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Heartbeat

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 5,457 ratings · 671 reviews

Run run run. That's what twelve-year-old Annie loves to do. When she's barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating . . .

thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP.

It's a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything's shifting: Her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always moody. Everything is changing, just like the apple Annie's bee...more

Hardcover, Large Print, 107 pages

Published September 1st 2004 by Thorndike Press

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Jan 27, 2008 Abby Johnson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Annie loves to run. Annie loves to draw. These are constants in her life when so many other things seem to be changing. Her mother's having a new baby. Her grandfather is losing his memory and sometimes doesn't recognize himself. And everyone keeps asking Annie about her friendship with Max. Are they just friends? Or are they something more?

This quiet novel in verse documents a year in Annie's life and how she deals with it. She realizes that everything changes and she might have to change, too....more

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Oct 04, 2012 Josiah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"Am I supposed to do something
important?
It doesn't seem enough
to merely take up space
on this planet
in this country
in this state
in this town
in this family."

―Annie, Heartbeat, P. 28

All of life comes down to the heartbeat, doesn't it? For the very old and the newborn babe, the extravagantly wealthy and the dirt poor, the deliriously happy and those in the midst of despair, the heartbeat is the sign that life goes on, that the body is functional and still capable of keeping itself going e...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Tatiana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Gr. 4-6

Shelves: childrens-chapter-books, childrens-poetry

Thump-thump, thump-thump. The sound twelve-year-old Annie’s heart makes when she runs, barefoot and happy. Running is her constant in a year of upheaval: her grandfather’s forgetfulness, her mother’s pregnancy, her best friend Max’s moodiness. Like the apple she is assigned to draw for one hundred days in a row, Annie must find the shades and light, the beauty, in all the changes, both rejuvenating and disintegrating, that are occurring around her.

In verse, Sharon Creech presents a girl solid i...more

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Apr 05, 2008 Joanna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry, childrens-lit-young-adult

Sharon Creech is one of my favorite authors for young adults, and although I enjoy all of her books, this is one of her best. The entire book is written in poetic free verse (like Love That Dog ), and I love that form of storytelling--it is extraordinarily expressive with just a few words. If you want to see what I mean, you should read a chapter on the author's website. As always, she delivers an insightful story about growing up and finding one's place in the world amongst the everyday drama o...more

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Apr 14, 2011 Mary Ann added it · review of another edition

I just love it when a character's thoughts and moods meld with mine in my mind, growing and becoming part of me. Novels in verse - usually written in free form poetry - have a particular way of doing this, where the narrator's voice almost flows into me. Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech, is a touching story that will appeal to tweens who love realistic fiction. While some kids read fantasy to escape, others love realistic fiction to connect to characters. Heartbeat is a treat for kids who enjoy explo...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Alice Cai rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 3rd-quarter-2013

Heartbeat
By Sharon Creech
Realistic Fiction
208 Pages

Twelve-year old Annie is facing a lot of changes in her life -her grandfather's health is detoriorating, her best friend and runnning partner, Max, is moody, and a new addition is coming to the family, a baby brohter. Through all these changes the only constant is her love for running barefoot and drawing. Through the rhythm of her feet against the ground as she runs, Annie begins to understand the complications of life and the miracles that the...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Ivy Paschka rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ivy Paschka

I really like the book Heartbeat by Sharon Creech. The book is realistic fiction. Its realistic fiction because there is a girl named Annie and she loves to run. The setting appears everywhere, first it’s in her house and it’s on her path and also at Mrs. Cobber’s house, then the hospital. Annie is the main character and she’s the narrator.

The conflict of the book is that her grandpa is losing his memory and is passing away soon. The conflict kept this book very interesting and excit...more

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Nov 29, 2012 Mya Paquette rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought this book was very intresting and I loved how there was a hint of mystery. I also loved how she was trying to find herself and how her grandfather comforted her and how she comforted him and that whole feeling of uncertanty and over all i really liked the book. I think that this book is aimed more towarads the female audeince , I also think that girls would most likely like it bettter than girls. I would recomend this book to people that like books about family and change and being you...more

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Oct 27, 2012 Dilara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book has a really big secret, a secret needed to understand for the rules of life. You learn this around the age of Annie herself, 12+. Some learn it through experience and some are already told it.

