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My Beating Teenage Heart

by C.K. Kelly Martin (Goodreads Author)

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 508 ratings · 98 reviews

Ashlyn Baptiste is falling. One moment she was nothing—no memories, no self—and then suddenly, she's plummeting through a sea of stars. Is she in a coma? She doesn't remember dying, and she has no memories of the life she left behind. All she knows is that she's trapped in a consciousness without a body and she's spending every moment watching a stranger.

Breckon Cody's on...more

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published September 27th 2011 by Random House Books for Young Readers

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Hearts on Cover

20th out of 102 books — 190 voters

Fall 2011 - Books to Check Out

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Sep 26, 2011 Courtney added it

Shelves: 2011, ya-fiction

The reason C.K. Kelly Martin is one of my most favourite authors of all time is simple:

Her books.

THEY'RE JUST SO GOOD.

Also each one makes me think, "What's she going to do next?! How will she top this?!"

This might be the best one yet.
(Not that she makes it easy to choose.)

My Beating Teenage Heart is a powerhouse of a novel, for reals. As of my writing this, it comes out tomorrow and I think you'd be doing yourself a huge disservice if you didn't pick it up. I got to read an ARC earlier this year...more

10 likes · like · see review

Mar 23, 2012 Alyssa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone with a beating heart.

Shelves: own, 2012-read, a-guy-of-ya, a-favourite-author, actually-funny, emotional, favorites, great-books, great-realistic-fiction, highly-anticipated, i-love-this-cover, i-cried, really-excited-for, surprised-me, ya-romance, ya-loved, contemporary, multiple-povs, oh-canada

I’ve become picky with my contemporaries, in those I choose to read and in how I rate them. Contemporary fiction is my favourite of the wide variety of genres I read, and so you can imagine how dearly I hold the best of stories and how passionate I am about what goes on in these underrated books. Where I’m a tough sell for books in most genres, selling a book to me – both literately and figuratively – is even more daunting a task; “issue books” and “fluff” alike are two types of stories that nee...more I’ve become picky with my contemporaries, in those I choose to read and in how I rate them. Contemporary fiction is my favourite of the wide variety of genres I read, and so you can imagine how dearly I hold the best of stories and how passionate I am about what goes on in these underrated books. Where I’m a tough sell for books in most genres, selling a book to me – both literately and figuratively – is even more daunting a task; “issue books” and “fluff” alike are two types of stories that need to be handled delicately, and while most authors can’t fit the bill with me, C.K. Kelly Martin is one who is always sure to deliver with a boundary-pushing plot, a great, diverse cast, and beautiful writing.

From page one, all I could think was “wow, this is excellent.” Where I’ve never really connected with any of Martin’s books – and I’ve read them all – I can happily say that I was emotionally blindsided by this book. Every single time I set the book down, I wanted more of it. Every chapter had a phrase I wanted to lock up to look at later on, something that struck a chord with me. Told through the dual perspectives of Ashlyn and Breckon, one corporal being and the other not, My Beating Teenage Heart expertly leads readers through the whirlwind that is depression, grief, loss and love. I was a little nervous about the double perspectives of this book, as I typically abhor that type of narrative, but Martin wrote the two voices in a way that distinguishes them both and leaves the other character reflected in a different light. (You’re probably wondering what I’m getting at, but the best way for you to understand is by reading the book yourself.)

While I loved Ashyln’s spunk, loving quality and voice, Breckon is now one of my favourite protagonists in the contemps. The damn boy tore out my heart, ate it, and handed it back to me. I told myself a hundred times not to cry for him – because I knew that once I started I wouldn’t be able to stop – but I ended up sobbing for him, sobbing hard.

“While I don’t want to talk to people much lately, their presence is a safety net. I know there’s no danger that I’ll do anything bad to myself when anyone else is around.
Not that I would anyway but...I mean, I won’t. I know I won’t, but it can’t hurt to have that extra safety mechanism.
So I go to school and stay there, even though everyone around me and everything they say and do feels pointless and/or stupid, like it doesn’t matter whether they say/do it or not. Whatever whatever WHATEVER whatever whatever WHATEVER. It’s not their fault that they don’t matter but that’s what it feels like: Whatever whatever WHATEVER whatever whatever WHATEVER whatever whatever whatever whatever whatever” page 137-138, Breckon’s POV.

