The Museum of Heartbreak

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4.7 (1)

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Author(s)

Meg Leder

Publisher

Simon Pulse

Genre(s)

Age Range

16+

Release Date

June 07, 2016

ISBN

1481432109

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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. 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.

Editor reviews

4 reviews

Overall rating

3.5

Plot

3.0(2)

Characters

3.5(2)

Writing Style

4.0(2)

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A Book to Bring to the Beach

June 19, 2016

Overall rating

3.7

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What grabbed me first, I hate to admit, is the incredibly cool cover. The Museum of Heartbreak is the perfect book to throw in with your towel and sunscreen as you head down to the ocean. It is a quick light read that also deals with some pretty important issues of hope, friendship, love, discovery, and of course heartbreak.

What I loved: The story is perfect for this time of year. After finishing up two incredibly dense books this is what I needed. I really enjoyed Pen as a character. Her love of words and books, her uncertainty, her foibles, and the desire to have things stay the same but also change- reminds me a lot of moments in my own teen years as well as my friends.
Pen collects artifacts from her life and which each artifact comes a memory and a revelation about her as a person.

What left me wanting more? I wish there was more. There were definitely points in the book where I wish there was more on the other characters in the book as well. In a way I am contradicting myself- I love the fact that the book was quick and I could read it in one sitting at the beach, but on the other hand I wish it was longer so I could get to know the other characters just a little bit more. And like many summer time books, at times the plot was a little predictable, but again for a summer beach read this is what I crave.

Overall: This is a fun read. It connects to the heart by sorting through issues that matter; the every changing dynamics of friendships, how to hold on to hope, the difficulties that can come with falling in love, and how heartbreak can sometimes make everything whole again. A comfy ready for a sunny day!

Good Points

fun read
book and pop culture references

Joanne Mumley, Twitter Manager Top 50 Reviewer 217 reviews

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Quick, light read for contemporary lovers

June 17, 2016

Overall rating

3.3

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The Museum of Heartbreaks is one of my most anticipated reads for this year. I instantly fell in love with the cover because it's totally beautiful.

WHAT I LIKED:

Meg Leder's writing style is catchy, simple yet it expresses a lot of emotions. Penelope's emotions and thoughts are very easy to pick up. She's a true romantic, she likes that "sweep-me-off-my-feet" kind of romance. While I do admit that it's a bit adorable, it seems Pen's a little too much of that. She is a bookworm though, and I love how she collects those things that ended up in the "Museum" because I love collecting things as well. ALSO SHE LOVES TWIN PEAKS!! The other characters are interesting somehow but I think they fell a little flat for me. More on that on the next section.

The plot might be a little cliche but I liked it and it has interesting points. The tropes presented in the book are typical but it did not take away the joy of reading the story. Although yeah, I have to admit there were times where I want to whack Penelope, or Eph, or Keats's head.

WHAT LEFT ME WANTING MORE:

The characters! I need more of them! It seems that most of them were written as a plot-device, thus they ended up flat. I like Eph though, he's kind of the guy I want to hang out with. I don't know if him being pretty bad at expressing his emotions can be considered good for the story. I just don't know. Good thing that he's a really good guy but sometimes he tends to be a bit passive. I feel the same way about Keats, Audrey and Pen's other friends like Grace.

FINAL VERDICT:

To be honest, it's really hard for me to write this review because I feel like the book is a balance between great and meh. There are times when I really felt the story but also felt detached to it. I was a bit disappointed that I didn't gush or swoon hard but it's a fun read though, and a quick one as well.

I think the book is a great read for contemporary romance lovers.

Good Points

interesting plot points, slow-build romance

Inah Peralta, Staff Reviewer Top 100 Reviewer 53 reviews

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User reviews

1 review

Overall rating

4.7

Plot

4.0(1)

Characters

5.0(1)

Writing Style

5.0(1)

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I truly loved this book

August 11, 2017

Overall rating

4.7

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I really relate to this book very much. Most especially with Pen. This book was so honest. Many symbolisms but the most profound symbolism is dinosaurs.

this is the type of book that you seem to annalize. Maybe it was just me who annalized it but it definitely brought the sense of having hidden meanings, hidden messages, and a lot of deep thinking to what the author would like to actually come to say.

It definitely started slow. it felt as if it were already explaining something the reader already knows. And Pen seems to be the innocent and pure teenager that is actually what I think teens are. Or probably just me when I was a teen. i related to her so much. Hating change, believing in that epic love story, how it's a choice with her or without her. i could see myself clearly in her... and this book is what made it beautiful.

i would definitely understand if not all who read this would get it. but i want to thank Meg Leder for writing a book not because of heartbreaks, but because of writing a book for people who feels scared, neglected, ans even ignorant sometimes. i have to admit, I feel braver having finished it. and these are the books that would stay in your heart for a long time.

i love the characters. Pen is the type of main character that you would hate but also like. Eph is so brave and frank, Aud is her own person. And these characters are represented by someone we know in our lives... scary yet enticing...

i could go on and on about this book. i really truly loved it.

*i won this book and other book swag in a giveaway hosted by rivetedlit.com.

Good Points

~ very relatable main character
~ type of book that i loved to annalize
~ type of book that has hidden meanings and messages
~ very realistic characters
~ just the message is beautiful