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Heartbeat
by
Newbery Medalist Creech ("Walk Two Moons") masterfully weaves this story, told in free verse, about a young girl finding her identity and learning how it fits within the many rhythms of life.
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 sens ...more
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 sens ...more
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Paperback, 208 pages
Published
December 26th 2012
by HarperCollins
(first published January 1st 2004)
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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 dram
...more
This is one of the best books I've ever read that is written in verse.
When a girl finds the people around her changing before her very eyes, especially her best friend Max, she isn't sure what to do anymore. Will she change with them, and will it turn out bad or good? Heartbeat is a poetry-styled story about growing up, maturity, and accepting the things you can't change in life. At times it's a little slow but the characters were likable and interesting, and the plot was easy to relate to.
Not much to say here - a sweet narrative written in poetry.
This book is simple but powerful. It’s about a 12 year old girl who faces many trials in her life, but it’s also inspiring, despite the fact that she always has a positive attitude towards her future. This book is written in free verse, which makes it easy to read but also shares complex emotion. I think that this book is great because the author, ‘Sharon Creech’ didn’t put a lot of details , but enough desire to make you turning pages . The reason why I enjoyed this book is because it was a sho
...more
Love!!!
I adored this book. It reminds me of one of my favorite books called Out of the Dust. It's short and interesting and I love the way it's laid out. Just a simple, quick and laid back read
I adored this book. It reminds me of one of my favorite books called Out of the Dust. It's short and interesting and I love the way it's laid out. Just a simple, quick and laid back read
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
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
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
Heartbeat was a really good book i enjoyed it a lot.It was so emotional and funny at some times. I loved the characters that were in the book. It was a book that makes you think about life. I really liked heartbeat it was an amazing book.
"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 ...more
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 ...more
Apr 09, 2019
Grace E
added it
I really liked this book. It's very simple, yet it covers topics such as change, growing up, and finding your place in the world. If you're looking for a short read this one's perfect, it took me only about an hour or so to finish and i'm not even much of a reader.
Jun 16, 2012
Tatiana
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Gr. 4-6
Shelves:
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
In verse, Sharon Creech presents a girl solid i ...more
1. Best hour of my life. Book wise. I literally hugged this book to my chest. I cried twice. I sighed heavily. I told my husband about it.
2. So much symbolism! Running and the baby=heartbeat=changes. The apple is new life (the seed) in the baby but celebrating old life with the grandpa (the bite and it browning). The apple and running also represent the changing of the relationship with Max.
3. One of my favorite quotes:
I wish that every baby everywhere
could land in a family
that wanted that b ...more
2. So much symbolism! Running and the baby=heartbeat=changes. The apple is new life (the seed) in the baby but celebrating old life with the grandpa (the bite and it browning). The apple and running also represent the changing of the relationship with Max.
3. One of my favorite quotes:
I wish that every baby everywhere
could land in a family
that wanted that b ...more
This is a story of 12 year old Annie who loves to run. Told in poetic form, it is a story of friendship, family, of a birth of a brother and aging of her beloved grandfather.
There is nothing overwhelmingly special about this book, but it is worth time spent reading.
The author received a Newbery medal for Walk Two Moons. She is also the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for her book Ruby Holler.
There is nothing overwhelmingly special about this book, but it is worth time spent reading.
The author received a Newbery medal for Walk Two Moons. She is also the first American winner of the Carnegie Medal for her book Ruby Holler.
Moments of a young teenage girl told through what easily could have been diary entries. The entries included her thoughts and feelings about her mother's pregnancy, her aging grandfather experiencing memory loss, and her relationship with her running partner and friend, Max. It's nice sometimes to connect with our inner teen.
This is a kids book, but it involves running so I had to read it! Annie runs, barefoot, cause she loves it. Perfect. She is asked to join the track team. But doesn't see why. Why someone has to win/lose or always run faster. Yep, exactly! So happy I took the time to read it!
It will take you an hour to an hour and a half to read it, and it will feel good.