Annie finds out that as a life starts to end, another begins- like the seed/s of an eaten apple. Also that life has many rhythms which are all harmonious together; a heartbeat when you are running or the heartbeat of a baby. Annie also knows that you shouldn't run to win, you should run for the...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Brina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In „Herznah“ beschreibt Annie ihr Leben und es wird schnell klar, dass sie kein gewöhnliches Mädchen ist.
Sie hat eine tolle Familie, zeichnet gerne und liebt das Laufen, am besten barfuß.
Durch eine Aufgabe im Kunstunterricht, lernt sie Dinge zu hinterfragen und bekommt ein anderes Weltbild…

Sharon Creech hat mit „Herznah“ eine tolle Geschichte mit wenigen Höhen und Tiefen geschrieben, dass mich aber dennoch unterhalten hat.

Der Schreibstil hat mich am Anfang ein wenig stutzig gemacht und ich konnt...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Brina rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Feb 18, 2011 Erika rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-books

This book made me want to go running. I loved the main character, Annie because she was really clear about what she wanted and how she felt about things which was a sharp contrast to her friend, Max who was very moody and unsure about himself. When she talks about being in an art room with the smells and smocks, I think about when I used to visit my mom at work when she was an art teacher and the smells of her room and the wide open spaces her students had to work. That olfactory memory is very...more

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Feb 17, 2011 Taylor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was one of the first books I remember reading. I do not remember what grade, but I ordered in from this catalog we got every month advertising books for young children. For some reason I liked this one so I ordered it. The style of writing within this book is a bit unorthodox, not in this day & time of course, but for me being a first time reader. Nonetheless I loved it from the beginning. It is a sad, true & lovely short story & in some ways, inspiring in the aspect of not givi...more

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Nov 21, 2010 Kath B. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Katherine Bald
Book Review #6
Romaniuk/Moyer
November 30, 2010
Run, Run, As Fast As You Can:
You Can’t Catch Me I’m Annie
The book Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech, is an amazing book about taking responsibility and believing in yourself. As the book is told through Annie’s eyes she discovers that she is in control of her options and that people can’t tell her what to do, however they can still persuade her. The book is set in present times and is expressed through poetry. Overall I give Heartbeat four...more Katherine Bald
Book Review #6
Romaniuk/Moyer
November 30, 2010
Run, Run, As Fast As You Can:
You Can’t Catch Me I’m Annie
The book Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech, is an amazing book about taking responsibility and believing in yourself. As the book is told through Annie’s eyes she discovers that she is in control of her options and that people can’t tell her what to do, however they can still persuade her. The book is set in present times and is expressed through poetry. Overall I give Heartbeat four out of five stars because of the way the author built a bond between Annie and the reader. Also the way the author made me think about myself in Annie’s situation. In the book Heartbeat there are so many reasons why I connected with Annie how ever these are the most important: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me, practice makes perfect, when you escape from the world it is through something that you love.
One thing that Annie learned through the book was that she was hurt by words. “I felt as if I was weightless and free as I lunged for the bench reaching it one slim second before Max and then we hunched over huffing and he says That’s a little better pace this time Annie, I tried not to let it get to me, but it did”(115). As the quote shows above shows it is clear that Annie has trouble controlling her emotions. As I continued to read

the book I saw that she lashed out a lot. My point is that Annie was more sensitive to words then anything else.” I couldn’t hold it in, I slugged him hard” (115). This is how
Annie delta with the problem, by punching Max. As we learn latter on she did it because she was mad that he criticized her after he complains about every little thing. She was sick of him being a hypocrite and shows it in a violent way, however it wasn’t intentional.
Secondly, many people disagree when they say practice makes perfect, but not for Annie. “Drawing an apple a hundred times sounds boring said Kaylee, I disagree( in my head) to me it sounds fun”(108). In Annie’s art class their teacher made them pick an apple and keep it for a hundred days, each day they would draw the changes in the apple and there skills have changed. Throughout the book you see how dedicated Annie is to practicing and learn.
In times of trouble, Annie escape the world by running. “I love running and the way it makes me feel”(147). Annie can’t go a day without running and the reason is because it is the way she can clear her mind when she is to distracted. To Annie running is her oasis, her comfort, her haven.” And when I go home I’ll fling off my shoes and flee for the pond and I will run”(113)
In the book there are so many reasons why I connected with Annie how ever these are the most important: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will always hurt me, practice makes perfect, when you escape from the world it is through something that you love. Many times I try to escape situations by singing or writing, almost how Annie