Breckon is an intense guy, and for that I loved him, felt for him and wanted to help him desperately. I freaking felt for the guy, this totally fictional, broken guy. I love the way, also, that his relationship with his girlfriend Jules was written; it’s one of the most realistic relationships I’ve read in a long time, realistic relationships being a specialty of Martin’s, I’ve noticed. Another specialty of Martin’s is writing a cast with diverse ethnicities and cultures; while there wasn’t as large a group as in Martin’s previous books, I extremely appreciated that Martin wrote Ashlyn as part African-Canadian, part Scottish, and that she didn’t brush away from either sides of her cultures.

My Beating Teenage Heart has 58 reviews on Goodreads, and honestly, this seriously depresses me. How did we let this happen? How did we manage to push wonderful books and promising authors under the “greats” of the New York Times Top Ten? If I could hand any book to anybody in the world right now, it would be this one, because amongst the 275 pages of this book lies a story that won’t be forgotten.

(On a final note, I thought of Ironic by Alanis Morissette in the middle of reading, because the song fits the book perfectly. The dark tones of the song, and the lyrics itself, seem to match perfectly with what goes on with Breckon and Ashlyn.)
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Aug 31, 2011 Kelly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, ya-fiction, read-in-2011

This is the kind of book you just have to believe in. Martin asks you to trust, and you have to, even though you think it feels like other things you've read. You think you know where it's going, but you don't. It's packed emotionally, and both Breckon and Ashlyn both have incredible voices.

NOT a contemporary novel by definition, but it will appeal to contemporary fans since it's close enough.

And that last chapter? It's a total tear fest.

One you need to put down and just breathe through. Wow....more

2 likes · like · see review

Apr 20, 2013 Christina M rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, 2013

I wanted to start off my review with '' READ IT '' but I don't want to look desperate and I gotta give myself a chance since I barely finished the book five minutes ago.

My Beating Teenage Heart is the first book to get me to tears. Most importantly it contained elements I always wanted a book to have which sort of freaked me out in a good way. Stars for example. One of the protagonists lives among them and I always wanted to read something like that. C.K Kelly Martin's handwriting was so b...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 10, 2012 Eden rated it 3 of 5 stars

If I were to describe the atmosphere, tone and mood of this book in one colour, it would be gray. With plenty of time spent in introspection, flashbacks and ponderings in general, this books is nowhere near suffused with colour. That doesn’t make it bad; in fact, one could say the navel-gazing is necessary, as it provides the only counterbalance against the waves of negativity Breckon seems to produce automatically with his actions.

Ah, Breckon. It’s not hard to see where he’s coming from, as gui...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 28, 2011 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, favorites

The plot of My Beating Teenage Heart is hard to describe without giving too much away. It is told in first person through the eyes of two different characters. In the beginning, they are both unnamed, so I am going to leave them this way...

I loved this book. LOVED it...The characters sucked me in and I needed to see them through to the end. One of my favorite things about the book was the healthy relationship the male character has with both his girlfriend and his best friend. He forgets their l...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 23, 2012 Penny Linsenmayer rated it 4 of 5 stars

As other reviewers have noted, this is a sad book on many levels. The unremitting grief and guilt experienced by Breckon permeates every page. As the story of what happened to his sister Skylar (and Breckon's role in her death) unfolds, Breckon's emotional state becomes more and more precarious. As a mother, I was horrified by the tragedy that has befallen this family; this was truly a preventable accidental death that is doubly horrifying when the reader realizes how easily it could (and probab...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Kathy Ann Coleman rated it 4 of 5 stars

My Rating: <3 <3 <3 <3
Great!

*This book was provided by the lovely people at Random House, through their Bookurious site's Blog It Forward program.

