“Sweeping Up The Heart” by Kevin Henkes

Last weekend I returned from a trip to Greece that was filled with nothing but joy. Seriously, every day spent in Greece with my husband Jeff, sister-in-law Jen and her husband Dan had me either smiling or laughing out loud. Each night we would clink wine glasses to a “Baklava!” toast and beam with good fortune. I was only sorry that the trip had to end because my addiction to rest, education, activities and feta cheese was just getting started. So upon returning, I decided that I had to start finding more joy at home. One of the things I used to love doing when I was younger was reading one book in a single day. Obviously this was never a 600-page book but rather a small book, a paperback to fit inside my purse, or a young adult novel. Earlier this week I chose to read Kevin Henkes’ book “Sweeping Up The Heart.” Full disclosure: I have loved Henkes’ writing ever since I read his “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” book out loud about one thousand times to my own daughter Lily when she was growing up. This contributed to her obsession with handbags later on. But what I did not know is that, in addition to his picture books, he writes wonderful young adult novels, too. “Sweeping Up The Heart” is the story of Amelia and the spring break that changed her life when she was in the seventh grade. Frustrated with her stodgy, widowed-professor father for not planning a proper spring break, Amelia decides to hide out in the neighborhood pottery studio. It is there that she meets a boy name Casey who has a bigger problem: his parents are getting divorced. Amelia and Casey bond over their dilemmas, and form a friendship that only people in crisis can appreciate. Amelia shares the grief over the death of her mother, and Casey shares his fears over his parents’ upcoming separation. Youth. Grief. Healing. Connection. Friendship. So nice to discover that so much joy can be found by reading a tiny book on a single Monday in May. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.