Sunday, March 11, 2012

In A Heartbeat Review

Hi everybody!  This is my first book review for Teen Bookshelf, and I think it's gonna be really fun.  

So I just finished reading this book for the second time (I tend to re-read really good books).  It's called In a Heartbeat, and it's by Loretta Ellsworth.
 This story is told from the perspectives of two different girls, in alternating chapters.  I think both girls are about fourteen.
   The first girl is named Eagan, and she died ice skating, the sport that her life was dedicated to.  She had a bad relationship with her mom during her life.  Eagan's chapters are mostly told from her memories of living while she is stuck in a mysterious gray world with a girl who she names Miki.
  The other narrator is named Amelia, and she has a bad heart.  She is too weak to walk because of this, and she's home schooled, partly because all of the medication she takes makes her face swell up like a balloon.
   In a flashback to Eagan's life, it tells how, during her driver's test, she hurriedly checks off the box to sign herself up as an organ donor when she dies.
  So Amelia is dying of a bad heart, and then Eagan dies during a triple lutz at a skating competition, and her heart is donated to Amelia.
  Amelia nervously goes to the hospital for her heart transplant.  When she finally has a new heart, she starts feeling really different.  She feels like skating and eating purple lollipops, Eagan's former favorite candy.
  With the help of a new friend who slowly develops into something more, Amelia goes to find the family of her heart donor.  Eagan, trapped between life and death, is trying to tell her something.  In the end, a secret about Eagan's family is revealed, and Amelia learns to live with the guilt that someone had to die to save her life.
  In a Heartbeat is a unique, interesting book that has some really sad parts.  I think that that's maybe why I like it.
 Anyway, it will definitely get you thinking about things.  I rate it five out of five stars for being so original and unique.  This book is definitely worth reading (It's even available on the Kindle!)
                                       Happy reading!
                                               -Rosalind

5 comments:

  1. Wow, that sounds like a really good book! Do you know if they have it at the library?

    -Annabeth

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  2. Mia-
    That sounds like a very heavy book with some sad themes. I like the way you wrote your review. It was detailed and interesting. It made me want to read the book, although it may be too sad for me. Do you have any upbeat recommendations?

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  3. Why thank you :). Yeah, I usually don't read sad books cus I find them depressing, but that one's an exception. I do reccomend The Candmakers by Wendy Mass, that's really light and fun to read (It's about kids in a candy-making competition) Happy reading!

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  4. That sounds really good! I'll have to go to the library soon!

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