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Heart of the Matter Book Review

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Submitted By AlyC12
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Book Review

1/3/13

Heart of the Matter
Emily Giffin

Heart of the Matter takes place in Boston and in a suburb outside of Boston. It is a modern, realistic novel that is about two women, brought into each others’ lives based on a tragedy.

In the novel, there are two main characters. This is because the point of view changes between the two characters. The first person is Valerie Anderson. She is a single mother and a lawyer, recently settles into the area. I really liked Valerie because she initially came off as an independent and successful single woman. The other character is Tessa Russo. She recently quit her job as an English professor and is the mother of two children. She is also the wife of a plastic surgeon. Tessa was a very reserved character and I could instantly tell of the frustrations she had being a stay at home mother with prestigious friends.

A supporting character in the novel was Tessa’s doctor husband, Nick. He is a man all about his profession, as a plastic surgeon for burn victims at Shriner’s Hospital. He is connected with Valerie as well. When her son got into an accident at a sleepover, Nick became involved in her life in more ways than imaginable.

Valerie’s son, Charlie, is also an important, supporting character in the novel. He is the reason his mother met Dr. Russo. Also, Nick Russo became somewhat of a father figure to Charlie during his recovery and surgeries. Throughout the book, Valerie and Charlie start to struggle with the idea that he does not have a father.

The problem in the novel is different for both Tessa and Valerie. Throughout the novel, Tessa must learn to be a stay at home mother and deal with her struggling marriage. Valerie, on the other hand, had to deal with feeling too attached to a married man, and protect her son from getting too attached as well.

An important quote in the book is,

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