It's interesting having someone send a book to you, rather then simply picking one up from the bookstore yourself. It can be a very uplifting, or at times very awkward, experience. I had heard of My Beating Teenage Heart before I received it as part of Blog It Forward, it was even on my list. But truthfully, all by itself it's not likely t...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

For some reason, it took me much longer than it should have to finish this book, but I have finally just finished it and I have slightly split feelings.

Basically this book is about Breckon, a teenage boy who has just suffered the loss of a sibling, and Ashlyn who is finds herself stuck to him in a spirit form. The whole story is about how Breckon deals with his loss, and how Ashlyn is trying to help him while simultaneously trying to remember who she is and what happened to her.
The point of view...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Arlingon Public Library added it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

Ashlyn is not sure where she is - in all senses of the term. She's separated from her body, but she can't tell if she's dreaming or in a coma or something worse. All that is clear to her is that she's tethered to a boy who she can't remember meeting and that boy is hurting so badly that he can barely get through the day.

The boy she's tied to is Breckon. His family has recently suffered a serious loss and he's trying to be okay for his parents and his girlfriend. But the truth is that he's not an...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Amy Lignor rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ashlyn Baptiste, and her odd world, is how this book begins. Ashlyn is a girl who is thinking her own thoughts, wondering why she seems to be in a dark place, why she can’t speak, or see her loved ones. What she can see is a young man sleeping as she hovers above him, and listens to his family give their support for his grief. Why Breckon Cody is grieving, however, is just another thing that Ashlyn can’t seem to figure out.

Floating is this dark room, she watches a boy who looks as if he is ready...more
Ashlyn Baptiste, and her odd world, is how this book begins. Ashlyn is a girl who is thinking her own thoughts, wondering why she seems to be in a dark place, why she can’t speak, or see her loved ones. What she can see is a young man sleeping as she hovers above him, and listens to his family give their support for his grief. Why Breckon Cody is grieving, however, is just another thing that Ashlyn can’t seem to figure out.

Floating is this dark room, she watches a boy who looks as if he is ready to die. Over time, Ashlyn finds out that a little sister has been lost to an accident, and this family is trying desperately to hold it together and remain caring about one another. She watches Breckon as he tries his best to deal with his girlfriend, his parents - who are walking around the house like zombies - and his other sisters, who seem to be trying their best to maintain their lives. But to Ashlyn, Breckon seems to be the one most upset, as if he blames himself for this little sister being gone.

Ashlyn watches as Breckon begins to do things to himself and make horrific choices - even pouring scalding water on himself in an attempt to either “check out,” or to feel something once again. After a while, Ashlyn begins to understand exactly how he feels.

This is a girl sitting in limbo watching her memories come back to her. She suddenly knows her name, her family, and stories of her life. Perhaps, in those stories, Ashlyn will soon figure out why she is in an unknown universe - floating all by herself. She wants more than anything to help Breckon and desperately tries to communicate with him, but her own life - and lack thereof - may just destroy her before any help can be given.

This author gives an in-depth look at how loss can affect everyone’s life, and a moral comes through - that a heart can stop beating for many reasons, and death may not be the outcome. A heart is filled with mystery, love, and very real emotion, and if life comes at you with pain and sadness, the heart can still keep you alive, but you may have no desire to be that way. Although an intense look at life and death that gives the reader a heartfelt ‘ride,’ this is truly a dismal story all around.

A well-written book and a deep exploration of life, but not a great deal of light at the end of this tunnel.
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Sep 18, 2011 Bailey (IB Book Blogging) rated it 5 of 5 stars

MY BEATING TEENAGE HEART is a lyrical and highly emotional novel that I want to recommend to everyone! Seriously, the writing is absolutely gorgeous and characters each have their own heart-breaking stories that will bring tears to your eyes. The best part about the book is that you never know what to expect, what secrets will be revealed.

Ashlyn is one of the most complex characters that I have ever read about. She is an absolute mystery from the beginning, and it takes awhile to grasp what she...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 09, 2013 Anna rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, inspirational, i-own, ghost, feels, death-grieve

4.5 stars

It's with these kind of stories why I fell in love with Young Adult books even more so in YA realistic fiction. The messages they try to give out is incredible; prepubescent and barely adolescent characters be the bearer of unfathomable potent emotions and imposing wisdom that could put your grave trouble to shame.

