The Faint of Heart

Not that long ago, the Scientist discovered that all sadness, anxiety, and anger disappeared when you removed your heart. And that's all it took. Soon enough, the hospital had lines out the door—even though the procedure numbed the good feelings, too.

Everyone did it. Everyone except high school student June. But now the pressure, loneliness, and heartache are mounting, and it’s becoming harder and harder to be the only one with a heart.

One day, June comes across an abandoned heart in a jar. The heart in the jar intrigues her, it baffles her, and it brings her hope. But the heart also brings her Max, a classmate with a secret of his own.

And it may rip June’s own heart in two.

Part speculative fiction and part cautionary tale, The Faint of Heart is a moving and ethereal debut that questions morality and the feelings that seem too big to contain. 

Mandy Graul