Hearts Unbroken

Description: When Louise Wolfe's boyfriend mocks and disrespects Native people in front of her, she breaks things off and dumps him over e-mail. She'd rather spend her senior year with her family and friends and working on the school newspaper. The editors pair her up with Joey Kairouz, an ambitious new photojournalist, and in no time the paper's staff find themselves with a major story to cover: the school musical director's inclusive approach to casting The Wizard of Oz has been provoking backlash in their mostly white, middle-class Kansas town. As tensions mount at school, so does a romance between Lou and Joey. But 'dating while Native' can be difficult. In trying to protect her own heart, will Lou break Joey's?--

Review Quotes: Blending teen romance with complex questions of identity, equality, and censorship, this is an excellent choice for most collections.
--School Library Journal (starred review)

In a time when #ownvoices stories are rising in popularity among YA readers, this brings an insightful story to the conversation...this is truly a thought-provoking and educational novel.
--Booklist

Louise...is believable in her own missteps, and her younger brother's moral quandary--he's unsure if he wants to stay in the play after finding out about L. Frank Baum's virulent anti-Native prejudice--is compellingly explored...a revealing account of a bigotry experience that sometimes gets overshadowed by others, though, and readers will sympathize with Louise's frustrations.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Smith effectively presents the continuous microaggressions Lou faces as a young Native woman alongside the central narrative arc of the school play.
--The Horn Book

Smith depicts the Wolfes' warm family life as a stable foundation as Hughie and Lou each confront challenges, and she is especially successful at portraying the camaraderie and conflicts of the newspaper staff...a thought-provoking work of realistic teen fiction.
--Publishers Weekly Online