126th out of 611 books
—
2,643 voters
In a Heartbeat
by
Loretta Ellsworth (Goodreads Author)
When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart.
When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns...more
When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns...more
Hardcover, 217 pages
Published
February 2nd 2010
by Walker Childrens
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Jul 16, 2010
Hannah Nikka Bryan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
ages 13 and up, for one or two sexual references
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
In a Heartbeat is the story of two girls and one heart. Eagan, bold and serious, is an up and coming figure skater with lots of promise. Shy Amelia has a sick heart and little time left to live—unless she gets a transplant. When Eagan falls at a competition (darn that Lutz!), hits her head on the boards, and dies, her decision to check the organ donor box on her newly-acquired driver’s license brings Amelia a second chance at life. But the gift comes with its own challenges.
Amelia takes on some...more
Amelia takes on some...more
In a Heartbeat is the story of two teenage girls. The first girl is named Eagan. She was brought up as an intense skater, mostly because her mother was. She wasn’t ever allowed to do what SHE wanted to do. But at one skating competition, things to wrong, and Eagan dies after hitting her head. Her license states that she’d be an organ donor, and that’s where Amelia comes in. Amelia is a 14 year old girl who had been suffering from congestive heart failure. The doctors didn’t think that they’d be...more
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Summary
Ellsworth’s dual narrative explores the large and small ways medical technology forever intertwines the lives of two strangers. When 16-year-old Eagan, a figure skater with her sights on the Olympics, dies in a fall on the ice, 14-year-old Amelia receives the heart transplant that she and her family have been desperately awaiting. Trapped in a foggy limbo, Eagan must relive the defining moments of her painfully short existence before she can cross over to the hereafter. In alternating cha...more
Another young-adult book about organ donation. Seems to be a campaign to educate young Americans on the wisdom of being on the donor register! This one explores the theory of cellular memory where the heart stores information about the donor which is then passed to the recipient. Most scientists don't give this notion any credence (and I have to confess I'm sceptical too) but the author cites interesting experiences which put a different slant on the possibilities.
The story tells of a young figu...more
The story tells of a young figu...more
Eagan accidentally dies in a very unusual way while figure skating. After her death Eagan is stuck between the afterlife and the life she can't seem to leave behind. Her tale is of her past, the unsaid words, the people she loved that she'd left behind, and the events in her life that shaped her. Unable to let go of her life and the people she left behind Eagan spends most of the book trying to find her way back to those memories and people she left behind.
Amelia is dying of heart failure. She i...more
Amelia is dying of heart failure. She i...more
When I got this book, I wasn’t sure how I would like it. But the synopsis got me interested and I picked this book up. When I began reading, I was introduced to two girls, Eagan, the figure skater, and Amelia, the girl who needs a new heart.
In a Heartbeat began a story that I came to love. I’ve read a lot of Lurlene McDanilel’s books about heart transplants and the effects on the person who got the transplant. I loved how Loretta Ellsworth told both sides of the story, the patient and the deceas...more
In a Heartbeat began a story that I came to love. I’ve read a lot of Lurlene McDanilel’s books about heart transplants and the effects on the person who got the transplant. I loved how Loretta Ellsworth told both sides of the story, the patient and the deceas...more
Product Description: When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart. When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at li...more
I've heard the stories about organ recipients- especially heart ones- picking up traits from their donor Despite having a research background, I've never looked at the research articles on this subject but it certainly made an interesting element for this novel. Amelia doesn't just pick up a new favorite food or an affinity for something- she almost undergoes an entire personality change. Breaking up the chapters of Amelia's story are those from Eagen, trying to figure out the afterlife and the...more
Jun 04, 2011
Natshane
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
first-impression-check,
heart-wrenching
In a heartbeat is a must read! (okay, just have to shout it out)
I couldn't possibly explain why this book has affected me so much, both emotionally and mentally but I do want to mention one thing, it has changed me inside out. I am constantly searching for books that could make me weep, and reflect on myself, books that could talk sense into me or give me an insightful trip to destination life. In a heartbeat achieved that.
Now, I would say the writing was unsatisfying because there are few part...more
I couldn't possibly explain why this book has affected me so much, both emotionally and mentally but I do want to mention one thing, it has changed me inside out. I am constantly searching for books that could make me weep, and reflect on myself, books that could talk sense into me or give me an insightful trip to destination life. In a heartbeat achieved that.
Now, I would say the writing was unsatisfying because there are few part...more
Half an inch shouldn't matter, but it does, and it costs Eagan her life. Now in the afterlife, she reflects on her past memories and the love-hate relationship she had with her mother. Fourteen year old Amelia is given another chance at life because Eagan was an organ donor. With Eagan's healthy heart in her, Amelia starts to see herself emitting characteristics that are unlike hers, and realizes that she's taken some of Eagan's personality and habits.
