Family isn't something you're born into hdash; it's something you build.
One young woman squo;s journey to find her place in the world as the carefully separated strands of her life dash; family, money, school, and love dash; begin to overlap and tangle.
All sixteen-year-old Izzy Crawford wants is to feel like she really belongs somewhere. Her father, a marine, died in Iraq six years ago, and Izzyhsquo;s moved to a new town nearly every year since, far from the help of her extended family in North Carolina and Puerto Rico. When Izzyosquo;s hardworking mom moves their small family to Virginia, all her dreams start clicking into place. She likes her new school ddash; even if Izzy is careful to keep her scholarship-student status hidden from her well-to-do classmates and her new athletic and popular boyfriend. And best of all: Izzydsquo;s family has been selected by Habitat for Humanity to build and move into a brand-new house. Izzy is this close to the community and permanence she squo;s been searching for, until all the secret pieces of her life begin to collide.
How to Build a Heart is the story of IzzyBsquo;s journey to find her place in the world and her discovery that the choices we make and the people we love ultimately define us and bring us home.