Caragh Reviews - Severed Heads, Broken Hearts by Robyn Schneider

Published - 1st September 2013
Publisher - Simon & Schuster
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - Golden boy Ezra Faulkner believes everyone has a tragedy waiting for them—a single encounter after which everything that really matters will happen. His particular tragedy waited until he was primed to lose it all: In one spectacular night, a reckless driver shatters Ezra's knee, his career as a jock, and his social life. No longer a front-runner for homecoming king, Ezra finds himself at the table of misfits, where he encounters new girl Cassidy Thorpe. Cassidy is unlike anyone Ezra's ever met— achingly effortless, fiercely intelligent, and determined to bring Ezra along on her endless adventures. Together, Ezra and Cassidy discover flash mobs, buried treasure, secret movie screenings, and a poodle that might just be the reincarnation of Jay Gatsby. But as Ezra dives into his new studies, new friendships, and new love, he learns that some people, like books, are easy to misread. And now he must consider: If one's singular tragedy has already hit and everything after it has mattered quite a bit, what happens when more misfortune strikes?

This book has been re-named for some ridiculous reason so if you're unfortunate enough not to come across the original title (which I ADORE) then it's new name is The Beginning of Everything. 

This is probably, definitely going to be a biased review because honestly, if it was possible to rate books more than 5 stars (in Goodreads terms) I would totally max the crap out of the rating. I quite simply, absolutely and completely maniacally LOVED this book.

The cover of Severed Heads, Broken Hearts was the first thing that grabbed my attention, and then the cover & blurb quote both made references to John Green/Augustus Waters and I was sold immediately. The blue and the mixing of black and white in the centre is very TFioS which naturally turns heads now but to give a more substantial reason of why I picked the book up - it actually sounded interesting. I'm also happy to report that the blurb on the back of the book really does contain the essence of the book itself.

The story is told from Ezra's POV and so the laugh-out-loud humour is of course his too which makes it a genuinely funny and interest story. Severed Heads, Broken Hearts dives straight into it and within a couple of pages the "twist" is already thrown at us. I've said this multiple times now but I honestly just couldn't stop laughing at the beginning. Ezra is gorgeous, loveable and completely down to earth so that anyone can relate and his transition from Top Jock to Debate Nerd is heartwarming and also painful at times. All of the characters are well written, even side characters who don't really mean anything to the story but definitely add something to Ezra's learning curve. 

Another thing I particularly enjoyed was the pop culture references scattered throughout! Stuff like that really gets me going as it appeals to my own nerdy side. My favourite character by far was Toby. His reaction to the 'severed head' situation and the way he was more than happy to invite Ezra back into his life like they'd been best friends forever was brilliant and I wish there were more genuine people like him. His references to Doctor Who and his memorabilia were probably what won me over the most - nerd, remember? ;)

Severed Heads, Broken Hearts just felt really genuine and was a completely refreshing read in comparison to everything else i've read recently which falls just short. It had everything I was looking for, it was GREAT, quick and fun read and prompted me in the right direction to go on a reading binge. I would definitely recommend this one!