Told in alternating perspectives, In a Hear...more
Told in alternating perspectives, In a Hear...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Growing up I always loved reading stories by Lurlene McDaniel about teens with terminal illnesses or health problems. They always pulled at my heartstrings and made me cry. So when I read the summary of In A Heartbeat and saw that it was about teens and organ donations, I jumped at the chance to read it.
While I enjoyed the characters, I didn't really connect with them. I feel that Eagan was a better written character. We get to know her through flashbacks in her memories. And her story is wrapp...more
While I enjoyed the characters, I didn't really connect with them. I feel that Eagan was a better written character. We get to know her through flashbacks in her memories. And her story is wrapp...more
I really enjoyed this book. I love the format – seeing both Eagan's perspective and Amelia's perspective. I have heard of cases like the one in this book, and it's something that I find just amazing. The way Ellsworth weaved the story of the two girls together with the thread of Eagan's heart is fascinating to read.
Eagan's relationship with her mom reminds me of the relationship I had with my mom at that age. Very tumultuous. It was interesting to see some of that attitude find its way into Ame...more
Eagan's relationship with her mom reminds me of the relationship I had with my mom at that age. Very tumultuous. It was interesting to see some of that attitude find its way into Ame...more
so i got this book from a box at the hospital i volunteer at, only because it was one of the only ones left. i saw that it was written in 2010, and the cover looked like one for like a middle schooler, so i didn't really expect much out of it. it seemed like one of those quick books that you just read for fun and get through really easily, not a great book but not too bad. and it was.
the book goes back and forth between the perspectives of two girls - a figure skater who dies during an important...more
the book goes back and forth between the perspectives of two girls - a figure skater who dies during an important...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Two characters tell a compelling and thought-provoking tale of the biomedical repercussions.
A one-half inch error on the ice during a skating competition translates to the end of life for Eagan. Suffering from a degenerative heart condition, Amelia is given the miraculous gift of life when she becomes the recipient of Eagan's healthy, athletic heart.
In a gray, foggy limbo state of existence, Eagan confusingly observes memories of her recent experiences before her untimely death. After surgery, A...more
A one-half inch error on the ice during a skating competition translates to the end of life for Eagan. Suffering from a degenerative heart condition, Amelia is given the miraculous gift of life when she becomes the recipient of Eagan's healthy, athletic heart.
In a gray, foggy limbo state of existence, Eagan confusingly observes memories of her recent experiences before her untimely death. After surgery, A...more
Eagan misses her landing by a quarter-inch during a figure-skating competition and it ends her life. Amelia has been sick for half of her life and needs a new heart. The two girls’ worlds come crashing together when Amelia gets Eagan’s heart and starts to try to make sense of the new feelings she has–about her own life, and about Eagan’s.
Loretta Ellsworth’s novel is a short, fairly quick read, and it’s enthralling enough to do it in one or two sittings. Told in alternating perspectives, the chap...more
Loretta Ellsworth’s novel is a short, fairly quick read, and it’s enthralling enough to do it in one or two sittings. Told in alternating perspectives, the chap...more
I was a little unsure of what to think of In a Heartbeat as I started the book. Immediately you are thrown into a duel narration between Eagan and Amelia. My main worry was that I would have no connection to Eagan since she was already dead. However, I have to give major props to Ellsworth because by the end of the book I was very sad to see Eagan go. Going back through her memories and final days really allowed me to see whom she was. It was bittersweet in a way because on one had you’re glad t...more
Reading Level: Grades 6+
Eagan has been figure-skating practically since she could walk, and she's good. Really good. It's just not feasible that she could ever hurt herself while skating. But she does. Coming down from a triple axel, Eagan lands too close to the boards, smacking her head.
Amelia has lived the past few years of her life quietly, without moving much or making too much of a fuss about anything. Amelia has a heart defect, and needs a transplant. One morning, she gets a phone call. Th...more
Eagan has been figure-skating practically since she could walk, and she's good. Really good. It's just not feasible that she could ever hurt herself while skating. But she does. Coming down from a triple axel, Eagan lands too close to the boards, smacking her head.
Amelia has lived the past few years of her life quietly, without moving much or making too much of a fuss about anything. Amelia has a heart defect, and needs a transplant. One morning, she gets a phone call. Th...more
Nov 26, 2012
Natalie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Girls...
Recommended to Natalie by:
Emily Weil
Shelves:
2nd-quarter
This was a good book, with some sad parts, but I didn't make it out to be as exciting as some friends said it was. See, I don't want to be rude to those who have had a transplant of any kind, but it didn't strike me as a huge part of the book. Sure, it affected the rest of the book, but when the mystery is cleared up in the first few chapters, there is no suspense as to whether or not the transplant will work, accidents, etc. I almost found Eagan's part of the story more exciting. The flashbacks...more
Having two narrators describe both sides of being a heart donor gives this book a unique voice I have not seen before. You know the fate of one of the narrators, Eagan, as she is the heart donor. The way she has to go through her own process of accepting what happens seems so real, I felt for her and the sorrow she felt at time. It was just as captivating listening to what Amelia was going through before and after the heart transplant. You can feel for both girls and their families. I liked how...more
In a Heartbeat was a fascinating book about love, life and making changes told from the viewpoints of two teen girls, Eagan and Amelia.
