*Disclosure: I received a galley of this book through Netgalley, but this opinion is entirely my own.
It starts with a nightmare that prompts Penelope to create her own museum, cataloging the items from her heartbreak, beginning to end, leading to the creation of The Museum of Heartbreak. From here, we’re taken back to the beginning, to the first item and guided through her story. From meeting Keats, aka the perfect guy - handsome, charming - if only she could get him to notice her. To Eph, her life-long, confusing, infuriating, best guy friend. To Audrey, her increasingly distant best friend, who is growing closer with Penelope’s arch nemesis Cherisse.
Penelope, Eph and Audrey, have been best friends since elementary school and Penelope has this unshakeable belief that it will be just the three of them forever. She doesn’t need other friends or to expand her social circle. She’s never been kissed, is a total fangirl, and loves to read the classics. She believes in all-day tv marathons and holding on to childhood traditions like her life depends on it. She believes that nothing will ever get between her friendship with Eph and Audrey. That is until Keats shows up and throws a wrench into her carefully crafted world. It’s the beginning of something new and the end of everything she thought she knew.
Her relationships are tested; she learns that life isn’t this perfect, Gilbert Blyth and Anne Shirley romance where everyone lives happily ever after. Life is hectic, and messy, and confusing, and everything you took for granted can be taken away with just a few words. Things can break. She manages to meet new people who help change her point of view, and also manages to come to terms with the fact that things don’t always go the way you expected and that’s okay.
While it did have a teenage love triangle, and sometimes I wanted to smack Penelope, I really liked her. I saw much of myself in her - I was a major goodie-two-shoes in high school and could relate to much of her personality. Makes you (me?) wonder who wanted to slap me at times back then, right? I enjoyed her Buffy & Angel references and her imagination was incredible. I think Meg Leder did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life. It was funny and relatable, but also got down to the nitty-gritty of teenage heartache. It was a breeze to read and had a few literary Easter eggs I enjoyed (brothers names Keats and Beckett anyone?).
Overall, I enjoyed The Museum of Heartbreak and give it a solid 3.5 stars. I think it would be great for those who enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss or Anatomy of a Misfit.
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