Despite some issues with the second book, I enjoyed Charaipotra’s Tiny Pretty Things duology, co-written with Dhonielle Clayton. I was curious to see what her solo debut would be like, and overall, it was an enjoyable contemporary written from a unique perspective: Saira, a sixteen-year-old nicknamed the Girl Genius, is starting an oncology internship at the hospital her mother works at. I can honestly say I’ve never read anything like this before, and it was interesting to some extent.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. Saira was well-written and I did admire her dedication, but I wasn’t invested in her story. The same can be said about most of the side characters, though I liked some more than others.

I was tempted to give this book four stars, say it was good but not my cup of tea, and move on. But after a bit of reflection, I was able to pinpoint what was preventing me from doing that. There are two queer side characters, and at times, both rubbed me the wrong way. One is Saira’s close friend and “boyfriend”, a cover they’re using since he’s still closeted and dating a guy in secret. There were some moments where I don’t think Saira was being fair to him, including toward the end when she talked about looking like the “bad guy” in a situation (in which she was partially at fault) because he wasn’t out.

The other was one of Saira’s higher-ups at the hospital, the antagonist for most of the story. It’s revealed at the end that her attitude was influenced heavily by personal issues, and even if we look past how unprofessional that is, the situation with this character doesn’t sit right with me.

One positive thing, though, is that, despite some skepticism on my part in the first half of the book, the romance ended up being very sweet. I wouldn’t have minded if Saira and Link stayed friends, and their dynamic is a bit predictable, but I do like them together.

Despite the issues I had with the queer representation and my general lack of interest in the story, Symptoms of a Heartbreak isn’t a bad book. I just think that it’s best suited for a specific audience, one I’m not part of. If you think you’ll like this book, you should definitely read it. I will, most likely, read more from Charaipotra in the future.

Representation:

• Indian-American protagonist

• Indian family members & side characters

• Korean-Dutch love interest

• Queer side characters (gay guy, sapphic woman)

CW: death (one prior to story & one on-page), grief, cancer & discussions of cancer, hospital setting