My Heart and Other Black Holes
Jasmine Warga's 2015 debut is narrated by Aysel Seran, a sixteen-year-old physics nerd in small-town Kentucky whose father is in prison for a violent crime that the whole town remembers. Aysel has decided she is going to kill herself, and she has been planning it methodically for months, but she does not trust herself to follow through alone. So she logs into a forum called Smooth Passages and finds Roman, a popular boy from a town an hour away whose little sister recently drowned on his watch, and who has decided he wants out too. They agree to do it together on April seventh. The novel is the diary of the weeks leading up to that date, as Aysel and Roman drive around in his beat-up car planning the logistics and accidentally beginning to notice what staying alive might cost the other. Warga's book became a touchstone in the wave of YA mental health fiction that followed.
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about My Heart and Other Black Holes
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Aysel is a sixteen-year-old physics nerd in small-town Kentucky carrying a family shame and a plan to die. She finds a partner online named Roman. The closer their date gets, the harder it becomes.
My Heart and Other Black Holes centers on two teens who plan to die by suicide together. It contains explicit depictions of suicidal ideation and depression. Readers sensitive to these themes should approach with care.
Yes. My Heart and Other Black Holes is YA contemporary fiction, suitable for readers 14 and up. The mental health content is intense and benefits from awareness of the themes before reading.
My Heart and Other Black Holes was written by Jasmine Warga, published in 2015 by Balzer & Bray/Harperteen.
My Heart and Other Black Holes is 320 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, My Heart and Other Black Holes takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
My Heart and Other Black Holes is a standalone novel by Jasmine Warga, not part of a series.
My Heart and Other Black Holes is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.