does with running. One day I got yelled at by a teacher for no reason, so I came home and wrote a letter that was never sent to that teacher. It got all my anger out without hurting
anyone. On thing that I learned was that poetry can capture a moment and feeling in a particular way that you will always remember.
Overall, I worked very hard on this book report I spent ALL of Sunday working on it I was determined and wanted to make sure that I didn’t have to do it during Thanksgiving break. I also made a book plan so I could finish the book on time which I reached. Reading this book was hard because it was all poetry, however it presented a challenge that I was more then willing to take. If I had more time I would have worked more on my topic sentences. I would have also made the time to figure out how to print double sided. I believe who ever is grading this paper will see that I worked hard on it and will give me an honest grade.

(less)

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Apr 06, 2010 Sarah rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tween-girl, tween-coming-of-age-girl

Like the apple repeatedly drawn by 12 year-old Annie, this story provides sweetness without artificial sugar. Annie shares her reflections in first person verse that mimics the rhythms of her feet as she runs free and barefoot. Continuous pressured by her best friend Max and the track coach to join the team, Annie refuses to "run in a herd." Annie offers a refreshing glimpse of a tween unafraid to run her own path, though, Creech offers glimpses into Annie's occasional insecurities and how she r...more

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Nov 19, 2009 NS-Lisa Skrzypczynski rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

Heartbeat is the story of twelve year old Annie who is dealing with the trials of being an adolescent girl living in a world of change. Annie’s life changes as her grandfather begins to forget more and more, her announces that she is going to have a baby, and her best friend in the whole world becomes very temperamental. Annie finds solace and peace through running. As the story continues, readers watch Annie grow and begin to realize that even though she cannot stop change, she is still loved a...more

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Jun 11, 2009 Ash R. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade-ir-books-sadelle

This book is about a girl named Annie who has to go through a lot on her own because she doesn't know who to talk to with all the dramatic changes that are happening around her. Her grandfather forgets way to much, her best friend Max is always have mood swings, and to top it all off her mother is pregnant with another baby. She knows that she just has to survive on her own with all her emotions bottled in.

I can connect because sometimes I could feel like no one know me so well that I could t...more

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May 02, 2009 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A simple but powerful book dealing with the many facets of life as a middle school girl, Heartbeat gives us a glimpse into the life of 12-year-old Annie. This book would be ideal for an early middle school girl dealing with the many facets of life. I like how the book encompasses birth, death, athletics, art, and family relationships all in one. In this way I think that it could appeal to many different types of kids. This book would be a great text for teaching punctuation and different types o...more

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Apr 10, 2009 Akansha rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i learned that you always dont get what you want and that you should appreciate whatever you get because people spend time and effort searching for these gifts.

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Apr 07, 2009 Ian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Someone who likes Books with poetry

“Thump-thump, thump-thump.” Life wouldn’t be the same without running for Annie; her heart pounding as she races past everything. She and Max run at full speed over creeks, through parks, on sidewalks, and many other places almost every day. Coaches and friends pester her to join the track team, including Max, but she declines each time, knowing that she’s happier running for the fun of it. But the book isn’t all about her love for running; she later explores her artistic interests by drawing a...more

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Apr 08, 2011 Nichole.a added it · review of another edition

The name
Of this book is Heartbreak. The author’s name is Sharon Creech. I liked this book a lot. It was not the best book ever but it was a pretty good book! I think that it is for both the boys and the girls.
The two main characters in this book are, a girl named Annie and a boy named Max. Max and Annie love to run together after school. Max is on the boys track team and has a big race that is coming up. He is trying to get Annie to join the girls track team.
The part that I thought was really...more

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Mar 26, 2009 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7th-grade-ir-books-sadelle

This book is about a girl named Annie. She loves running barefoot with her friend Max who is a year older than her and is very emotional. For her school art project, Annie has to draw an apple a day for a hundred days. She is not god at first but gets better. Her forgetful grandfather eats a bite of her apple one day and she comes up with the idea of drawing the apple each day with more and more bites on it. This story ends with a happy but anxious new arrival.
I can relate to Annie when she fe...more