A middle grade book written in verse. It's told by an 11 year old girl. Her mom was having a baby and her grandfather is dealing with memory loss. Enjoyed the story.
He's in training
he says
in training to escape.
*BEFORE I WAS BORN*
now she feels good--
like a goddess, she says
and it's one of the things
I like best about Max:
that he will run
barefoot
with me.
says we will have to
pick up the pace on the way back
and I tell him
he can pick up his own pace
but my pace is fine
...
and he says I will never get anywhere
if I don't pick up my pace
and I tell him
I don't need to go anywhere
my mother tells Grandpa
that he cannot kick the bucket
he is not allowed
because the alien baby ...more
he says
in training to escape.
*BEFORE I WAS BORN*
now she feels good--
like a goddess, she says
and it's one of the things
I like best about Max:
that he will run
barefoot
with me.
says we will have to
pick up the pace on the way back
and I tell him
he can pick up his own pace
but my pace is fine
...
and he says I will never get anywhere
if I don't pick up my pace
and I tell him
I don't need to go anywhere
my mother tells Grandpa
that he cannot kick the bucket
he is not allowed
because the alien baby ...more
This was a very interesting and fun book to read This book is about young Annie who is just going through well life. This book speaks of young Annie a twelve year old who I feel really relates to people in this age group. She is just trying to figure out life. What is she gonna do everything is changing. This happens to al of us and we just have to figure things out weather it be alone or with someone there to guide us. Sometimes the people that we thought were gonna always be there aren't. That
...more
This book was about Annie's life. Her two favorite things to do are running and coloring. Her art teacher gave their class an assignment, the assignment is to draw an apple each day only once a day for 100 days. And not too long before that she found that her mother is pregnant. And she fears that the baby won't be a human baby, or that it won't have all ten fingers or toes, or everything looks like a normal human being. Annie was at her best friend Max's running meet, she and Max run together e
...more
This book is so absolutely fantastic. I was going to rate it four stars but then realized that I had no reason for doing so- it was just so well done and beautiful. It’s a fantastic middle grade and it definitely benefited from being written in verse. Some books don’t work well with that format and this was definitely not the case. Even though it’s incredibly short (especially so because of the format) I think it works very well for the story and I would definitely recommend it to young and old
...more
I quickly fell in love with this book. Annie was a very relatable girl. She had so much going on with her life throughout the book, and many times she was confused about her purpose and why these things kept happening in her life. Like Annie, sometimes I think that we just need to run. Run from problems, and just run for fun. This book depicted a story that was fiction, but also relatable to so many people going through different stages in their lives. I would definitely recommend this book. It
...more
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I first read this in fifth (fourth?) grade. I always enjoy Sharon Creech but I like some of her other books better. I would recommend it to a friend, but probably wouldn't reread. I think I just didn't connect with the main character. Running is boring; the grandfather is heartwarming.
Cute story. Quick & entertaining read!
...more
Sep 19, 2019
Kimberly Tinoco
added it
i think that this book was really great
So needed a quick listen so chose this youth author.
I was not disappointed. Liked this lovely story very much.
I was not disappointed. Liked this lovely story very much.
I've loved this book for over a decade, but it was especially sweet rereading it while pregnant.
May 03, 2020
Jennifer Mangler
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
middle-grades,
poetry-verse
Sweet but slight. I wish I'd really gotten to know the secondary characters, especially Max and Grandpa, better, because there's a lot of good stuff there.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Middle Grade/YA/Poetry? about Young Girl and her Pregnant Mother w/ Theme about Heartbeats. [s] | 6 | 15 | Jul 05, 2019 08:33PM | |
| Heartbeat by Shar...: 1-19-17 Discussion Question #2 | 6 | 4 | Feb 02, 2017 11:15AM | |
| Heartbeat by Shar...: 1-19-17 Discussion Question #3 | 1 | 4 | Jan 18, 2017 01:29PM |
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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
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“...but it doesn't feel crazy to us.
It feels like what we do.”
—
59 likes
It feels like what we do.”
“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?”
—
33 likes
More quotes…
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?”