I love how both Eagan (an ice skater that hits her head on a board during a performance and dies) and Amelia (a girl with a bad heart that receives Eagan's heart) have such different lives and never actually meet but compliment each others stories and learn from each other. It's a beautiful story that is made all the better but the short chapters that switch back...more
I love how both Eagan (an ice skater that hits her head on a board during a performance and dies) and Amelia (a girl with a bad heart that receives Eagan's heart) have such different lives and never actually meet but compliment each others stories and learn from each other. It's a beautiful story that is made all the better but the short chapters that switch back...more
Probably more of a 3.5 for me overall. This is an extremely fast read and definitely a young adult read. The story revolves around a heart transplant scenario and switches back and forth between the donor and the recipient.
The girls each tell their stories through memories (Eagan) or through the way they are adjusting to their new heart (Amelia). At the core of the story is the connection between the two - Amelia seems to really have a part of Eagan within her, from tastes of food to colors. Eve...more
The girls each tell their stories through memories (Eagan) or through the way they are adjusting to their new heart (Amelia). At the core of the story is the connection between the two - Amelia seems to really have a part of Eagan within her, from tastes of food to colors. Eve...more
I remember seeing a show years ago on people who receive organs and start having different habits. To me, that's pretty fasnicating. It made me wonder what life would be like having an organ inside of you that wasn't really yours. In A Heartbeat, while fiction, fed my curiosity about this subject. Between the two protangist, you get a glimpse of what life is for the donor and the receiver.
I never expected for this type of story to hit so close to home to me, but it did. It's probably why I ended...more
I never expected for this type of story to hit so close to home to me, but it did. It's probably why I ended...more
Normally I don't care to much for books that switch back and forth between two main characters, but Loretta Ellsworth did a fantastic job of it!
Sixteen year old Eagan's life gets cut short when she hits her head during a figure skating competition. After her death she views memories of her life, starting from her childhood all the way up to the time of her death. Although she loves her mom very much they have a strained relationship and this is something Eagan needs to resolve before she can se...more
Sixteen year old Eagan's life gets cut short when she hits her head during a figure skating competition. After her death she views memories of her life, starting from her childhood all the way up to the time of her death. Although she loves her mom very much they have a strained relationship and this is something Eagan needs to resolve before she can se...more
I absolutely loved this book! It was a great read and a very heartwarming story. Egan is an amazing figure skater and thats pretty much what her world revolves around. But sometimes she just get so angry with her mom because she can never gets to do things that a normal teenage girl gets to do, like going to homecoming. However, when a freak figure skating accident happens, Eagan lost her life. Another character in the story Amelia, is a young girl in need of a new heart and so she gets Eagan. N...more
Pub Date: February 2010
Summary: During one of her skating competitions, Eagan’s slight mistake cost her, her life.
Eagan looks back on all she’s done and all she wishes she could change.
Like reconciling her relationship with her mom.
She watches memories from heaven.
Her heart is still beating in the world.
Amelia, a fourteen-year-old girl receives Eagan’s heart.
At first she feels guilty.
One family has to suffer so she can live.
Soon, Amelia slowly starts to change.
She dreams of figure skating. She s...more
Summary: During one of her skating competitions, Eagan’s slight mistake cost her, her life.
Eagan looks back on all she’s done and all she wishes she could change.
Like reconciling her relationship with her mom.
She watches memories from heaven.
Her heart is still beating in the world.
Amelia, a fourteen-year-old girl receives Eagan’s heart.
At first she feels guilty.
One family has to suffer so she can live.
Soon, Amelia slowly starts to change.
She dreams of figure skating. She s...more
I really badly wanted to give this book a 5, but I reserve those '5 star' book spots for a book I would have actually boughten a copy of and reread it 6 million times. At first I confused but then I realized this book took place with two narrators whose lives were linked together in a significant way. Their stories sort of combined for the whole heart transplant and what the main character (Amelia) felt. The whole heart transplant idea was FASCINATING to me! I never actualy thought of that kind...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Charectors | 2 | 7 | 4 de Jul 01:43 | |
| Does anyone else think this book could have been better?? | 6 | 15 | 7 de Jun 14:16 | |
| Reading Log #4 | 2 | 8 | 7 de Ene 06:14 |
Loretta received her BA from the University of Northern Iowa, and an MFA from Hamline University in writing for children and young adults. A former middle and high school teacher, she's the author of three young adult novels, The Shrouding Woman, In Search of Mockingbird, and In a Heartbeat. She has four children and one granddaughter, and lives in Minnesota.
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“I look back to where my life had been. It's always risky to think of letting go. That's why this is the perfect ending. Nothing left to reconcile.”
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55 people liked it
“Hearts are like stones on an ocean beach...And people are like the tides that leave permanent marks on them.”
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6 people liked it
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