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In a Heartbeat
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 life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different - dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy - her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan's life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.
Told in alternating viewpoints, In a Heartbeat tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one 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 life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different - dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy - her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan's life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on.
Told in alternating viewpoints, In a Heartbeat tells the emotional and compelling story of two girls sharing one heart.
216 pages, Paperback
First published February 2, 2010
120 people are currently reading
3712 people want to read
About the author
Loretta Ellsworth
14 books338 followersLoretta 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 four young adult novels, The Shrouding Woman, In Search of Mockingbird,In a Heartbeat, and Unforgettable. Her WWII historical novel, Stars Over Clear Lake, will be published in 2017. She has four children and six grandchildren, and lives in Minnesota. Follow her on Twitter @lellsworth.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 460 reviews
December 11, 2010
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 of Eagan’s personality traits, such as a sassy mouth and a partiality for the color purple. Spookiest of all, Amelia seems to know things she can’t possibly know: her donor was a girl and she liked purple lollipops, and she was an athlete…a skater. Soon Amelia is on a journey to meet the family of her donor.
Meanwhile, Eagan is dwelling in an “in between place,” reliving moments from her life, whether happy or sad. She has a lot to sort out, from her rocky relationship with her mother to why she had always planned for the worst. Can she reconcile and move on? And can Amelia learn to accept her gift?
I didn’t read the author’s note until I was finished with the narrative, but I could feel the real grief, and then later, the relief of someone who lost a loved one searching for solace in knowing a part of that loss lives on. Reading the last few chapters, especially, gave me tons of chills. It felt real. I don’t know how much of this phenomenon is scientifically sound, gaining the characteristics, cravings, etc., of one’s donor. But I kind of like the idea. It’s very…comforting, in a way.
It’s a quick read; the chapters are short, going back and forth between the girls’ POV. You might be able to predict some of the twists like I did, just because they weren’t concealed that well. But don’t read this for the plot. Read it for the meaning: live and love generously, voraciously, while you have the opportunity.
Amelia takes on some of Eagan’s personality traits, such as a sassy mouth and a partiality for the color purple. Spookiest of all, Amelia seems to know things she can’t possibly know: her donor was a girl and she liked purple lollipops, and she was an athlete…a skater. Soon Amelia is on a journey to meet the family of her donor.
Meanwhile, Eagan is dwelling in an “in between place,” reliving moments from her life, whether happy or sad. She has a lot to sort out, from her rocky relationship with her mother to why she had always planned for the worst. Can she reconcile and move on? And can Amelia learn to accept her gift?
I didn’t read the author’s note until I was finished with the narrative, but I could feel the real grief, and then later, the relief of someone who lost a loved one searching for solace in knowing a part of that loss lives on. Reading the last few chapters, especially, gave me tons of chills. It felt real. I don’t know how much of this phenomenon is scientifically sound, gaining the characteristics, cravings, etc., of one’s donor. But I kind of like the idea. It’s very…comforting, in a way.
It’s a quick read; the chapters are short, going back and forth between the girls’ POV. You might be able to predict some of the twists like I did, just because they weren’t concealed that well. But don’t read this for the plot. Read it for the meaning: live and love generously, voraciously, while you have the opportunity.
July 17, 2010
Very nicely pieced together, we follow Eagan and Amelia through a meaningful and extraordinary tale about two young girls experiencing both the good and the bad affects that death leaves behind, all because of one beating heart.
The Plot:
Eagan has just died after she hit her head at a skating competition, and the reader follows her post-death experience as she is given the chance to look back at her life, every single detail still in place, from her fifth birthday to her last meal with her family (her personal Last Supper, as Eagan put it).
Amelia has been sick for six years and has finally had a heart transplant. In her half, her and a new friend Ari (by the end, boyfriend) are trying to figure out who Amelia's heart donor was. They eventually figure out that the donor is Eagan and attempt to meet with her family.
The Goods:
This was one of those books that I stayed up until three in the morning reading. I really liked both sides of the story, especially the characters interactions and relationships with each other. I especially liked the Amelia + Ari side story. Well, the Eagan + Scott story was cute, too. But that ended more sadly (obviously, she's kind of dead). Eagan's reflections kept me reading, so did Amelia's effort to meet Eagan's family.
What I really liked was that I could relate to these girls. It was very realistic. For example, I have a little brother whom I'm always annoyed with, just like Amelia. There was this quote, something like, "How can I die if I haven't even said goodbye to my little brother?" That made me think. It was a sad moment, it was. It made me feel guilty. I guess all in all, the plot + character reactions made me like it the story.
