Heart to Heart »

Lurlene McDaniel is the foremost author of inspirational fiction for young adults. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

From Lurlene McDaniel, the bestselling author of young adult inspirational fiction, comes Heart to Heart. This emotionally charged novel explores loss, love, renewal, and the ways in which these complex bonds within families and between friends are tested at life's most challenging moments.
 
Elowyn Eden and Kassey Messechek are best friends. They share every aspect of their lives. But one thing Elowyn has not yet shared with Kassey is that she checked the organ donor box on her newly acquired driver's license. Kassey only learns of this in a startling and devastating way—when Elowyn's life-giving donor wishes are about to be honored.
 
Arabeth St. Clair has not had the luck to have a best friend. Due to her diseased heart, she's led a sheltered life. When Arabeth is sixteen, she and her mother receive the call that will change their lives—but they don't know to whom they should be forever grateful.
 
When the worlds of these three girls and their families intersect, lives are changed in ways never imagined. Most especially, it is Kassey who sees things differently, for she can keep alive the memory of her dear friend by sharing the renewed life of another teenage girl, while helping to ease the pain of the two families involved and coming to terms with her own.
 

Children's Literature

Elowyn and Kassey have been best friends since the summer before seventh grade when they met in the hospital, waiting for surgery due to sports-inflicted injuries. From that day on, they did everything together. They were inseparable, until they got to high school, and Elowyn started dating. During their junior year, Elowyn got her driver's license and a fancy new red car. Sadly, one night after a fight with her boyfriend Wyatt, Elowyn wrecked her car and died. Both girls' families are devastated, and surprised to discover Elowyn had indicated on her driver's license that she wanted to be an organ donor. Comforted by the idea that a part of Elowyn would live on, her parents agree. But they did not realize how much she would live on until they meet Arabeth, who received Elowyn's heart. This young girl, who was near death before the transplant, somehow has received more than the gift of life: she has inherited Elowyn's preference for Chunkey Monkey ice cream and Country French decor, in addition to some of her mannerisms and personality traits. As the lives of all of these characters become increasingly intertwined, it is hard to tell where Elowyn ends and Arabeth begins. Prolific author McDaniel, whose niche is stories about teens touched by illness, death, and tragedy, has penned a detailed drama that will resonate particularly with tweens and early teens. Part mystery and part romance, unraveling the reason for Arabeth's different persona will keep readers hooked until the bittersweet conclusion. Reviewer: Keri Collins Lewis