Book Review: How To Excavate A Heart by Jake Maia Arlow

‘How To Excavate A Heart’ by Jake Maia Arlow came out in 2022 and was a Christmas rom-com. It follows Shani, a Jewish college student, on Winter Break, and taking on an internship. On the drive to DC, Shani and her mum end up in a minor car accident, where their car bumped a pedestrian.

Before we begin, it is important to be mindful of your triggers as there are mentions of past sexual assault and the implications of that on one of the main characters. Please read with that in mind, and respect your own boundaries.

I absolutely adored how Arlow uses humour and drama to throw you into the story. You don’t get much more immediate than a meet-cute and a minor car accident.

You really get a sense of who Shani is, as a relatively fresh-faced baby gay, having really come into herself and embraced her identity as a lesbian upon starting college. But, by winter break, Shani had lost her sense of self in her relationship, and experiencing her first breakup, just 72 hours after they first said “I love you”, and their first time having sex.

Similarly, I loved Arlow’s use of voice, when narrating as Shani. From the use of sarcasm and pop-culture references, to how Shani interacts with the other characters, to her commentary on Christmas and capitalism. You really get to know her, like she’s corporeal and right in front of you, chatting over coffee.

Shani’s thoughts on Santa are hilarious. She considers him creepy and weird. He breaks and enters thousands of homes. She goes on to acknowledge that he has mysterious and nefarious powers where, just by looking at a house, he can identify whether a Christian kid lives there, or another kid, “who doesn’t deserve his love and presents and crimes.”

I loved everything and anything about Raphael, May’s Dad’s pet corgi, and how his presence inadvertently allows May and Shani to strike up a friendship, a friendship that would later evolve into a romance! I love how, while both May and Shani are aware that they are walking lesbian stereotypes, they delight in it.

I was worried as I was reading this book that there wouldn’t be any major conflict resolution, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but with Shani being warned about the almost obsessive nature of her relationship and how it could compromise her work, I was glad she had to deal with the consequences. it would have been unfulfilling otherwise.

Shani is such a fun narrator, and her story is emotional. I really loved reading her story, both of her budding relationship with May but also her personal growth as a young queer person, learning from an older queer woman, and specialising in one of her interests. I loved how this book really does demonstrate the importance of consent, communication, and having a healthy foundation to develop your relationship on. I loved it. It shows healthy relationships in a positive light. It was so rewarding to read as a festive romance. I’d definitely recommend it.