The Bads:
For the first, like, ten chapters, Amelia always seems to start out saying how her heart doesn't seem to fit right, and Eagan always starts out saying how gray and transparent and blank everything is in the place she goes after she dies. It was really repetitive to the point where it got annoying, like, "Okay, we get it, everything here is gray. What do you expect me to do about it?" However, they did stop repeating themselves after a while, which I really appreciated (duh). Nothing else bad, really.
In conclusion, it's not one of my favorite books, but it was a good book. It had a decent ending that gave the reader confirmation that both girls were going to move on with their new and happy lives.
The Plot:
Eagan has just died after she hit her head at a skating competition, and the reader follows her post-death experience as she is given the chance to look back at her life, every single detail still in place, from her fifth birthday to her last meal with her family (her personal Last Supper, as Eagan put it).
Amelia has been sick for six years and has finally had a heart transplant. In her half, her and a new friend Ari (by the end, boyfriend) are trying to figure out who Amelia's heart donor was. They eventually figure out that the donor is Eagan and attempt to meet with her family.
The Goods:
This was one of those books that I stayed up until three in the morning reading. I really liked both sides of the story, especially the characters interactions and relationships with each other. I especially liked the Amelia + Ari side story. Well, the Eagan + Scott story was cute, too. But that ended more sadly (obviously, she's kind of dead). Eagan's reflections kept me reading, so did Amelia's effort to meet Eagan's family.
What I really liked was that I could relate to these girls. It was very realistic. For example, I have a little brother whom I'm always annoyed with, just like Amelia. There was this quote, something like, "How can I die if I haven't even said goodbye to my little brother?" That made me think. It was a sad moment, it was. It made me feel guilty. I guess all in all, the plot + character reactions made me like it the story.
The Bads:
For the first, like, ten chapters, Amelia always seems to start out saying how her heart doesn't seem to fit right, and Eagan always starts out saying how gray and transparent and blank everything is in the place she goes after she dies. It was really repetitive to the point where it got annoying, like, "Okay, we get it, everything here is gray. What do you expect me to do about it?" However, they did stop repeating themselves after a while, which I really appreciated (duh). Nothing else bad, really.
In conclusion, it's not one of my favorite books, but it was a good book. It had a decent ending that gave the reader confirmation that both girls were going to move on with their new and happy lives.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2020
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 deceased.
The plot was well thought out and there was research behind it. The plot moved at the perfect pace, slow and steady. Since the plot was so well thought up, I could really feel all the emotions that were supposed to be felt: scared with Amelia when she learns of her heat, Eagan’s confusion, Amelia’s tiredness, Eagan’s anger and so much more. There wasn’t too much emotion or too little of it. Which brings me to the characters.
Ellsworth had great protagonists. Amelia was scared, fragile, yet so determined to live with her new heart. She knew the outcomes if the transplant went wrong yet she stayed strong. When she gets her transplant, Amelia learns to be grateful for the life she was given. Eagan is frustrated with her mother and anxious about her skating. When she dies, she is confused and though it takes a while for her to admit, scared.
Both girls come out as strong (well, Eagan moves on), young women by the end of the book. They accept the events and circumstance for what and who they are.
In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth is a great, heart wrenching book about being scared, confused, living, loving, loss, grief and over all, moving on.
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 deceased.
The plot was well thought out and there was research behind it. The plot moved at the perfect pace, slow and steady. Since the plot was so well thought up, I could really feel all the emotions that were supposed to be felt: scared with Amelia when she learns of her heat, Eagan’s confusion, Amelia’s tiredness, Eagan’s anger and so much more. There wasn’t too much emotion or too little of it. Which brings me to the characters.
Ellsworth had great protagonists. Amelia was scared, fragile, yet so determined to live with her new heart. She knew the outcomes if the transplant went wrong yet she stayed strong. When she gets her transplant, Amelia learns to be grateful for the life she was given. Eagan is frustrated with her mother and anxious about her skating. When she dies, she is confused and though it takes a while for her to admit, scared.
Both girls come out as strong (well, Eagan moves on), young women by the end of the book. They accept the events and circumstance for what and who they are.
In a Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth is a great, heart wrenching book about being scared, confused, living, loving, loss, grief and over all, moving on.
