Official Review: Hearts of Black by Will Bokach

[Bertha Jackson]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Hearts of Black" by Will Bokach.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Hearts of Black by Will Bokach is a fictional story about high school kids who are all dependent on one of their friends. Adele, who is in an abusive relationship with Adrian, breaks it off, and he is determined to get her back. Jack, who is a former boyfriend of Adele’s, still loves her. Earrin breaks things off with her boyfriend, Phil. Chris wants Earrin, and Jasmine loves Max. Max loves everyone and is the one everyone goes to for advice. He takes on everyone’s pain to keep them from suffering. The school relies on him to keep the other students motivated, whether it be in class, the production of a play, or music competition. Max is the leader. All of these teenagers are fighting for their independence to live their lives as they want. They learn the differences between the different phases of love: friendship, romantic, and physical. One thing they can all count on, no matter what they are going through, is that Max will be there for them. But who is there for Max? Can he take on everyone’s troubles with no time to decompress his anger? What will happen to him? Will his friends be there for him if he breaks down from the pressures? Can he survive?

In this book, you will encounter homosexuality, sex, drugs, bullying, love, jealousy, self-hate, self-mutilation, dependency, loneliness, identity crisis, pedophiles, murder, bombings, teen pregnancy, and BDSM (bondage, discipline, dominance, and submission). The book is full of morals that Max lives by and uses when advising others. One of which is, without purpose, there is no meaning to life. In other words, to be happy and successful you need to have a reason for doing what you do. Another one is, never live in the past, it is done and over with. No matter your regrets, you can’t change your past, you have to move forward and learn from your mistakes. This book is a wake-up call for teachers and parents to pay more attention to their children. You need to watch for signs that your child may be in trouble. Children in the 16 to 18 year age group have adult feelings, but they are not always capable of dealing with them.

The thing I liked most about this book was the morals it told when Max was giving advice. Once a mistake has been made, you can’t focus on it. You have to move forward. I disliked how many of the conversations did not indicate who was speaking. In group settings, I had a hard time keeping the many characters straight because of this. I also disliked that I had to take breaks in reading this book because it was so disturbing. I even had nightmares about it.

I would recommend this book only to very open-minded adults. Many of the graphic exotic sexual scenes are disturbing because of the age group of the characters. The abuse, self-mutilation, BDSM, and senseless deaths are very disturbing. It was too easy for these kids to obtain their adult toys of whips, collars, handcuffs, and chains. Christians may be offended by the alternative sexual activities, and atheists may be offended by the few prayers in the book.

I don’t believe this book was professionally-edited due to the number of errors I found. Many of these errors were either missing, wrong, or additional words in sentences. For instance, “of” instead of “off”. The plot did flow smoothly throughout the book. For this reason, I am giving it 3 out of 4 stars. Once it is professionally-edited, it could earn an additional star.

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Hearts of Black
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[Diana Lowery]

I also reviewed this book and had many of the same reactions as you. I found it very disturbing.

[Elvis Best]

Max sounds like the go-to guy. Although, I am thrilled about the disturbing aspect of the book. Great review, Bertha.

[Chigo Nwagboso]

The book cover is unique and catchy. Thanks for your recommendation, and I'm happy that it has moral values that are beneficial. Great review.