My Beating Teenage Heart is anything but fun, happy, or romantic. While this book is about two teens that fell in the dark times of their lives, they were never that involved...more
4.5 stars

It's with these kind of stories why I fell in love with Young Adult books even more so in YA realistic fiction. The messages they try to give out is incredible; prepubescent and barely adolescent characters be the bearer of unfathomable potent emotions and imposing wisdom that could put your grave trouble to shame.

My Beating Teenage Heart is anything but fun, happy, or romantic. While this book is about two teens that fell in the dark times of their lives, they were never that involved in what my mind had. But they were connected in what I think was something powerful though it was a fleeting encounter, it was still momentous.

It's hard to know the story just by its blurb or by having someone telling it to you without giving out some spoilers. I think it's nice to dive directly to this novel and imagine getting two beautiful stories in one. You get to decipher what these two narrators are to each other and what made them that way. In the slow unraveling of their lives, it would gently have your heart torn, broken, and at some point be mend back together again.

What Breckon was feeling, the blame for himself, you could really feel it. You'd want to tell him to stop and enough with the self-loathe, that time will come and it will be okay. Yet you could also understand why he is that way. It was heartbreaking seeing him fall without gaining momentum. And for me to see him like that was hard and painful.

Ashlyn was a different story. It took me too long to know what her role was to Breckon. The reason why she's spending her consciousness in a boy she didn't even knew was told by degrees. The way her memories moves slowly through her in pieces that somehow helped her realize what really did happen to her. Was she dead? In a coma? It all came down to her until the last moments of her life and what of Breckon was involved. And it's on a much later part you'll know about their enigmatic connection. I can say that what Ashlyn went through in her last days was as painful as watching Breckon about to do to his life.

Their character was sublime. The out-pour of feelings were striking in both glad and morose and too much grief that I don't know whether I could still handle. Parenthetically, it should be noted that Aritha Franklin's song somehow, in a subtle way, plays a large role in the novel and that when you really listen closely it does say a lot to them.

It was sad and I can't believe they manage to have me teary by the end but it was a broken-beautiful thing to experience that in the end I feel very hopeful.

xx
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Dec 27, 2011 Karen rated it 3 of 5 stars

This one took me longer then usual to read because of the holidays...

What a sad, sad story. Seriously...the whole thing was so sad to me. I didn't see anything uplifting through the whole thing. So be prepared. If you like contemporary, if you like sad things...and if you don't...just be prepared to cry and to be sad.

The story is from two characters view points; Ashlyn and Breckon. Ashlyn is dead and is looking over Breckon, who is going through a horrible time. You don't know why Ashlyn was put...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Jie Wen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I would give this book 3 stars because I really learned a lot from it. It talks about teenage life. The writing in this book really hooks me in. The beginning of the book is really interesting which hooks me in. In the beginning of the book, the character, Ashley was introduced. One moment, she have no memories but suddenly she's in a sea of stars. Also, this book talks about two different perspectives which helps me have a deeper understanding of looking from different perspective. This book is...more

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Nov 20, 2011 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: cutting, death, family-stories, washyarg, young-adult, ghosts, grief

Ashlyn Baptiste is floating, observing a teenage boy in crisis. She’s apparently dead, but doesn’t know how or why she’s here, barely remembering anything about her past. Breckon Cody is the teenage boy. He’s grieving the death of his 6 year old sister, blaming himself for her death. He is floundering and yet cannot bring himself to ask for help. Their stories are told in alternating voices, Ashlyn slowly recovers her memory bit by bit while she watches Breckon descend into a depression that’s...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Jaime Arkin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, stand-alone-books, ebook-format, don-t-even-ask-just-read-it, on-my-real-shelves

I had tears at the end of this book... they were a mix of tears of happiness and tears of sadness for sure.

This story is told from two different perspectives alternating about every other chapter. We're immediately introduced to Ashlyn. Though, she doesn't really know who she is at the moment, we do know that she is some sort of spirit form.

