The Heartbreak Messenger by Alexander Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Closer to a 3.5 only because of the massive dangling threads at the end of the story. Spoilers in the third paragraph, everyone.
The book is a great conceit about a kid who learns he can make money by breaking up with people for them. Soon, he's created a little universe for himself where he can make money doing these breakups and maybe help his mom pay a few bills along the way. Of course, he's oblivious to his female friend's desires, and he sees how his divorced mom is hurting, so things are complicated.
This is a cute, quick read for sure. It doesn't waste a ton of time, and balances the funny slapstick with more serious stuff very well. My one problem was how he had some opportunities to explain himself to his best friend he never took, and we never find out how his mother handles the situation either. It feels incomplete as a result, which frustrated me a lot.
Overall, though, a definitely worthwhile read. It has a lot of good depictions of relationships from the teenage male perspective, and handles a lot of different ideas about identities and finances and such that other books either avoid outright or tend to get preachy with. I just wish it ended better.
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