Break My Heart 1,000 Times

Ever since The Event, ghosts have been visible all over Veronica's hometown. Veronica knows this better than most people; every morning, her dead father appears at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper for a while before he smiles and disappears. Ghosts appear and disappear in repeating loops like this all over the city; many people assume the ghosts are simply images of something that happened in the past, but Veronica discovers the ghosts are trapped, bodiless and invisible, repeating the loops that will let others see them...and that the ghosts have the most power to appear on Leap Day (and break their cycles of behavior) every four years. Meanwhile, Veronica's teacher, Mr. Bittner, lost his daughter Eva years ago, and he is show more determined to use Leap Day to bring Eva back to life by giving her a new body...Veronica's. This dark horror tale, despite containing ghosts, suggests that the scariest specters may be people. Recommended for fans of Anna Dressed in Blood or other ghostly young adult horror stories. show less

Based on an ARC of the book.

I was so excited to obtain an ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of Daniel Waters’ newest book Break My Heart 1,000 Times in a giveaway. I was not familiar with his previous work, but the description for this young adult paranormal/suspense thriller was so provocative I was desperate to check it out. A cataclysmic Event that has made ghosts an everyday occurrence? A teacher who would kill to have his daughter back? A phantom teenage boy showing up in a teenage girl’s bathroom? It all seemed wonderfully creepy and I couldn’t wait to dive into this world. Once I did, I found a chilling read I am happy to have in any form.

When Kirk Lane is given a project by his English teacher to investigate and record some of the show more ghosts that appear in town, he hopes it will provide an opportunity to get to know Veronica Calder better and give him the inside track to her heart. Veronica, a girl who lives in the moment as much as possible, has always wondered about the ghosts that have become a part of everyday life and with a new one suddenly appearing in her bathroom her curiosity is piqued even further. But as Kirk and Veronica start to document the regular ghostly events around town, they stumble upon signs that a serial killer has been active in their town for years – and that Veronica may be his next victim.

Break My Heart 1,000 Times is a tautly paced thriller that grabbed my imagination from the very first paragraph. Told from multiple points of view the story takes a unique look at ghosts and handles them in a wonderfully natural manner. Most of the ghosts appear to be recordings caught in loops that play out daily, but some are a bit more conscious of their surroundings. One of these is Brian, a teenage boy who appears unexpectedly in Veronica’s bathroom. Brian is the only character to use the first-person narrative, which allowed me to quickly relate to him and his struggles to make his presence known. I was intrigued by the ways that different characters reacted to the presence of the ghosts, which ranged from complete trauma to casual acceptance. I had to question how I would react in such a situation and if I could go about my daily life normally if these bits of the past were everywhere.

Veronica and Kirk are an interesting couple. Veronica is bold, strong and lovely while Kirk is a quieter, more intellectual individual. Veronica struggles a bit with commitment issues, while Kirk is confident enough to jump right in and give a relationship his all. A love triangle tentatively rears its head between Veronica, Kirk and ghost Brian, but it never fully gets off the ground due to circumstance – which is perfectly fine since there is enough chemistry between Veronica and Kirk to satisfy. None of the characters has a problem speaking their minds, and each has a very specific “voice” when the point of view shifts to them. Daniel Waters subtly tweaks the tone of the narrative as each character takes center stage, and writes his female characters just as realistically as the males.

There is no mystery regarding the serial killer, since it is quickly revealed in Chapter 3 what history teacher August Bittner has been doing for several years. Instead, this is more of a suspense thriller as August picks out Veronica as his next victim and sets his plans in motion to bring his beloved Eva back into the world. As Kirk, Veronica and Brian become aware of August’s plans, the tension mounts and the pace quickens leading to a heart-pounding finale. The dichotomy of August’s cool, collected public façade versus his psychotic, private one adds to the menace, while his conversations with his wife provide plenty of creepiness to the proceedings.

Daniel Waters has created a fascinating, and chilling, premise that manages to leave a lot of questions open: Why is Brian different from the other ghosts? Why do the ghosts act differently around Veronica? Where did they go? What about those final lines of the book? I would love to visit this world again to get answers to these questions, and hope a sequel is somewhere on the horizon. There are so many ghostly tales left to explore it would be a shame to stop here.

With a cast of well-defined characters, a haunting premise, chills, and a touch of romance, Daniel Waters’ Break My Heart 1,000 Times is a young adult paranormal thriller that will leave you wondering what you would do if the ones you loved kept reappearing after death – and how far would you go if they didn’t? show less

As you may have noticed, I rarely read YA but I couldn't resist the premise of BREAK MY HEART 1,000 TIMES when I heard about it. It's a supernatural thriller where the scary parts are actually not the ghosts -- how could I *not* try it?