"The first moment is utter darkness. The absence of thought, the absence of everything. An absence that stretches infinitely backwards and threatens to smo...more I had tears at the end of this book... they were a mix of tears of happiness and tears of sadness for sure.

This story is told from two different perspectives alternating about every other chapter. We're immediately introduced to Ashlyn. Though, she doesn't really know who she is at the moment, we do know that she is some sort of spirit form.

"The first moment is utter darkness. The absence of thought, the absence of everything. An absence that stretches infinitely backwards and threatens to smother your sanity - if tehre was a yout, that is. But there's not. I am ntohing and no one. I never was. I must not have been because otherwise, wouldn't I remember?"

We as the reader know as much about Ashlyn as she herself knows, and as she remembers more and more of her life, we learn who she was, what her life was before the here and now. She's thrust into a world where she has no human body, but she is somehow and someway connected to our other main character Breckon.

Breckon is struggling with the loss of his younger sister and blames himself, but again, we don't know the whole story, bits and pieces are revealed along the way as we watch him struggle with the weight of blaming himself and everything else that goes along with being a 16 year old boy and his struggle not to give up. Life, something Ashlyn so desperately wishes she still had and Breckon is ready to throw away.

What intrigued me most about this story was the way the bits and pieces fell into place, the way that even though Ashlyn didn't know this boy she was desperate to save him and help him, and as I read along in the story, found that that was just how she was in life too. We learn of her struggles growing up the memories she reveals and then finally as a 15 year old girl and putting the pieces together of her death and again... how Breckon and Ashlyn were actually connected in life.

As the basest level this story is about depression and suicide and how people cope with loss and pain, but it was so much more than that. The impact someone can have on our life and death and The last chapter is what had me in tears, I won't lie and I won't say why, but they were happy tears that's for sure. You must read this book to find out. (less)

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Nov 13, 2011 Kayla rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-love, covet-these-covers, fiction, favorites, kept-me-guessing, lovely-characters, read-in-2011, review-copy, tear-jerker, young-adult

I loved this book from start to finish, and really wasn't ready to let it go. The plot is simple enough that without great writing and characterization, it wouldn't have been the story it is. Yet C. K. Kelly Martin did a wonderful job creating Breckon's world and showcasing it through his and Ashlyn's alternating viewpoints.

The story starts off with Ashlyn not knowing anything of her past, so we learn about her as she begins to recover her memories. As she isn't entirely certain about where she...more

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Aug 30, 2011 Marianne rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is not for everyone and the opening scene may give some people a moment of confusion.

Stick it out.

Ashlyn Baptise isn't sure about much. Where she is...what she is, or who she is. But she finds herself observing a young man named Breckon, who's heart is breaking with grief.

How these two are related, and how they got to be where they are is told slowly and heart wrenchingly as the story unfolds.

The writing is poetry.

"I don't know what the stars know- I don't share in their wisdom an...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) rated it 3 of 5 stars

One of my favorite bloggers, even though she doesn't blog much anymore, is Presenting Lenore. She's helping to host a twitter book club, the aim of which is to read books that are amazing but do not have nearly enough buzz. This is the first selection. Well, it definitely isn't well known enough, since I totally thought Yesterday was going to be Martin's debut. Apparently, she's written four books before that one.

The opening of My Beating Teenage Heart is quit alarming. You're thrown into some w...more One of my favorite bloggers, even though she doesn't blog much anymore, is Presenting Lenore. She's helping to host a twitter book club, the aim of which is to read books that are amazing but do not have nearly enough buzz. This is the first selection. Well, it definitely isn't well known enough, since I totally thought Yesterday was going to be Martin's debut. Apparently, she's written four books before that one.

The opening of My Beating Teenage Heart is quit alarming. You're thrown into some weird dream-state type thing with the heroine whose name you don't yet know. It's odd and mystical and it's hard to tell whether anything is real or a dream or what. Actually, the book continues to be this way. Ashlyn learns a bit about herself, but what she figures out results in more questions than answers. Breckon (we also get some chapters from his perspective) is mired in depression.

