Review: Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green

Another Piece of My Heart by Jane Green chronicles the patchwork family created by Andi and Ethan and his two daughters from his first marriage.  Blending a family is never easy but this family seems to have it especially hard -  Ethan’s older daughter Emily resents Andi and is determined to make sure Andi knows at every opportunity how much Emily dislikes her. Meanwhile, Ethan grapples with guilt over his divorce from the girls’ mother and is unwilling to challenge Emily’s behavior asking Andi to be more tolerant of the teenage Emily.  As Emily’s behavior escalates, Andi reaches her limit and this patchwork family is about to tear apart.



Andi thought she had found her dream guy when she met Ethan and the fact that he had two daughters from a first marriage didn’t give her pause - Andi loved kids and hoped to have one of her own.  Perhaps a little naively, Andi approached step-motherhood with optimism and expected she would have a loving relationship with both girls.  She got her wish with the younger Sophia - she attaches herself to Andi and accepts the mothering she often doesn’t get from her alcoholic mother.  Emily, however, is in the throes of adolescence and is spewing her vitriol over the whole family with Andi as her main target. As Emily’s behavior escalates, she pulls further away from the family and her life begins to get off track.  Ethan desperately wants to get Emily back on track and begins to feel Andi is an obstacle to that - all her fighting with Emily is driving her further away.  In much the same way, Andi wants her marriage and family back and can’t see that happening with Emily still in the house.  The family is at a crossroads and in crisis.  

Jane Green writes excellent women’s fiction and her novels have grown along with her - she has moved from the single girl in the city seen in Jemima J to a woman approaching middle age and trying to manage her blended family in Another Piece of My Heart. I was engrossed in the story of this family and found myself reading more and more to see what would unravel next - the family seemed to be in a downward spiral.  Interestingly, the book is told from two perspectives - Andi’s in some chapters and Emily’s in others.  At first, I couldn’t relate to Emily at all and really felt for Andi and all Emily was putting her through. But as I read more of Emily’s chapters I began to at least understand that there was girl under there facing emotions that she didn’t know how to handle.  On the whole however, I felt Andi handled the situation the best she could and her demands were not unreasonable.  The Andi versus Emily debate seems to have sparked strong feelings among readers - they seem to either really like or dislike one of the two characters which is a testament to how well these characters are drawn.


Another Piece of My Heart takes us on the journey of a family that was pieced together, unraveled and knitted back together.  Their journey isn’t perfect but I was happy to be along for the ride!

Want to hear more from Jane Green?  Come back tomorrow (Thursday, April 12)  for an interview with the author and a chance to win your own copy of Another Piece of My Heart!