Change of Heart (Shari Maurer)

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         High school soccer star Emmi Miller is not the type of girl who can be stopped by a virus.  So when she gets sick right before a big match, Emmi doesn't tell anyone how terrible she feels.  After all, she can't risk being pulled out of the game because of a cold.  It turns out that Emmi doesn't have a normal bug, though.  After collapsing on the field, Emmi goes to the doctor and finds out that the virus weakened her heart so much that if she doesn't get a heart transplant soon, she'll die.
         No longer is Emmi a popular, athletic teenager.  She is too tired to show up at school, let alone play soccer and hang out with her friends.  Though she's looking and feeling terrible, Emmi isn't all alone.  Her closest friends are still there for her, and a super-cute baseball player named Sam is texting her all the time.  lThen there's Abe, who's already had a heart transplant and gives Emmi the support that nobody else can.  Emmi doesn't know which boy is more important in her life, and she doesn't know if she will have enough time to figure it out.  After all, she's learned that life is not a guarantee.

         So for a few days now, I've been completely stuck trying to decide what I thought about this book.  Normally it's not an issue if it's been a while since I've read a book because the things I liked most and least stick with me.  That hasn't really been the case this time.  Change of Heart was a quick read, but not because I had to keep going back to it.  I didn't instantly connect to the characters or feel compelled to find out what happened next.  That's not to say that it was bad, because it wasn't. It just didn't have me hooked the way some of the books I've read recently have.  On the whole, Change of Heart was good but not a stand-out.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: June 24, 2012