For me, this is one of those books where how much I likes it depended entirely on the explanation of what's going on. The writing is decent, but didn't especially resonate with me. The characters are both so whacked out on grief or confusion that I had trouble connecting to them. The plot is so strange, requiring some serious suspension of disbelief, but, if she pulled it off with the ending, it could definitely make the book epic.

Without a doubt, I can honestly say that My Beating Teenage Heart is unlike any YA book I've read before. It picks up steam very slowly, but, by the end, I was definitely engaged. For the first hundred or so pages, the melodrama of the narration irritated me, especially given the fogginess of Ashlyn's memory. Plus, she made so many assumptions that seemed strange to me.

Anyway, having now finished the book, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. On some levels, it was definitely really cool and thought provoking, and I'm certainly glad to have read it, but there were also aspects with which I did not reconcile. My main issue with the book I can't express to clearly without risking spoilers, but, basically, I do not get why Ashlyn's memory would ever work that way. However, on the plus side again, Martin can write the heck out of a steamy scene.

Looking at those labels at the bottom of the post, you might notice that they're not super happy times themes. Nor is the book at all light and fluffy. At all. Recommended to fans of Ilsa J. Bick and Laurie Halse Anderson. Although I didn't love this, I am now definitely looking forward to reading Yesterday more than I was before.(less)

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Oct 08, 2011 CC rated it 5 of 5 stars

C.K. Kelly Martin is one of my fav YA authors (I adored One Lonely Degree) and this, her latest book, doesn't disappoint. Seventeen year-old Breckon Cody is in a whirwind of grief when Ashlyn Baptiste finds herself -- not alive but not knowing what's happened to her -- watching him. Told in dual POV's between Breckon and Ashlyn, each voice is specific to the characters, which adds to the feeling of urgency and exploration as you find out slowly, almost painfully, what has happened to each of the...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen

Breckon Cody and Ashlyn Baptiste are two teenagers who find themselves connected in the weirdest way. Ashlyn is able to see everything that happens to Breckon, and unfortunately, a lot of it isn't good. As Breckon's teeters closer and closer to the edge, Ashlyn tries to remember the details of her life in hopes that she can come up with the key to convincing Breckon to hang onto his.

This book tackles some really dark stuff, most notably Breckon trying to hold it together after the accidental dea...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Krystal rated it 3 of 5 stars

What an interesting book! At first I was pretty confused to tell you the truth. My Beating Teenage Heart is about this boy, Breckon who has lost his sister and his journey through dealing with that, and Ashlyn, a girl who is watching over Breckon for reasons unknown to her.
Right away I feel bad for Breckon. The loss of his younger sister takes quite the toll on him and he's unsure how to act and get through this. Unfortunately, his family doesn't seem to be overly helpful at times because they a...more What an interesting book! At first I was pretty confused to tell you the truth. My Beating Teenage Heart is about this boy, Breckon who has lost his sister and his journey through dealing with that, and Ashlyn, a girl who is watching over Breckon for reasons unknown to her.
Right away I feel bad for Breckon. The loss of his younger sister takes quite the toll on him and he's unsure how to act and get through this. Unfortunately, his family doesn't seem to be overly helpful at times because they are still coming to terms with things as well. For me, I really feel for characters who have to deal with situations like the death of a family member. Thankfully, I have never had to deal with anything like that and since I have a very tight knit family, I don't know what I would do if anything ever happened.
Along with Breckon's narration of My Beating Teenage Heart, we are reading through Ashlyn's point of view. She understands that she is either dead or in a coma, realizing something is wrong with her situation she tries her hardest to remember her life and memories. All while doing that, she is looking over Breckon, who is spiralling downward in his own attempt to deal, and trying to make him understand and realize that she is there for him. (Though she does not know why she's been sent to Breckon and not her own family).
I really did enjoy this book. The change of POV's between the two main characters was enjoyable. The story was original and C.K. Kelly Martin is a good writer. She can get the reader interested in her book and pull the reader in for more. For example, we know right away that Breckon's sister died, nothing is explained up front we just get little more information here and there and it isn't until the end that we really read what happened. Also, we wonder how Breckon and Ashlyn are connected, and it isn't until the end that we find out. But it's done in a way that the story is spread out, and we don't just get hit with a whack of explaination at the end, it's written so well that that doesn't happen.
Overall, My Beating Teenage Heart was a heartfelt read that I enjoyed. The story, the writing and the characters are all worth it, and made for an "unputdownble" book! (less)

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Jul 26, 2011 laaaaames rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to laaaaames by: Courtney

I am pretty much convinced from here to there and back that CK Kelly Martin writes better boys than almost any lady who writes boys. MAN. She just knocks it out of the park constantly. Why isn't she famous?

