#ThreeScoopsOfSummer tour continues and today we're offering up the third scoop in Simon and Schuster's beach YA trifecta. The Museum of Heartbreak winds down the tour and I am so excited to help celebrate this title. Be sure to check out the rest of the tour stops and discover the other two books that are sure to be perfect for your summer reading.
As part of the tour I was given the chance to interview Meg. She dished on ice cream, heartbreak, and her next project.
1. What do you think is the best way to get over heartbreak?
Any time I’ve gone through heartbreak, I’ve found that having a group of friends who will automatically be on my side, no matter what, to be invaluable. I’ve had friends take me roller skating, leave roses on my desk, and even create lists of why I’m better off without the person who broke up with me. That kind of devoted support—of knowing you have people who love you even when you’re feeling distinctly unloved or sad—it’s such a gift.
I also think the old cliché “Time heals all wounds” is apt. For me, getting over things takes time. I don’t know that any of my heartbreak is ever “healed”—I feel things so keenly! But I think that it gets easier to deal with over time, and eventually, you’re able to get to a point where you remember the good things about that person more than the sadness. And when you come out on the other side, you’re stronger—you have some bad-ass battle scars to show for it!
2. Ice cream is associated with getting over a break up. If your novel were to have ice cream designed for it what might be included?
Ahh, I love this question! My main character Pen is a huge fan of both Dark Chocolate KitKats and Funfetti cake. So I think the flavor would have to be vanilla, with both of those components liberally mixed in. However, it won’t be one of those flavors where you get a scoop and it has one bit of KitKat and a few Funfetti chips. I want it to be chockfull of both of those things—almost more candy than ice cream!
3. If you could travel to any place, in any time period, when and where would you like to travel?
Like my main character, I’m such a fan of Anne of Green Gables, so I think I’d like to travel to Prince Edward Island at the turn of the twentieth century, and to either be Anne or be best friends with her and Diana.
4. What is one song that would be on The Museum of Heartbreak’s playlist?
“Pictures of You” by the Cure. It’s such a dreamy, heartbreaking, and melodramatic song, and it’s perfect to listen to when you’re feeling sad for what you’ve lost. And it’s about physical objects—photographs—so it fits in nicely with the book.
5. Can you tease anything about your next project?
The Museum of Heartbreak is as much of a NYC love story as it is Pen’s love story. I moved here when I was 28, and I wanted to capture what I love about this big, messy city. But I grew up in Ohio, and I’m ready to write about that now. So my next YA novel is set in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a hot, hazy summer—like most Ohio summers are!
I've had to chance to read The Museum of Heartbreak, and below is my review. Hopefully it'll entice you to add it to your own summer reading list.
Release Date - June 7, 2016
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 256 pages
My Rating - 4/5
**received from publisher for an honest review**
In this ode to all the things we gain and lose and gain again, seventeen-year-old Penelope Marx curates her own mini-museum to deal with all the heartbreaks of love, friendship, and growing up.The Museum of Heartbreak is a familiar story. It's one filled with growing up, growing a part, and discovering what has been right in front of you all along. Meg Leder's unique take, however, manages to make this timeless tale feel fresh and new.
Welcome to the Museum of Heartbreak.
Well, actually, to Penelope Marx’s personal museum. The one she creates after coming face to face with the devastating, lonely-making butt-kicking phenomenon known as heartbreak.
Heartbreak comes in all forms: There’s Keats, the charmingly handsome new guy who couldn’t be more perfect for her. There’s possibly the worst person in the world, Cherisse, whose mission in life is to make Penelope miserable. There’s Penelope’s increasingly distant best friend Audrey. And then there’s Penelope’s other best friend, the equal-parts-infuriating-and-yet-somehow-amazing Eph, who has been all kinds of confusing lately.
But sometimes the biggest heartbreak of all is learning to let go of that wondrous time before you ever knew things could be broken.
This story is cleverly told through meaningful objects. Each chapter focuses on a new object that furthers the plot along and shines a light on the museum of the title. Pen navigates many heartbreaks through this story and these objects help the reader navigate them with her. This style of narration allows this story to feel unique and was a great choice on the writer's part. The narration also compliments the main character as it feels authentically part of her voice.
Pen is relatable to everyone. Her experiences are universal because they are tied to emotions. It makes getting invested in the story easy and allows you to be charmed by her and the group of people she surrounds herself with.
A huge part of highschool is friendships, first crushes, and finding yourself. Pen experiences the pain of growing a part from your friends as you change and grow during highschool. There is a heartbreak experienced when a friendship ends that is just as sharp, just as painful, as when a romantic relationship ends. People change so much during those formative years that it is not surprising to see the friendships within these pages take on new dynamics. You may not have anything in common any more. There is also, within these pages, the thrill and heartbreak of new love and discovering that sometimes the idea of a person is not the reality of that person. There is a heartbreak in disappointment and that is the biggest part of finding out someone is nothing like you expect them to be. This novel also examines the heartbreak of seeing a friend go through something and being unable to help.
Much is made of love and how we accept what we think we deserve. People often build up walls, and do things to hinder their own happiness, especially when they are first discovering what the want from relationships. We see, in many different relationships within the book, that relationships are complicated things and that the people within them are even more complicated. We are sometimes blinded to what is right in front of us, and when someone we're with makes us happy we owe it to ourselves to embrace that and not let fear get in our way. It's a beautiful notion and one that affirms that we deserve happiness and to be treated well.
The biggest part of this story, however, is the hope wrapped within it's pages. The hope that comes with finding a place where you belong (and a group you belong with). The hope that, even as something ends, something new can be formed from the wreckage even though it will never be the same. It also, beautifully, showcases that heartbreak is not forever. It changes you and becomes part of who you are, but there is always a strength in coming out the other side.
This is an entirely relatable coming of age story that uses it's unique narration to its fullest advantage. If you're looking for a book that offers a hopeful look at heartbreak and moving on this is a book you should not miss.
Simon and Schuster is also offer up a prize pack for this blog tour. To enter be sure to fill out the Rafflecopter below. It is open to Canadian residents, and be sure to read all rules and restrictions.