November 28, 2009
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 that Amelia has a true chance at life, but sad to see Eagan’s cut so short.
My only real complaint is that wrap-up felt a little too easy and fast. I think had there been just a little more to the story Ellsworth could had let the characters and plot develop a hair more and even out the pacing. Overall, though, I did enjoy reading In a Heartbeat and would easily recommend this books to others.
My only real complaint is that wrap-up felt a little too easy and fast. I think had there been just a little more to the story Ellsworth could had let the characters and plot develop a hair more and even out the pacing. Overall, though, I did enjoy reading In a Heartbeat and would easily recommend this books to others.
July 2, 2011
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 is torn between wanting to live, and knowing that living means the death of someone else. Once she does get the heart transplant she desperate needs Amelia finds herself acting and being different. Where she was once shy and introverted she is now sarcastic and out going. The changes in herself causes Amelia to want to learn about her new heart, and the person that owned it before. Amelia's story follows her need to find the donor's family and bring some sense of closure, and to learn more about her.
Wow, I wanted to literally shake Amelia. I was so infuriated with her extreme passive-aggressive attitude at the beginning of the book. She gets the call for a new heart and while her mother is running around trying to get her to the hospital for the surgery Amelia is sitting around in her bedroom picking her toes, looking at horse pictures, and playing cards with her brother. I know that the author was trying to show that Amelia is guilt-ridden from the fact that her donor has to die to give her a heart, but I was ready to just slap her. Hurry up! Do you really want to die? I kept thinking. Move it!
"I'm so happy for you, Amelia. Mom has been praying nonstop."
I wanted to get caught up in her happiness. Rachel made it sound like I'd won the lottery. The lottery of recylced hearts, and I was a lucky winner.
"I'm not ready," I confessed. "I'm not ready for this operation. I don't want to go, Rachel." I knew I sounded like a coward and a crybaby.
"Don't cry," she said, and she hugged me again, because now I really was crying. I didn't want to cry. I wanted to be happy like her, to be excited, the good kind of excitement that comes when wonderful things are happening, like when you win a new car. Not the excitement of winning a new heart. (pg. 26)
Eagan on the other hand---seriously how do you even say this girls name---I could totally relate to. Unsure of her life, fighting with her mother, dealing with the strange concept of knowing what you want. I got her immediately. I don't know what this says about me, but Eagan was me when I was in high school. Sans the parents with a troubled marriage. When she dies she realizes that there were so many things left unsaid, most especially towards her mother. Eagan cannot leave to the great beyond until she is able to find peace in the life she left behind. This character I didn't want shake, and I think we can all understand this feeling of unfinished business. If you died today what would you leave behind? Eagan is left in limbo, and it isn't until she finds another girl that she starts to understand that she needs to move on.
She's looking straight at me. A girl. She stands out because she's not pasty gray like everything around her. Like me. She's wearing a frilly dress the same shade as the marigold bushes in Mom's garden. Her black curly hair is glittery. It reminds me of the stuff we put on our hair before competitions.
"Can you see me?" I ask.
She nods and waves like she wants to come over but needs to be invited.
Finally. Someone to talk to. My heart feels lighter. Maybe she can help me find my way back to my life.
"Hey," I say.
She doesn't need more of an invitation. She's next to me in a flash.
"I'm Eagan. What's your name?" (pg. 90)
This book had an interesting concept both in Eagan needing to find peace after her death, and in the changes that occur in Amelia once she acquires a new heart. Unfortunately, while other readers of this book on the tour had mentioned how powerful and heartbreaking it was I felt it was simply good. Interesting premise, characters that evoked a reaction with me (good or bad), but it also felt like it could have been two books. I believe simply focusing on Amelia and her story then writing a companion book for Eagan could have given Ellsworth the ability to really spotlight and flesh out these two girls. In this case the dual narrative just didn't work for me. I had a hard time separating the fantasy elements from what I think Ellsworth was really wanting to focus on, the concept of cellular memory.
Despite how I feel about this book it has received a lot of great reviews. As always I encourage you to look at the tour page, and read all the other lovely opinions there.
Amelia is dying of heart failure. She is torn between wanting to live, and knowing that living means the death of someone else. Once she does get the heart transplant she desperate needs Amelia finds herself acting and being different. Where she was once shy and introverted she is now sarcastic and out going. The changes in herself causes Amelia to want to learn about her new heart, and the person that owned it before. Amelia's story follows her need to find the donor's family and bring some sense of closure, and to learn more about her.