THANK YOU SO MUCH COURTNEY FOR THE ARC!!!!

(read: 51)

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Jul 28, 2012 Young-adults rated it 4 of 5 stars

Reviewed by teen reviewer Morgan Belodoff

This novel tells the story of Breckon Cody, a young soul struggling to live on, and Ashlyn Baptiste, a spirit that watches over Breckon. Breckon is traumatized by the loss of his younger sister. Throughout the book he learns that he must not give up. Ashlyn helps him to realize that and that he must accept passing on.
I grew a certain fascination for the characters while reading this book. Ashlyn, though never able to fully interact with Breckon, grew ver...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Jamie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12-14, multiple-narrators, death-and-dying

I had saved this ARC, even though the book came out last year, because I loved "I know it's over" so much and I wanted to read another book by the author. But this book was wildly unsuccessful.

The multiple narrators are Breckon, whose young sister has just died, and some kind of ghost/spirit named Ashlyn who has no connection to Breckon, at least until one is contrived in the books final pages. Breckon's story was interesting, sort of, but the Ashlyn/ghose story just took away from it instead of...more

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Jan 23, 2012 Stacie ~ paid the price for badassery rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical, ya, inspirational, heart-wrenching, loss

I don't really read books like this but the summary caught my attention. It was a good book. The descriptions of loss and suffering were well written and made me feel sympathy for the characters, Breckon and Ashlyn. I did love the dual point of perspectives through out the book. It was very interesting to see how an unbiased on looker would have seen the situation. For me it did slow down a little in the early middle with a bit of redundancy on how much Breckon was suffering. How Ashlyn's charac...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

So this book is really good. It made me feel emotional and connected with the characters. At some points I was like "What the heck are you doing Breackon!?!?!" I wanted to talk some sense into that poor boy. Then there is Ashlyn and I loved learning about her past.
The best part for me was that the emotions built up throughout the whole book until the explosive ending. Since Breckon is always storing his emotions away it seemed like it went along with the writing in the book. Sounds weird but I...more

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Apr 15, 2013 Pamela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was first a bit embarrassed to pick up a YA fiction novel from the shelf, especially since I usually avoid Contemporary fiction altogether. In my experience, Contemporary fiction is "easy to read" (ie. page turner)...but feels too much like "shock value" or...I simply don't care about the characters as I'm reading, actually; they usually annoy and confuse me! This book is sooo much more than well-written and a modern day "page turner". After reading a few pages of My Beating Teenage Heart, I f...more

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Apr 22, 2012 Librarysteph rated it 4 of 5 stars

I think this book was awesome but marketed all wrong. The cover and title give the impression of a love story, or maybe sappy vampire fiction. NOT what this novel is about. Even the quotes on the back are all about Ashlyn, whereas the greater part of the book is about Breckon. I think that guys could enjoy this novel but like so many YA books it’s packaged in a way that only appeals to girls.

This book is not for tweens, or the squeamish. It involves the death of a child, grief, self-mutilation,...more

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About C.K. Kelly Martin

Most of my time spent at York University in Toronto was as an English major, not the traditional way to graduate with a B.A. in Film Studies but a fine way to getC.K. June 09 a general arts education. After graduation I headed for Dublin, Ireland and spent the majority of the nineties there in forgettable jobs meeting unforgettable people and enjoying the buzz.

I always thoughts I'd get around to w...more

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Quotes from My Beating Teenage Heart

“I'm talking to myself in two different personas now. I'm reaching for a full-throttle meltdown and why not? Why stop halfway? Why not just go for it, jump on and ride the wave?” — 6 people liked it

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