My Adventure at Renaissance Fest

My Review of Hearts Unbroken

Reviewed By: Jassy Jubilee

 Set in a small suburban town in Kansas, Cynthia Leitich Smith really brings to life her own personal experiences with Native American racism through her character Louise in Heart's Unbroken. In an easy to follow and light way, she brings teen angst, romance, the heartbreaking reality of stereotypes still present, and the challenges of a changing world altogether in this novel. 

Most of the book takes place in Louise's high school located in East Hannesburg, Kansas. Louise and her family are all part of the Muskogee (Creek) Native American nation. She is on the journalism staff and plays a leadership role in the school. She has recently broken up with her long-term boyfriend (Cam Ryan) because his own mother disagreed with his brother marrying a Native American woman. This makes Louise think twice about entering a prejudicial family. Cam tells Louise she is overacting, and this ensues in her breaking up with him through email, of all ways. This is the start, the catalyst of the novel. It presents the reader with an initial situation that Louise continues to encounter in different ways throughout the book, people judging her based on her ethnicity. 

On page 39, Louise opens up, "Yes, I was infatuated with Joey. He'd made an intriguing first impression. But Peter Ney, the last intriguing boy I'd met, had automatically equated all Native people with alcoholics. And Tommy Dale Brown, the next-to-last intriguing boy I'd met, dated only white girls" (Pg.39). I think this statement is quite sad because she recognizes that so many love interests in her life have some sort of stereotypical attitude toward Native American people. I like how Louise does not let that get her down, though. She continues marching on, taking down other controversial topics in her Journalism classes such as sexual bullying. I think her supportive family unit also helps her to stay focused on her goals and not to succumb to the ambient pressures of the people around her. Her own mother, a retired teacher, is pursuing a law degree. Therefore, Louise has a role model in her own household who shows that anything is possible. 

The book's epicenter includes a theater production of The Wizard of Oz which separates both the high school and the whole town into opposing factions. The controversy behind the production is that the theater teacher decides to have an all-inclusive, diverse cast. Some people in the school and town believe this is unfair, that the only reason why the teacher picked these students is that they are multicultural, not because of their actual talent. We do not hear much from the students chosen for these roles, but we do hear a lot from students who disapprove of them. Garrett, a senior theater student who got snubbed for the role of Tin Man, comments: "I'm a senior, and suddenly, some freshman waltzes in and takes my part...Some freshman shouldn't get whatever he wants just because of how he looks. Like it's not cool to be white anymore"(Pg. 190). This shows the fresh hostility of even peers at school, and the ignorance of someone even in Louise's same generation. Was it really unfair, or was this person just jealous?
It would have been interesting if Cynthia Leitich could have given more of a voice to the diverse students suffering through this degree of discrimination, the very students acting in the production. Instead, she gave more time to minor characters throughout the book, some of whom Louise interviewed only once.  The only character from the production that we hear from consistently is Louise's younger brother named Hughie. He's a freshman who auditioned for the part of the Tin Man. Having him as one of the main characters definitely makes up for the lack of narrative time given to the other characters in the play. His perspective adds a new level of depth to the story. Hughie must be brave among all the naysayers, drawing on the wisdom, courage, and strength that only a true protagonist could. Not giving away any spoilers, but he discovers something profoundly disturbing about the production itself that he has to come to terms with. Hughie is willing to give up his outstanding role because of his own personal value system and beliefs. This shows his integrity and heart, even as such a young actor, thus solidifying the titled theme, "Hearts Unbroken". But I won't give anything else away! 

The obvious antagonist in this story is the P.A.R.T. organization, which serves as the town's faction against this all-inclusive theater approach. Their organization's name literally means, "Parents Against Revisionist Theater." Smith gives a special section just for Louise's personal encounter with their infamous leader. Mrs. Ney, also the wife to the pastor of a local Church comments this to Louise in an interview,  "I certainly have no problem with Chelsea Weber...But casting a Black Dorothy Gale is an academic travesty...the character is supposed to be from Kansas." (Pg. 157). Louise then retorts Mrs. Ney's arrogance and ignorance stating that Chelsea is, in fact, from Kansas. This shows Mrs. Ney's blatant hypocritical ways. Although she thinks her attitude is not prejudicial against Chelsea, obviously it is. How many people do we know in our own lives who swear up and down they are not racist, but in the next sentence are saying something derogatory and unsympathetic? Smith projects this very well in her character Mrs. Ney. This and many other parts of the book proved very memorable for me.

Some of the other elements of the book that I took with me, even after having read it two weeks ago, include the touching family moments, coupled with Louise's unique and fresh voice, and the classic, entertaining teen angst. There are many times throughout the book that it seems Louise's family will crumble under the pressure, but they do not. They support each other, and they have an open dialogue about faith and their Native American identity. This is so precious, and every family should aspire to be like the Wolfe one. They are truly an unstoppable unit. The family's impact throughout the novel only adds more emphasis on Louise's unique perspective and voice. We go through all of these experiences with her and gain more of an appreciation for her opinion and values. Leitich not only addresses the theme of Native American racism, but she also features other sorts of hidden prejudices within the school briefly, including sexual bullying and LGBT acceptance. Two of Louise's female friends are in a relationship. Only at the very end of the book, do they walk hand and hand in public, not caring about the stares or views of others.

Although I enjoyed Hearts Unbroken greatly, there are still a couple things that I would change, including the number of minor characters. These people appear for one or two scenes in the book, then disappear. One such character is Ms. Zimmerman, the school librarian. She pops into the book only about two times. Louise describes her as, "Ms. Zimmerman, our school librarian, was  fifty-something, dyed her graying hair fairy blue and was mostly unsuccessful at hiding her Winnie-the-Pooh tattoos." (Pg. 119). This is a wonderful description for someone who doesn't appear but only a few times! Whenever this kind of thing happens, it proves very disappointing. Readers do not get to know a minor character very much, and they have no character growth or arc at all, and we are stuck thinking, why was this character even added in the first place?

Besides not giving enough time to minor characters, or having less of them, Leitich tends to make some chapters too jumpy. In the first half of the novel, she even had a chapter that was only a page and a half. This can get annoying for readers because it interferes with characterization and the foundation of setting. When the chapters are not ironed out entirely, it's hard to have continuity in a work of literature and can feel confusing for the reader. I also found that in addition to some of the chapters being a little too short for my liking, there was a lack of imagery as well in some parts. A line that I thought could have more imagery was: "He zeroed in on the receiver's home jersey-touchdown!" (Pg. 74). The scene did not engage the reader as much as it could have. There could have been a scene following or preceding with more imagery, but there was not. What about the atmosphere? The mood? Did it smell like popcorn? What were the cheerleaders doing? Because of these reasons, I would give Hearts Unbroken 4 out of 5 stars. Not perfect, but pretty near it! The content and story line were pretty excellent, but the language, imagery, chapter lengths, and character development could have been more solid.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Hearts Unbroken. Although the beginning went rather slow, by the middle I was very enthused. The characters, social dynamics, and setting make it all the more interesting. I am a 24-year-old millennial who grew up in an urban neighborhood in the south, so a lot of this I can relate to, but some of it is still bizarre to me. I liked seeing through the lenses of a perspective I was unfamiliar with. I think that it is important for people to read books that challenge them, because this is how you learn, gain more empathy, and become more open-minded. Thank you, Cynthia Leitich Smith, for having the vulnerability to share a small bit of your experience as someone who experienced prejudice and overcame it, and thanks for painting a beautifully told coming-of-age story that can resonate strongly with many different readers of diverse backgrounds.



Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Hearts Unbroken. Candlewick Press, 2018.

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