I am completely unfamiliar with Daniel Waters' other work, the Generation Dead series, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was a very interesting and thoughtful story about loss and death and all of the different ways people respond to big and small changes in their lives, in addition to an exciting thriller storyline. The book is definitely geared toward the 12-17 age range but it's a nice book for those of us who are a little (or a lot) more mature. :)

The story is told from several points of show more view so you get to know the minds of several characters. The bulk of the novel is told by Veronica and Kirk, which allowed me to get to know them very well, but Daniel Waters also gives us some insight into Mr. Bittner, the creepy teacher, and Brian, one of the ghosts who lives in Veronica's house. The multiple angles lets us really see the world the author has created and I thoroughly appreciated it even though I didn't really enjoy being Mr. Bittner's brain.

BREAK MY HEART 1,000 TIMES is billed as a thriller but it's not a fast-paced novel so be prepared for a slow boil. I generally prefer this genre of book to have more action and what you get in BREAK MY HEART 1,000 TIMES is a lot of the characters' thoughts. As such, the book felt a little slow to me, particularly in the start, and I had a hard time getting into the story. I'm glad I read it through, though, because the pieces fall into place as Veronica learns Mr. Bittern has bad intentions and as she and Kirk investigate the ghosts in their community, and the story definitely builds as you get closer to the end.

My favourite part of this book, hands down, is the world building because the ghosts aren't inherently scary -- it's the regular people who are the source of all of the malice and harmful intent. The ghosts are simply an artefact of The Event, a mysterious occurrence that isn't fully explained in the novel. Instead, the focus is on the aftermath and how people deal with the ghosts. Some people are afraid of them, some rely on and take comfort in their appearances, others accept them as the new normal, and still others people want to figure out what's going on. The full spectrum of reactions is well represented and it made me think a lot about the different ways folks react to big, scary events in the real world, like September 11. (This is why I called the book 'thoughtful' in my second paragraph.)

While BREAK MY HEART 1,000 TIMES isn't the kind of book I'd normally pick up based on the target YA audience, I'm definitely happy I gave this book a try. I don't know if it's going to be for everyone but I'd urge you to read the excerpt below and see if it's to your tastes.

http://www.tyngasreviews.com show less

Break My Heart 1,000 Times is an unconventional young adult ghost story--part thriller, part mystery, with hints of dystopian fiction--and essentially no chills. Some years after a very poorly-defined cataclysmic "Event" has left ghostly images of millions of the dead visible to the general public, Veronica,an attractive young high-school student is targeted by a creepy teacher, who has suffered his own family losses. A second teacher, another victim of the "Event", is writing a book on the ghostly phenomena left in the wake of the catastrophe, and enlists the help of Veronica's boyfriend, Kirk. It is Kirk's task to film the specters, and he often takes Veronica along to dangerous areas of town in order to do so. Veronica herself is show more haunted by (and half in love with)a teenaged ghost boy, who appears almost every morning in her "steamy" bathroom as she prepares to towel off from her shower. (No fear: nothing the least bit steamy happens). This ghost, too, has a "tragic" back story that is gradually illuminated. While the plot is innovative, the characters are completely wooden..and, in spite of this being a ghost story, there is no spookiness whatsoever. For those reasons, as far as I'm concerned, the book fails almost entirely. Even the elements of romance between Veronica and Kirk are devoid of feeling. The heart mentioned in the title is almost completely lacking in this mediocre piece of fiction. I can't find it in my own heart to recommend it. show less

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: A suspenseful thriller filled with wonderful writing, only to leave you wide awake at night and unable to sleep.

Opening Sentence: I walk through walls.

The Review:

The infamous Daniel Waters has written another paranormal masterpiece. Break My Heart 1,000 Times is filled with thrills, chills, and a large paranormal presence, that it will leave readers transfixed. Seeing the dead is a part of life, and since the “Event,” the aftermath has continued. Ghosts were not an abnormal part of life anymore, it was now a part of the norm. Even in Veronica’s household, her father’s ghost is a constant reminder of how life was now. Sickness and lingering death, environmental damage, and show more chaos were the result of the horrific “Event.”

Mr. Bittner, one of Veronica’s high school teachers had lost his daughter, Eva. A ghost named Mary Greer, a remembrance of Bittner’s daughter, was killed in February, eight years ago. Mary had been one of the first ghosts to make regular appearances, immediately after the “Event.” Mary had appeared to Mr. Bittner before her death, and led to allegations of her murder. Every teen at Montcrief high school had accused Mr. Bittner as Mary’s killer, and only a poem that someone mysteriously left on his desk, was the proof of his innocence. Veronica and Kirk take it upon themselves to investigate, and in doing so has uncovered an unimaginably dark and dire plot.

