'John Hughes meets John Green in this irresistible story of first love, broken hearts and the golden seams that put them back together again.
'Henry Page has never been in love. He fancies himself a hopeless romantic, but the slo-mo, heart palpitating, can't-eat-can't-sleep kind of love that he's been hoping for just hasn't been in the cards for him – at least not yet. Instead, he's been happy to focus on his grades, on getting into an Ivy League college and finally becoming editor of his school newspaper. Then Grace Town walks into his first period class on the third Tuesday of senior year and he knows everything's about to change.
'Grace isn't who Henry pictured as his dream girl – she walks with a cane, wears oversized boys' clothes and rarely seems to shower. But when Grace and Henry are both chosen to edit the school paper, he quickly finds himself falling for her. It's obvious there's something broken about Grace, but it seems to make her even more beautiful to Henry and he wants nothing more than to help her put the pieces back together again. And yet, this isn't your average story of boy meets girl. Krystal Sutherland's brilliant debut is equal parts wit and heartbreak, a potent reminder of the bittersweet bliss that is first love.' (Publication summary)
Optioned for film by Awesomeness Films in July 2016, prior to the book's publication (https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2016/07/04/59352/film-rights-to-australian-debut-ya-sold-to-us-producers/).
The book was later filmed by Amazon Prime for a 2020 release (https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2019/07/05/135888/amazon-prime-to-adapt-sutherlands-our-chemical-hearts-for-film/).
Writing Disability in Australia
Type of disability | Lameness / cane use (result of trauma). |
Type of character | Primary. |
Point of view | First person (not the character with the disability). |
Note: reviews note that the character's lameness is either cured or heavily ameliorated across the novel, but her therapeutic processes are not evident to the narrator, which can give the sense of a 'magical cure'.