Wow, I wanted to literally shake Amelia. I was so infuriated with her extreme passive-aggressive attitude at the beginning of the book. She gets the call for a new heart and while her mother is running around trying to get her to the hospital for the surgery Amelia is sitting around in her bedroom picking her toes, looking at horse pictures, and playing cards with her brother. I know that the author was trying to show that Amelia is guilt-ridden from the fact that her donor has to die to give her a heart, but I was ready to just slap her. Hurry up! Do you really want to die? I kept thinking. Move it!
"I'm so happy for you, Amelia. Mom has been praying nonstop."
I wanted to get caught up in her happiness. Rachel made it sound like I'd won the lottery. The lottery of recylced hearts, and I was a lucky winner.
"I'm not ready," I confessed. "I'm not ready for this operation. I don't want to go, Rachel." I knew I sounded like a coward and a crybaby.
"Don't cry," she said, and she hugged me again, because now I really was crying. I didn't want to cry. I wanted to be happy like her, to be excited, the good kind of excitement that comes when wonderful things are happening, like when you win a new car. Not the excitement of winning a new heart. (pg. 26)
Eagan on the other hand---seriously how do you even say this girls name---I could totally relate to. Unsure of her life, fighting with her mother, dealing with the strange concept of knowing what you want. I got her immediately. I don't know what this says about me, but Eagan was me when I was in high school. Sans the parents with a troubled marriage. When she dies she realizes that there were so many things left unsaid, most especially towards her mother. Eagan cannot leave to the great beyond until she is able to find peace in the life she left behind. This character I didn't want shake, and I think we can all understand this feeling of unfinished business. If you died today what would you leave behind? Eagan is left in limbo, and it isn't until she finds another girl that she starts to understand that she needs to move on.
She's looking straight at me. A girl. She stands out because she's not pasty gray like everything around her. Like me. She's wearing a frilly dress the same shade as the marigold bushes in Mom's garden. Her black curly hair is glittery. It reminds me of the stuff we put on our hair before competitions.
"Can you see me?" I ask.
She nods and waves like she wants to come over but needs to be invited.
Finally. Someone to talk to. My heart feels lighter. Maybe she can help me find my way back to my life.
"Hey," I say.
She doesn't need more of an invitation. She's next to me in a flash.
"I'm Eagan. What's your name?" (pg. 90)
This book had an interesting concept both in Eagan needing to find peace after her death, and in the changes that occur in Amelia once she acquires a new heart. Unfortunately, while other readers of this book on the tour had mentioned how powerful and heartbreaking it was I felt it was simply good. Interesting premise, characters that evoked a reaction with me (good or bad), but it also felt like it could have been two books. I believe simply focusing on Amelia and her story then writing a companion book for Eagan could have given Ellsworth the ability to really spotlight and flesh out these two girls. In this case the dual narrative just didn't work for me. I had a hard time separating the fantasy elements from what I think Ellsworth was really wanting to focus on, the concept of cellular memory.
Despite how I feel about this book it has received a lot of great reviews. As always I encourage you to look at the tour page, and read all the other lovely opinions there.
May 6, 2012
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 chapters, Amelia grapples with conflicting feelings over her new heart, and inexplicable changes in her post-op personality drive her to seek out her anonymous donor’s family for answers. Ellsworth’s dramatic story of loss and second chances is deftly tempered by its candid teen narration and light touches of mystery and romance, making it a highly satisfying read, especially for fans of the novels of Lurlene McDaniel and the recent Cold Hands, Warm Heart
Cons
*moderate language
*for those parents who are conscious of spiritual matters, this book may cause some tension. Since Eagan's limbo conflicts will most belief systems.
Pros
*looks at medical issues; allows readers a small step into the life of a girl who stuggles with a medical issue
*touching
*happy ending
August 27, 2019
Dos puntos de vista diferentes sobre un mismo evento. Cuando alguien recibe el trasplante de un órgano, todo es felicidad, pero ese órgano no apareció magicamente, perteneció a otra persona. Alguien con sueños y metas por vivir. ¿Qué pasa cuando los recuerdos y/o personalidad de la persona fallecida empiezan a manifestarse en la receptora del trasplante?
