Hazel will do anything in order to become a surgeon. Being a high-society woman in 18th Century Scotland has put a damper on these dreams but, she’s persevered. With her parents being absent, she can more or less do as she pleases to work towards her goal. When her initial plan to sneak into the all male surgical school becomes unveiled, she begins to seek out resurrection men of the city for practice; enter Jack Currer. Jack is able to get bodies for Hazel so that she can pass the board anatomy exam to become an actual surgeon. All is well until Hazel notices some of the bodies of the dead (and living) are missing vital organs. Is someone getting to the bodies before her or is something more sinister at play?

I’m not normally a YA reader. By normally I mean hardly ever; as an adult the content is corny most of the time. Admittedly, this was a cover/hype buy and I was nervous that I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’m happy to report that I loved! Anatomy was endearing. I felt the love and heart that Schwartz put into the story, especially in developing Hazel’s character. She absolutely flourished, blossoming off the page with nuanced character traits and ambitions. The plot was well developed and I enjoyed the little pieces of information placed throughout the story for the reader to complete the puzzle. It did get a tinge predictable towards the end, but it didn’t spoil the reading experience. The historical fiction aspect was very well done. I felt as if I was brought back in time and it’s evident that the way of life throughout this time period was heavily researched. Because of the ending, I’m hoping Schwartz continues Hazel’s story with a sequel. She’s a fictional pioneer of her time and I’d love to keep up with where her gifts will take her…and to figure out what happened to a certain someone