Kim Culbertson

Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa Gardner discovers her boyfriend in the costume barn with another girl. Jessa is left with a care package from her best friend titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," instructing her to do one un-Jessa-like thing each day of the trip. At turns hilarious and heartwrenching, Instructions for a Broken Heart paints a magical Italy in which Jessa learns she must figure out life-and romance-for herself. Praise for Songs For A Teenage Nomad: "A beautiful, lyrical read-I loved every last word of it!" -Alyson No©±l, New York Times bes.

Instructions for a Broken Heart

Vicky (A City Girl's Thoughts)

I read a positive review about this book on a womans magazine website, thinking this was a chick-flick type of book, which aren't my type, but decided to give this story a read. However this is a story of a teen girl, Jessa, who catches her boyfriend, Sean, cheating on her with Natalie, a girl who's prettier than her. Conveniently, her classes' spring break trip to Italy is coming up - something she, Sean, and her classmates planned for prior to the start of this novel. Her friend, Carissa, can't go, but she sends instructions via another classmate on how to get over her ex. She is to follow each instruction every day of the trip, but can't peek ahead.

Throughout the novel it becomes obvious the notes are a confession of Carissa and Sean's secret flings and an attempt of an apology, but the novel becomes kind of messy (and a little boring) after this revelation. Jessa is coming-of-age during this trip, so we go from getting over a heartbreak to Jessa's attempts to her (kinda?) trying to figure out the rest of her personal life. This was a lighthearted quick read, but that was it. Surprises and lies are discovered, loyalty is put to the test, but nothing really stood out to me, just another teen drama.

Instructions for a Broken Heart

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