Esta es una historia que pudo dar mucho más juego, si la autora nos hubiera dejado conocer más a Eagan y Amelia. Conocemos muy poco de ellas, más allá del vínculo que las une. Aunque vemos los flashbacks de la vida de Eagan, lo único que logró reflejarse es lo detestable que era la madre y cómo toda su vida giraba alrededor del patinaje. Muy poco para empatizar realmente con ella.
Lo mejor
Los dos puntos de vista de la donadora y la receptora del corazón. Me gustó que se exploraran las dos perspectivas tan diametralmente opuestas.
Lo peor
La narracción es demasiado literal. Nos dice lo que sucede en lugar de mostrarlo. Le falta calidez para envolvernos en lo que está sucediendo.
Cita
Hearts are like stones on an ocean beach, she says. And people are like the tides that leave permanent marks on them.
Esta es una historia que pudo dar mucho más juego, si la autora nos hubiera dejado conocer más a Eagan y Amelia. Conocemos muy poco de ellas, más allá del vínculo que las une. Aunque vemos los flashbacks de la vida de Eagan, lo único que logró reflejarse es lo detestable que era la madre y cómo toda su vida giraba alrededor del patinaje. Muy poco para empatizar realmente con ella.
Lo mejor
Los dos puntos de vista de la donadora y la receptora del corazón. Me gustó que se exploraran las dos perspectivas tan diametralmente opuestas.
Lo peor
La narracción es demasiado literal. Nos dice lo que sucede en lugar de mostrarlo. Le falta calidez para envolvernos en lo que está sucediendo.
Cita
Hearts are like stones on an ocean beach, she says. And people are like the tides that leave permanent marks on them.
March 10, 2015
In a Heartbeat is about two girls, Amelia and Eagan. Amelia and Eagan don't know each other, but a mistake of half an inch cost Eagan her life. Amelia has a heart problem and is getting a heart transplant. She got Eagan's heart and is getting strange feelings from Eagan, who is trapped by her stress. Can they save each other?
I liked this book a lot, but I didn't really like Eagan's mom's personality. Even though I didn't like they way she acted sometimes, I know without her personality, the book's story would have gone differently. When I first looked at the cover, I thought it would be one of those short stories. But when I finished reading the book, the writing struck me as very deep.
I liked this book a lot, but I didn't really like Eagan's mom's personality. Even though I didn't like they way she acted sometimes, I know without her personality, the book's story would have gone differently. When I first looked at the cover, I thought it would be one of those short stories. But when I finished reading the book, the writing struck me as very deep.
January 4, 2018
4.5 stars
I picked this up because it's been sitting on my shelf for way too long. I was starting to feel guilty that I was avoiding it because of the cover (because let's be honest, the cover is awful), so I just bit the bullet and started reading it. I had low expectations, but I'm honestly very impressed. This book was so touching, and even though the characters were young, their voices didn't bother me as much as some other young characters I've read, or at all for that matter. They felt so real. The more I read the more I was emotionally invested, in both the characters and the story. This was so well done, and I'm really glad I decided to read it finally. It was such a good mix of heartbreaking and uplifting, with a feel good ending that is laced with just a little bit of sadness. And I can FINALLY stop feeling guilty for not reading it.
I picked this up because it's been sitting on my shelf for way too long. I was starting to feel guilty that I was avoiding it because of the cover (because let's be honest, the cover is awful), so I just bit the bullet and started reading it. I had low expectations, but I'm honestly very impressed. This book was so touching, and even though the characters were young, their voices didn't bother me as much as some other young characters I've read, or at all for that matter. They felt so real. The more I read the more I was emotionally invested, in both the characters and the story. This was so well done, and I'm really glad I decided to read it finally. It was such a good mix of heartbreaking and uplifting, with a feel good ending that is laced with just a little bit of sadness. And I can FINALLY stop feeling guilty for not reading it.
May 21, 2018
I really liked this book. I couldn't put it down. I also got a little teared up from a couple of parts. I really liked the way the author told two stories but put into one book. She split the two stories up. The first chapter was talking about Eagan. The second one was talking about Amelia and it just kept going like that. One thing I didn't was that the author didn't make me feel like I was there with them. She didn't us describing words like most books do. Overall I did really like this book.
January 9, 2020
I enjoyed this book because of the way that the author wrote. She used 2 different perspectives and I really liked that style. The only think that I didn't like was that I don't think I connected with Amelia like I connected with Eagan. I could see the struggle when she flash backed with her mom and I really didn't feel that pull on my heart strings with Amelia.
