Sona Charaipotra

"Doogie Howser, M.D. meets The Fault in Our Stars in this tender romcom." —Teen Vogue The youngest doctor in America, an Indian-American teen makes her rounds—and falls head over heels—in Sona Charaipotra's contemporary romantic comedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak. Sixteen-year-old Saira has always juggled family, friendships, and her Girl Genius celebrity. Now, as the youngest med school graduate ever, she can finally achieve her mission to treat young people dealing with cancer. But proving herself in life-or-death situations is tough when everyone from her boss to her patients can't see past her age to trust her skills. And working in the same hospital as her mom isn't making things any easier! Life gets even more complicated when Saira falls for a teenage patient. To improve his chances, she risks her lifelong dream—and it could cost her everything. In her solo debut, Sona Charaipotra brings us a compelling #ownvoices protagonist who’s not afraid to chase what she wants. Symptoms of a Heartbreak goes from romantic comedy highs to tearjerker lows and is the ultimate cure-all for every reader needing an infusion of something heartfelt. An Imprint Book "Fans of YA contemporary don't want to miss this one." —Buzzfeed

Symptoms of a Heartbreak

This entire scene made me pretty mad, and not at her. Lizzie saw how everyone was treating her and pretty much picking on her, they placed bets on her for goodness sake. Yet she got mad at Saira and said that she was acting high and mighty, for not wanting to drink. I agree with Saira, I don’t think they would’ve lasted this long as friends had she been a regular girl. 

Emily Ines 🤍

“Lizzie was all like, oh, you’ll see, she’s so the same…and she was right. You’re exactly the same. Still a stick up bitch, too good for any of us.”

It was a good book. I’m used to some letdown so I wasn’t expecting that ending. There were some times that I thought Saira wasn’t taking what she was doing seriously. Especially as she started as a more mature character, wanting to be extra early and the type of clothes and things she did. And she meets a boy and risks the career she’s pushed for so much. I expected her to be able to see that some of the things she was doing was wrong. Granted she 16, but the way she acts is as if she was literally a 16 year old who was magically put into this role. And not as someone who was smart enough not graduate at 10. And finish a her program earlier than expected. Some of the other people had good, if not too sudden, character development. They all came together toward then end but without and actual reason to why. And then the ending seems to be set up as if there’s to be another book with a new person appearing in the last few pages. Maybe we’ll a series.

Lisa W.

Symptoms of a heartbreak was a very interesting book. It reminded me of a lot of life lessons that are important for me not to forget but also reminded me that I am an adult reading about the life of a teenager. 

The author did such a good job of sharing this book from the lenses of a teenager that I forgot that it was fictional. I found myself getting very frustrated with teenage characters like Cat and Lizzie, sometimes even Vish. Complaining about trivial things when Saira had real problems to deal with. However I must remind myself their problems are real to them. (Although I don’t think I can forgive either of them for some of their actions like not being present for a dying friend or for letting Saira take the heat for a secret that wasn’t hers) 

Part of my problem with Vish is that I cannot understand what it means to be in his situation but then again that may be a cultural thing. Although black families don’t accept it we aren’t shunned or possibly killed for his very truth. Ultimately Saira did the right thing it just sucks that it came at a cost to here 

Favorite character by far was Dadi, she dropped so much wisdom I wasn’t sure whether to bookmark or highlight her every word.. I sincerely appreciate her presence in the storyline along with her son.

Michelle Boyea

** spoiler alert **
           I have very mixed feelings regarding this book honestly.

I loved the idea of a 16 year old "girl genius" doctor. However, I didn't like the way that she was portrayed. I felt that if she is supposed to be a "genius" and a board-certified doctor, she should have been more mature than she was shown to be. And yes, she is still a child, but I did not like the inconsistency between her lives. I also did not like that her Mom was running interference for her at work, causing her to be late, etc. 

I did love that the protagonist truly cared about her patients but I would have liked for the book to focus more on her medical skills rather than relationships.

While it was still a good read, I was overall disappointed with the story and plot of this book.

"A smart, tender and thoughtful exploration of loving in the face of heartbreaking circumstances." —Nicola Yoon, New York Times–bestselling author of Everything Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star "Saira’s antics as a female, Indian American Doogie Howser kept me glued to the edge of my seat from the first page to the last. Symptoms of a Heartbreak is the summer rom-com to add to your list!" —Sandhya Menon, New York Times–bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi The youngest doctor in America, an Indian-American teen makes her rounds—and falls head over heels—in the contemporary romantic comedy Symptoms of a Heartbreak. Fresh from med school, sixteen-year-old medical prodigy Saira arrives for her first day at her new job: treating children with cancer. She’s always had to balance family and friendships with her celebrity as the Girl Genius—but she’s never had to prove herself to skeptical adult co-workers while adjusting to real life-and-death stakes. And working in the same hospital as her mother certainly isn’t making things any easier. But life gets complicated when Saira finds herself falling in love with a patient: a cute teen boy who’s been diagnosed with cancer. And when she risks her brand new career to try to improve his chances, it could cost her everything. It turns out “heartbreak” is the one thing she still doesn’t know how to treat. In her solo debut, Sona Charaipotra brings us a compelling #ownvoices protagonist who’s not afraid to chase what she wants. Symptoms of a Heartbreak goes from romantic comedy highs to tearjerker lows and is the ultimate cure-all for young adult readers needing an infusion of something heartfelt. An Imprint Book "A tender YA romance set in the thick of the medical world." —Entertainment Weekly "Fans of YA contemporary don't want to miss this one." —Buzzfeed "Doogie Howser, M.D. meets The Fault in Our Stars in this tender romcom." —Teen Vogue

Symptoms of a Heartbreak

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