The novel is based off of the medical theory of ‘muscular memory.’ Muscular memory is the theory of how an organ can hold memories or traits of a person. There’s no proof, statistics or tests that can prove that this theory is real. However, there are a lot of stories of receptions of organ donations that say they did start doing things out of their character once they got their organ transplant. McDaniel created ‘Heart to Heart’ off of this theory.
‘Heart to Heart’ focuses on three main characters: Elowyn, Kassey, and Arabeth. Elowyn and Kassey are best friends, and have been for years. They do everything and go everywhere together. Arabeth has a weak heart and has been medically struggling to stay alive and healthy. When a tragic accident suddenly takes Elowyn’s life, her parents are left with the decision to grant their daughters last wish – to be an organ donor. With the end of Elowyn’s life, Arabeth’s life finally starts. Because of Arabeth’s heart condition she never had the chance to be a ‘real’ kid and have a ‘real’ life. With Arabeth finally living a ‘normal’ life, she realizes that some of her personality traits have changed. Arabeth finds herself saying, doing and acting in ways she’s never done before, Arabeth is convinced that her organ donor is haunting her. With the help of Elowyn’s parents, Elowyn’s boyfriend and Kassey, Arabeth discovers who Elowyn is and why Arabeth is compelled to act certain ways.
‘Heart to Heart’ was written in the perceptive of Kassey and Arabeth. The novel portrayed how Kassey felt after her best friend’s death Elowyn and how she worked through the mourning process. Once Kassey is introduced to Arabeth, Kassey deals with the situations of how much Arabeth reminders her of Elowyn. After Arabeth receives the heart transplant, not only does she need to adjust to ‘normal’ life but Arabeth is also left to deal with urges and thoughts she feels like she cannot control. Throughout the novel the memory of Elowyn unites and ties all the characters together in a somewhat familiar way.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I felt that McDaniel returned to her older style of writing in this novel. Some of McDaniel’s newer books, I feel, are completely different than how she wrote in her earlier novels. It was refreshing to see and read that McDaniel has not lost her touch of writing a heart wrenching story.
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