Book Review: Conditions of a Heart by Bethany Mangle

[ID: A book with an illustration of two teens on the cover. One teen is an Asian-American girl with long brown hair. The other is a teen boy with dark hair and his face turned away. The teen girl stares straight at the viewer and we can see her ribcage illuminated in white. Colorful butterflies in all shades of the rainbow fly out from her chest and surround the image. The book sits on a gray wooden floor on a bed of loose book pages surrounded by yellow ribbons, fuzzy yellow fake flowers, and a rainbow assortment of butterflies.]

Happy release day to CONDITIONS OF A HEART by Bethany Mangle!

I’ve been eagerly anticipating this release and I’m delighted to say it did not disappoint! Thank you to the author and publishers for my early copy!

Summary: Inspired by the author’s own experiences living with EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), POTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome), and MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome), this book follows the story of Brynn Kwan, a high school overachiever who is desperate to conceal her disability while constructing the perfect persona as prom queen favorite and head of the yearbook committee. She’s even pushed away her first love rather than reveal the truth. But when Brynn attempts to break up a fight and ends up suspended, her carefully crafted illusion begins to crumble. She begins to wonder if it’s possible to reinvent her world by being the person she thought no one wanted: herself.

My thoughts: CONDITIONS OF A HEART is set in a post-COVID world where COVID is no longer a threat, but the death, trauma, and lasting effects of COVID/COVID denial are still very real. I was worried at first about reading a book with this setting, but the author has handled it beautifully.

This book is absolutely dripping with raw emotion that reverberates from every page. You can really feel Brynn’s (and the ENTIRE disability community’s) grief, fury, and exhaustion from being left behind, dismissed, pitied, and accused of faking illness for attention. As someone who is chronically ill and disabled, I could feel Brynn’s emotions even more intensely because they reflect and mirror my own. When we finally get to see Brynn reach her tipping point, it’s intense, emotional, and satisfying.

Brynn’s journey was incredibly cathartic to read and had me frantically highlighting every chapter. In that way, I wanted a tiny bit more from the ending and just more time with these characters! Brynn’s development felt a little rushed at the end and I would’ve appreciated more time to sit with her revelations.

CONDITIONS OF A HEART doesn’t pull its punches when it addresses racism or ableism. I really appreciated how the author highlighted the intersectionality of Brynn’s experience. Brynn’s family also felt like real people in all their shades of gray.

The romance was sweet but not really my particular cup of tea because second chance romance isn’t my favorite. I struggle to connect with the romance when most of its development is off page before the book begins. However, I’m sure that those of you who love that trope will appreciate it here.

Despite its darker aspects, this book is also extremely funny and ultimately hopeful in a gentle, delicate way. CONDITIONS OF A HEART is a raw, beating heart disguised as a book and I’m going to be thinking about it for a long time…

Trigger/content warnings: ableism, racism, injuries/medical content, COVID/pandemic/associated trauma, past suicidal ideation