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Jul 26, 2008 Michaela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: any girl

Recommended to Michaela by: Mr. Durfee

This book was just beautiful. It isn't exciting (that is coming from a fantasy fanatic). But it makes you think. The character Annie and I think in the same reflective manner. She is believable and MAX is hot and awesome and amazing. What can I say? I'm all about the Angst-y, sulky, mood-swing-y, jerks. Any girl in a public school could enjoy this book, unless you deny that you are female. Then you need the school shrink.

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Jun 10, 2012 Libby rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-inner-teen

Sometimes I wonder why I keep reading a book (even when I am clearly annoyed), and why other times I quit and could care less if I ever finish.

This is a book that clearly is a young adult book, and maybe for some 13 year old this book will be perfect for them. However, the style of this book completely annoyed me. There was so much repetition with words that I felt like I was having a lesson on "learning words." The story line was rather mature material for a teen reader, dealing with a Mother g...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Kayna Olsen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-21-30

This is the story of Annie and the many changes that are occurring in her life. Her mother is pregnant with an alien baby, Max is moody and she never really knows what to expect from him, her grandfather's once sharp mind is fading and he is forgetting things which should not be forgotten, and the apple she has been assigned to draw 100 times over 100 days is slowly changing as well. But through it all Annie runs and while she runs she can hear her constant heartbeat and feels reassured from it...more

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Dec 12, 2010 Kelsey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

this book is about a girl named Anney and she loves running with her friend Max and by her self. In the book Max is trying to confince anney to join the track team. She nevr gave in she did not want to join the team.she dosent like the idia of someone winning and someone loseing.the whole time her mom is pregnit. Max joind the track team when he runs he hast to run in shoes.they both run with no shoes they love the way the ground,sticks and stones feel. then max tells anney he has to ware shoes...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Chelsea rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens

Creech, Sharon. Heartbeat. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Print. 180 p.

Annie is twelve years old and loves to run. She often runs with her friend Max, who can be “Moody Max”. Annie's mother has discovered she is pregnant, surprising her family. As the baby is growing, Annie's grandfather's body is slowly deteriorating. Grandpa is suffering from dementia and lives with Annie's family, so she experiences the many issues surrounding his illness. Annie also shares with readers what she loves and wha...more

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Dec 09, 2010 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Heartbeat by Sharon Creech
Genre: poetry, fiction
Twelve-year old Annie loves to run. It helps her cope with all the changes in her life this year like her mom's pregnancy and her grandpa's aging and her best friend Max acting moody all the time. She is asked to join the track team, but eventually decides to keep running just for fun and for herself, while Max joins the team. Her Grandfather dies and her little brother is born and life goes on, Annie learning lessons of self-fulfillment, coping wi...more

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Nov 17, 2012 Dimitra H. rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2nd-quarter-reading

Heartbeat
Sharon Creech
Realistic Fiction
208 pages

Run, run, and more run.That's all twelve year old Annie loves to do. When she's barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating . . . thump-Thump, thump-Thump. It's a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything's changing. Her mom is pregnant, her grandpa is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always in a mood. Everything changes over time, just like the apple Annie's been assigned to draw 100 times. But as she watches her apple ch...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Shahela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Heartbeat is a feel-good book by Sharon Creech. It is written in an almost musical manner; the tempo, pace and beat of Annie, the main character, and her life is evident from the very beginning, thus the name of the book being 'Heartbeat'. The pace is almost an insight into the way she is feeling at different points in her life, which would be greatly useful when teaching to children the different ways in which words can be used to create rhythm and emotion simultaneously.

The book covers import...more

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About Sharon Creech

I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of...more I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.
One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books--transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.
When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults: The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.
After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.
I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.

© Sharon Creech(less)

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Quotes from Heartbeat

“...but it doesn't feel crazy to us.
It feels like what we do.” — 44 people liked it

“And what did I think
when I was small
and why did I forget?

And what else will I forget
when I grow older?

And if you forget
is it as if
it never happened?

Will none of the things
you saw or thought or dreamed
matter?” — 10 people liked it

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