The Heart Keeper

Two mothers. Two daughters. One heart. 
When Alison's beloved daughter Amalie drowns, her world turns impenetrably dark.  Alison tries to hold it together throughout the bleak Fall, but in the darkest days of the Norwegian Winter she completely falls apart. 

In another family, Amalie's passing is a new beginning. After years of severe health problems, young Kaia receives a new heart on the morning after Amalie drowns. Her mother Iselin has struggled to raise Kaia on her own and now things are finally looking up. She's even made an affluent new friend who's taken a special interest in her and her daughter.

Alison knows she shouldn't interfere, but really, she's just trying to help Iselin and Kaia. She can give them the life they never had, and by staying close to them, she can still be with her daughter. Kaia is just like her, and surely, something of Amalie must live on in her. As her grief transforms into a terrifying obsession, Alison won't let anything stop her from getting back what she has lost.


My Review

I liked this book. It does show the struggles that not only a mother but a family goes through when they experience the death of their child. Alison is was not only one that was hurting. Her husband was too. 

Iselin was learning her to be a mother again (not a caretaker). Kaia was so sick before receiving her new heart. I liked Kaia. She is a sweetheart. Where Alison is concerned I understood where she was coming from regarding getting close to Kaia. Yet, at the same time I felt bad for Kaia. She was her own person but Alison was trying to turn her into her daughter. 

While, I did like this book; I thought there were be more tense moments between Iselin and Alison. Even when Iselin learned who Alison was, she reacted but it seemed mild. In fact, the last third of the story seemed a bit rushed compared to the rest of the story.