Review by Srijaa Chatterjee
September 22, 2020, Orca Book Publishers
Hardcover, 336 pages, 9781459824874, $14.95 CAD
Fiction, Comedy/Humour
Ages 12+
“I will look for the beautiful in every ugly thing.”
Emmitt’s world comes crashing down the day his twin sister Minnie is officially declared brain-dead following a devastating accident. His family is on the brink of falling apart, and the thread holding them together has snapped. With nothing to lose, Emmitt sets out to make a film starring all the fortunate recipients that received an organ from his 16-year-old twin — a film that he hopes will piece his family back together and mend his mother’s shattered heart.
Stewart weaves a brilliant tale that encompasses heartbreak, laughter, and tears, with a hint of mischievousness that is sure to coax a smile out of you. Emmitt embarks on a mission: to locate the anonymous recipients of his sister’s organs and to stitch the parts of her back together. Ironically, Minnie’s hobby was taxidermy — collecting animal roadkill, preserving them, and presenting them in an artistic manner, with each diorama conveying a unique story. Following her path, Emmitt hopes to preserve his twin, finding parts of her that continue to live on.
With omnipresent ideas of death, Heart Sister manages to maintain a light-hearted tone, delving into important aspects of mental health, organ donation, and loss. Minnie’s sacrifice transcends boundaries of gender, race, and class, bringing an entire slew of unlikely characters together. Stewart humanizes seemingly unforgivable characters, from displaying the inner wounds of an alcoholic to the softer sides of a sniper, thus portraying organ donation as the ultimate gift and act of selflessness.
I found myself guiltily laughing along with Emmitt, for how can one laugh after having lost their other half? Stewart’s masterful writing pulled me into a world alongside Emmitt, accompanying his hilarious quest in looking for the recipient of his sister’s heart, a girl who remains adamantly anonymous. Stewart maintains an element of mystery: why does she want to stay anonymous? What is she so scared of revealing? Through his relentless letters to his heart sister, Emmitt starts to fall in love, and I began to find the magic in their letters and this faceless girl housing his sister’s beloved heart.
Heart Sister by Micheal F. Stewart took me on an emotional ride, introducing me to the beautiful yet painful world of organ donation, extracting laughter and tears with the same sentence. A book I was unable to put down, Heart Sister will forever change your outlook on life and death, compelling you to cherish every moment you have with your family.
Srijaa Chatterjee is an English Literature and Creative Writing student at UBC from Delhi, India. There’s nothing she loves more than diving into a new book while the rain beats down upon the windows. Exploring new things, obsessing over Taylor Swift, and falling in love with a new author each week capture Srijaa’s personality in a nutshell.
YOUNG ADULTING 