a critical eye of everything around her. In the face of death, Emmi got a second chance at life.

I enjoyed this book right from the start. Emmi was a star soccer player with endless opportunities in front of her. In addition to bright college prospects, she was starting to date a dreamy baseball boy. But everything changed when the virus took over her body and heart. She was taken out of school and soon she was drifting away from everything she thought was important. She was out of the loop socially and this was a constant concern for her. While her friends tried to keep up with Emmi's problems, at that age most can't comprehend the struggle and soon Emmi found herself a new friend who previously had a heart transplant, Abe.

Maurer created many fantastic relationships between her characters. She really captured life at that age and the stupid problems that high schoolers face, which they think make or break a person. I found myself being very protective of Emmi. I wanted to still see her succeed, but the people who were most important to her made the situation more about them than her. I suppose that is typical of teens her age, unable to deal with issues that really matter. She was a strong character to begin with so that did not change much, but her outlook on life opened her eyes to more than her original focus previous to the illness. Maurer did not make anything easy on Emmi, and I did find myself bleary-eyed and angry at some points because of the hardships she had to overcome.

I liked the Sam-Emmi-Abe dynamic because I felt this was a triangle that had no right or wrong side. Sam is what Emmi always wanted, but Abe became the friend that Emmi needed after her life was flipped upside down. I had a difficult time (even after reading) deciding who she should be with, and I think Maurer ended that aspect of the book perfectly.

Overall, this book had a some great messages. Live life to the fullest, do everything you can while you are healthy and young so there are no regrets. Learn what is important in life, and fall in love (as much as you can).… (més)