February 27, 2020
This was a quick and compelling read. I liked the chapters alternating between the lives the heart donor and the heart recipient. There were some repetitive descriptions that took me out of the story a bit, which is why it's 4⭐ instead of 5⭐. It was still an excellent book and I'd definitely recommend it. I love anything like this that really shows how important organ donation is, and the book made me want to do research on organ donation recipients.
June 8, 2018
This book was good, I honestly don't know why I read it, it's about a sixth grader reading level, but it was still fun. Definitely one to finish in one seating. My only complaint is that sometimes I would forget who's perspective I was reading from, and considering the plot, this should be obvious. Overall, 3/5
I'm still a bit sad that there was a lot of death :(
I'm still a bit sad that there was a lot of death :(
December 30, 2021
i just love it when i randomly, out of the blue remember an old book i read that i forgot about. i think i read this in sixth grade, so quite a while ago, but i remember liking this book a lot :)
August 18, 2012
In A Heart Beat is about 2 girls Eagan and Amelia. Eagan is a 16 year old who loves figure skating and cant really see herself doing anything but skating. Amelia is is a 14 year old who loves drawing horses, she has one thing getting in the way though, Amelia has a heart problem and needs a new heart. Eagan has a skating competition on the nigh of her death and gets in a fight with her mom because her and her mom don't get along very well. Amelia ends up getting Eagans' heart because Eagan is an organ donor. When Amelia gets Eagans' heart a lot of strange things start to happening to Amelia like, knowing her donor even though the hospital cant tell her that kind of information, liking the color purple even though Amelia doesn't like that color, and knowing Eagan loved to skate. Strange things are not just happening to Amelia, when Eagan dies, she sees moments of her life playing out in front of her happy, sad, mad ect. Like the expression 'my life flashed before my eyes'. Amelia writes Eagans' family a letter telling them who she is and how thankful she is and about the problems she has been having with the heart. Eagan is now almost out of the fog and with some of her family when the little girl Micky shows her one more thing... Amelia is meeting her family with Ari and gets to meet Eagans boyfriend Scott who shows Amelia Eagans' room. When Scott shows her Eagans' room, Amelia knows something has been moved out of nowhere has a singe of rejection and has to be rushed to the hospital because they don't know whats going on. When Amelia wakes up, Ari is in her hospital room and says he is her boyfriend after talking to Scott. Eagan seeing how happy Amelia is goes to be with her family in Heaven after skating on the ice of course. Amelia goes home after getting with rejection.
July 17, 2014
This was a quick but somewhat deep book. I really enjoyed it. And would actually give it a 4.5 stars.
It's a story about a teenage girl, Eagan, who is a figure skater, and she's going places in her sport. But she can't seem to shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen. Well one day it does, she dies. One life is taken and another one gets a beating chance though when her heart goes to another teenager in need.
From the moment Amelia wakes up from her transplant surgery she feels that somethings different. She keeps saying her heart feels like it doesn't fit right. She starts having dreams, and through these dreams she "meets" her donor.
Great read if you want something different.
It's a story about a teenage girl, Eagan, who is a figure skater, and she's going places in her sport. But she can't seem to shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen. Well one day it does, she dies. One life is taken and another one gets a beating chance though when her heart goes to another teenager in need.
From the moment Amelia wakes up from her transplant surgery she feels that somethings different. She keeps saying her heart feels like it doesn't fit right. She starts having dreams, and through these dreams she "meets" her donor.
Great read if you want something different.
September 28, 2011
I simply loved this book! It showed the struggles of a figure skater in balancing life on and off the ice. It wasn't written by a skating star yet I could relate to it so well as I try to continue my skating and wonder how far I am willing to go for it. Do I just want the glamour or do I love the sport for what it is? The main character is one who truly had passion and I love her confidence. Go Dynamite!! My favorite part was the ending, it took my breathe away, with how she could die in peace and skate her last stellar performance!!!! I may be biased but this is a book I will love for years to come!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2011
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. The hospital has a heart for her.
Eagan's heart.
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. The hospital has a heart for her.
Eagan's heart.
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October 7, 2012Book 4 Quarter 2: I really loved this book! It was sweet and to the point. It is about a girl named Eagan who dies in a figure skating accident and ends up donating her heart to a girl named Amelia who needs a new heart. The story follows Amelia who begins to feel and act like Eagan. While Eagan on the other hand is trapped in her past troubles with her mother. The story shows coping with a tragic loss and the adventure a girl has to find her donors family. I would recommend this book to anyone who has dealt with an unexpected loss before or for someone who likes a touching story.
