The Faint of Heart - Book Review

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Wilson, K. The Faint of Heart . Greenwillow Books. (2023). Image Link.

The Faint of Heart is a young adult graphic novel that was written and illustrated by Kerilynn Wilson. It is 304-pages long and was published by Greenwillow Books on 13 June 2023. The Faint of Heart is set in a dystopian world where a scientist has discovered a way to surgically remove a heart without killing a person. The extracted hearts are then stored in a numbing solution which leaves a person unable to feel emotion. The procedure becomes incredibly popular and people start lining up outside hospitals desperate to have their hearts removed.

June is a high school student the last person in the world with a heart. All of her friends and family have had their hearts removed. Her parents want June to have her heart removed but she is hesitant. She used to be close with her older sister Maya and share a love of art with her but after she had her heart removed she became cold and distant towards her. June worries that if she gives up her heart she will lose her passion for art and her love for her older sister Maya. When June discovers a heart in a jar left abandoned in an alleyway, she is overjoyed. She vows to find a way to somehow give the heart to her sister in the hope that she might be able to rekindle their emotional bond.

The Faint of the Heart is one of the most original graphic novels that I’ve read in years. I thought that the premise was really interesting. I liked how Wilson used colour to demonstrate how grey and joyless the world has become ever since people started getting their hearts removed. People have stopped doing things that they loved like tending to their gardens and schools have stopped offering art classes because it is seen as a distraction from school work.

As a person who still has her heart, June sees the world from a completely different perspective. When she wakes up in the morning she takes a moment to appreciate the way that her room fills with bright sunlight. She chooses a bright yellow coat to wear to school and when she picks up a pencil and draws her imagination unfurls from her mind in red and gold waves. All of this is in contrast to her family and friends who never smile and act cold and detached towards her. There were so many moments in The Faint of Heart that felt like a horror novel. I felt so bad for June. She is a child who just wants to be loved and doesn’t want to give up a part of herself to conform. The one criticism I have of the book is the author doesn’t explain how people can survive having their hearts removed. It is just a small detail but it would have been nice to learn more about how the medical procedure worked.

Summary: The last girl in the world left with a heart fights to keep it safe from people who want to take it.
Cost $24.99
Websites:
The Faint of Heart by Kerilynn Wilson - Harper Collins
Kerilynn Wilson Official Website
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