About the Book
Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She’s only a few months past the heart transplant that—just in time—saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.
But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there’s Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?
Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?
My Review
I thought The Curious Heart of Ailsa Rae was a sweet story, one of personal triumphs and heart-warming moments. We learn about Ailsa, born with a condition that would require her to one day have a heart transplant, and understand how she learned to live life with an expiration date – and how everything changed once she received her new heart. I connected with her storyline of being a blogger, and letting the internet choose her next steps. It was interesting to watch the dynamic between Ailsa and her mother post-transplant, and how even the little things that we take for granted can be affected after such a life-changing surgery. I thought the story was well-written but moved at a bit of a slow pace for me. With the blog entries, magazine articles and dialogue, it was a little tough to become fully immersed in the story, but I still appreciated learning new things with Ailsa’s journey and thought it was a good book.
3.5 stars