December 15, 2016
This is such an AMAZING book. It is a very sad story but has a lot of meaning to it. It has a lot of turning points and the story is so inspiring. Is about a girl named Eagan who dies in a skating performance. Then there is a girl named Amelia who has heart failure. She finally gets a heart donor and the heart that she gets is Egans. Amelia goes and meets the parents of Eagan and then her journey begins there. It goes back and forth between the dead girl Eagan, and the alive girl named Amelia with Eagans heart.
October 24, 2014
In A Heartbeat is a sad but exciting book. It's about two girls and one heart. Amelia needs a heart transplant, but has trouble finding one. The other girl is Eagan. Eagan is an ice skater that gets into an accident while ice skating. You don't really get a idea about Eagan at first, because she dies in the first couple of chapters. Later on, you find out about her past life and wish that she was still alive but atthe same time want Amelia to live.
May 14, 2016
In a Heartbeat was a sad, rather heartwarming and charming story about a 14 year old girl who donates her heart to a girl who needs a heart transplant as a last chance. Amelia and Eagan are two girls who tell their story and save eachothers lives. Loretta Ellsworth is a charming author and I would read this heartwarming book again.
January 24, 2013
It was creative and I haven't saw about like this topic. But it was kind of too easy or not impactive to the readers, and I could recognize the girl who appeared in the girl who was died was the sister of the skater girl.
Anyway, this book made me to want to read this every night and every day.
Anyway, this book made me to want to read this every night and every day.
March 5, 2013
Good realistic fiction that highlights two girls whose lives intersect when one loses her life and the other benefits through a heart transplant. After-life issues and discussion of cellular memory make this a read with some depth.
October 12, 2011
I like how this book started out and where it started to go, but I don't think the end was quite up to the rest of the story...I liked how the story alternated between points of view...
April 9, 2025
- Amelia has a bad heart and needs a transplant soon. She has trouble even walking down the stairs so they have a stairlift installed into their house so Amelia is able to get around. Eagan is a figure skater and is looking forward to making the olympic team. Eagan and her mother get into a fight before her performance later that day. Eagan is the last performer of the night and as she get onto the ice she sees her mom. The music starts and Eagan begins her routine, as she is coming up on her turn the second she takes off she knows something is wrong. She ends up hitting her head on the boards and is killed. Amelias family gets a call saying that a donor is ready for her and they makes her way to the hospital. After surgery is done Amelia feels different and has a little bit of personality change in her. She thinks it’s from her heart donor and is determined to meet the parents. Over the next few weeks she gets a feel of who her donor was just from how she feels. She writes a letter to her donors parents and is able to get a phone number after doing some investigation. She calls and they schedule a time for a visit and Amelia lies to her parents in order to get out and see them. While there the mom of Eagan doesn’t feel up for the challenge of meeting her but Eagans boyfriend wants to show Amelia her room. He takes her up and she instantly feels like something is missing…a chair. Eagans boyfriend is shocked cause he never told anyone about the chair Eagan and her grandpa made for her mother. However, Amelia ends up having a reaction to the medication she’s on and is rushed to the hospital. This whole time Eagan has been floating around in gray fog not knowing if she is really dead or not. Memories keep playing before her eyes on her life and childhood. She meets a girl named Miki who she is able to talk to. It comes to be that Miki is actually her sister that her mom miscarried when she was young. Eagan then comes to her mom in a dream and tells her that everything will be okay. Her mom wakes up and decides to visit Amelia at the hospital where we find out that is is pregnant with another child. Eagan then goes to heaven where she performs her routine again except this time she nails the jump and her grandma is there watching her. { the concept of this book was cool but it felt very repetitive. like I was almost reading the same chapter over and over again. }
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2022
This compelling novel tells the stories of two girls, 16-year-old Eagan, an ice skater with her eyes on the Olympics, and 14-year-old Amelia who likes to draw horses. Eagan, whose mother never stops pushing her to work harder, and Amelia, who has a weak heart and understands all the sacrifices her family has made for her treatments. Eagan, who would sneak out with her boyfriend just to experience some normal teen activity, and Amelia, who cannot even walk up and down the steps in her home, never mind have a boyfriend. Eagan, as hard a worker as she is to be a great skater, is still pretty selfish, while Amelia cannot stand the thought that someone will have to die in order for her to receive a transplant. Yet, Eagan does die following a skating accident where she hits her head on the boards, and Amelia receives her heart. Both girls, Eagan in death and Amelia in life, are dealing with the changes in their circumstances. Amelia must come to terms with how she lived her life, including the strained relationship between herself and her mother. Eagan, who finds that she has acquired some of Eagan's traits like her love of skating and her outspokenness, isn't sure she likes it, although she does manage to attract a boy who likes her. This well-written story will appeal mainly to girl readers ages 12 and up. The characters and relationships are believable, the plot conceivable, and the satisfying ending allows both girls to accept their fates.