Ever since the “Event,” Veronica Calder stopped fearing ghosts. For Veronica, the ghosts were irritating results of the “Event.” The most disturbing thing for Veronica was knowing that like her father, people she knew were gone, and they were not. Everything that has been thrown Veronica’s way adds to her character, her personality, and her strength.

Kirk Lane is haunted by many things. For forgetting the anniversary of the “Event,” for not telling Veronica that he likes her, and for wanting to push all ghost-related things out of his life. Kirk represented a certain type of strength, of acceptance, and of a person who wanted to move on, past the “Event.” Mr. Bittner, to me represented the sorrow in the world. To me, he was the percentage of the population that couldn’t accept and move on. He was stuck, with his nagging wife, searching for his daughter, and constantly seeing reminders of who was missing. Janine represented the other percentage of the population that just couldn’t accept, period. Fear ruled her life, as well as never allowing herself any strength.

Waters world is amazing. From the “Event” to the ghosts, he spares no expense at the detail of this world. The history of how it all came about was interesting, to say the least. I feared for my dreams each time a ghost would appear in the story. There were definitely goose bumps that crawled up my skin, and I loved every minute of it.

Like Waters’ previous works, his writing is superb. There is a shift in tone when the point of view moves from character to character. Each voice has a definitive personality, reflective of the characters’ persona. Even when talking about a ghost, there’s a definite chill factor that I experienced, and as a reader, that is wonderful writing skills. Break My Heart 1,000 Times has a perfect pacing to match the theme and tone of the story, slowing down when need be, but always and consistently moving at a constant pace.

Break My Heart 1,000 Times is a great paranormal story, with many promises of psych serial thrills. Throw out your expectations, and live in the moment. But don’t wait too long to pick this up. Like Waters says, “Life is short, and death is forever.”

P.S. Break My Heart 1,000 Times will be a movie. I cannot wait, especially after reading the amazing story!

Notable Scene:

He had a couple of weeks. Time enough for her to reveal to him the patterns of her life, so that when the day of Eva’s death and pending rebirth—leap day!—arrived, he would be ready. If the opportunity presented itself, he would take her early and keep her alive and hidden until the 29th.

“The stroke of midnight,” Madeline said, and August thought he could feel her breath on his ear. “On the 28th. That would be the best time.”

August nodded in agreement and then took a drink from his cup.

He watched Veronica wave through the window at Kirk. She went back across the lot with a little skip in her step. She paused at the door of the movie theater and looked up and right into his eyes. He felt a tingle at the back of his neck.

FTC Advisory: Hyperion provided me with a copy of Break My Heart 1,000 Times. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

This book chronicles the lives of high schoolers that share habitation in their town with ghosts. Ghosts appear after "The Event", an event that claimed millions of lives, changing the world forever. The book features Veronica, a young lady whose birthday falls on Leap Day. Little does she know that she has gained the interest of a serial killer, who teaches History at her high school. The teacher's obsession with Veronica stems from the loss of his daughter and wife. As Veronica and her new boyfriend, Kirk work to unravel the secret of the ghosts' presence, they discover new ghosts appearing and the teacher's other victims and his obsession with Veronica.
Veronica's own house is haunted by her father's ghost as well as a new ghost, show more Brian. Can the young couple discover the secrets in time to prevent Veronica's death? You will have to read to find out. Very sppoky and worth the read. My favorite quotes of the book follows..."But then I realizied everything we see and feel--a certain song in an elevator, a flower pressed in the pages of a n old photo album, a penny on the sidewalk---has that power. The power to make us feel like everything is too temporary." by the librarian.
Veronica's mother-on getting psychiatry help- "I don't want to forget at all. I would rather see him every morning, like I do now. I'd rather he break my heart 1000 times, than go through a day where I don't see him or think about him." For anyone who has experienced this kind of loss, the words resonate. show less

Ever since the Event, ghosts have appeared all over town. People have gotten used to seeing them go about their daily business and then disappear. Veronica agrees to join Kirk, her boyfriend, on a ghost hunt to see if they can determine ghost patterns. Daily, they go around town filming ghosts from those reenacting a typical daily scenario like mowing a lawn with an invisible lawnmower, to those reenacting their own deaths.

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Until then, you can see the full review at: show more target="_top">http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2012/09/21/break-my-heart-1000-times-dan... show less