Stephanie loves to fix things. But when her older brother Cody says his heart is broken, she doesn’t know how to help. Cody tells her that the pieces of his heart have flown away to places that were special to him and his loved one, but he feels “too heavy to move” and find them again.
Stephanie sets off to retrieve them, visiting Cody’s high school, the movie theater, and the beach, where she runs into people who knew Cody and his boyfriend. They assure Stephanie that they, too, have had broken hearts, and offer some soothing words of advice. Each also gives her a piece of sea glass found near places the two boys had frequented.
At the library, she runs into Cody’s ex-boyfriend Roberto. Stephanie explains her mission and asks if he wants to help Cody. He apologizes for making Cody sad, explaining, “Sometimes, love doesn’t work out, but he will always be someone special to me.” He, too, hands Stephanie a piece of sea glass.
“At last, the heart looked like it was fixed,” we read (although it’s unclear how and when Stephanie realized the separate pieces of sea glass were actually the metaphor made manifest). There is still a final piece missing, though, which Cody himself provides. Stephanie then shares with him some of the wisdom that the other people have relayed to her about fixing broken hearts. The siblings sit companionably on the sofa together, Cody’s wry smile indicating that he’s on the way to healing, although perhaps not quite there yet.
This is a sweet story with a gentle social-emotional lesson on a topic that isn’t often explored in picture books: an older sibling’s heartbreak. The fact that Cody was in a same-sex relationship is completely incidental; the tale could offer wisdom to any child whose sibling has broken up with someone of any gender. It might also be useful for children whose parents are separated or divorced, or whose single parent has broken up with someone they were dating. A recommended title for anyone who could benefit from its lessons.
Cody and Stephanie are White; Roberto is Black.