March 28, 2019
When I first bought this in the past which was in 2011, I was reluctant to read this book. Probably because I was young and had apphensive feelings regarding death. Even now, an acquaintance death affects me greatly but I'm glad I managed to go through with this book until the end. I actually made a random choice and groaned when this book was chosen but when I finally start, I didn't regret anything. It was probably just my fear getting in the way of me reading this book.
This book doesn't talk only about the heart transplant but also about coping with death.
I dislike how such book needs boys to complete as if girls still need romance in regardless of their point of life. As if a beautiful romance is important and if you do not have it than you are no good. I think I'm too old for the book since I have begun thinking like that. Girls do not need any boys in their lives regardless of any point of their life. It's the only thing I'm not fond about of this book.
Otherwise, everything about this book is beautiful. It was an easy read though subject was heavy, the flow of the plot wouldn't be too much to take. It is lovely in its own way. I was often pushed to the brink of tears but I didn't cry. I thought I won't but when I reach close to the end, the waterworks finally came.
I might not know how to deal with death but this book has given me some sort of comfort.
This book doesn't talk only about the heart transplant but also about coping with death.
I dislike how such book needs boys to complete as if girls still need romance in regardless of their point of life. As if a beautiful romance is important and if you do not have it than you are no good. I think I'm too old for the book since I have begun thinking like that. Girls do not need any boys in their lives regardless of any point of their life. It's the only thing I'm not fond about of this book.
Otherwise, everything about this book is beautiful. It was an easy read though subject was heavy, the flow of the plot wouldn't be too much to take. It is lovely in its own way. I was often pushed to the brink of tears but I didn't cry. I thought I won't but when I reach close to the end, the waterworks finally came.
I might not know how to deal with death but this book has given me some sort of comfort.
August 15, 2018
What a great read In a Heartbeat was. This was basically a story of two girls and one heart. I loved how the author told the story from both Amelia's and Eagan's points of view. Af first I wasn't sure about Eagan's narration since she was already dead, but the author did it well, and by the end I was sorry to see her go.
Both girls were relatable and I thoroughly enjoyed following Amelia's story as she struggled to adjust to her new heart and the inexplicable changes that occurred after her operation. Eagan's story was just as interesting as she slowly overcame her confusion, accepted her death and let go of the past. Told in alternating chapters, the more I read this book the more invested I became in the two girls and their lives.
I am so glad I picked In a Heartbeat up. When I saw the cover I was expecting a light, fluffy read but, instead, I found a touching story about organ donation and second chances.
Both girls were relatable and I thoroughly enjoyed following Amelia's story as she struggled to adjust to her new heart and the inexplicable changes that occurred after her operation. Eagan's story was just as interesting as she slowly overcame her confusion, accepted her death and let go of the past. Told in alternating chapters, the more I read this book the more invested I became in the two girls and their lives.
I am so glad I picked In a Heartbeat up. When I saw the cover I was expecting a light, fluffy read but, instead, I found a touching story about organ donation and second chances.
July 9, 2017
Amelia needs a heart. She doesn't know i she'll get one before her heart gives out. She's lived most of her young life avoiding activity, stress, and school. Eagan has always wanted to be an Olympic skater. She and her mom don't get along, but they both agree on her skating. Then tragedy strikes and Eagan dies in the middle of a competition.
Now Amelia gets a new heart but she can't explain why she has a new craving for purpose, skating, and exercise in general.
Told from both girls' points of view, as Amelia adjusts to having a new heart and Eagan adjusts to her death.
A great story about transplant survivors and their families. Sad but poignant.
Now Amelia gets a new heart but she can't explain why she has a new craving for purpose, skating, and exercise in general.
Told from both girls' points of view, as Amelia adjusts to having a new heart and Eagan adjusts to her death.
A great story about transplant survivors and their families. Sad but poignant.
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