In a Heartbeat

I have this intense love of books about people who have died (or are about to die) and are narrating their story through the afterlife (or some sort of limbo). Morbid? Maybe. Fascinating? Abso-friggin-lutely! The ones most well-known are The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, and If I Stay by Gayle Forman (the last two particularly in YA circles). While I think that In a Heartbeat wasn't as amazing as these three reads, it was still pretty damn good.

I found In a Heartbeat to be an eye-opener of sorts. The grief that the families of organ donors suffer is something that's always been in the forefront of my mind when I read articles about this subject or see documentaries on TV. However, I never really thought show more about the families of those patients who receive the organs. I guess I'd always assumed that they'd just be happy because of what's happened. So, I was kind of shocked when I read that Amelia was feeling guilty about receiving the heart. I guess it hit me hardest with this quote, "But the fact remained that someone else had to die for me to live. Someone else had to grieve for me to be happy. And every night at dinner, when my family prayed for a new heart for me, we were praying for that to happen." I never thought about it that way, so that definitely struck a chord with me.

However, maybe due to it's length, I never really felt like I connected to any of the characters. I felt like maybe Eagan and especially Amelia should've been a bit more fleshed out. We never really got a sense as to who Amelia was and how her life was before the operation. I think this book should've been just a tad bit longer, hence why I took away one star.

Anyway, I thought In a Heartbeat was a great read. It was compelling and emotional read, which had me tear up more than once. I'm definitely looking forward to more from Loretta Ellsworth as it seems like the YA genre has another fantastic author in its midst. show less

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 show more 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. show less

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, Amelia awakes to a healthy body but a mind that remembers events that were not a part of her life. She now has a personality that is very different than the one that previously existed.

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The author based the theory of this book from research show more that suggests that memory may be stored not only in the brain, but in the cells as well. There are instances when transplant recipients acquired characteristics of heart donors. show less

Eagen gets into a tragic skating accident and ends up in limbo, not quite in heaven but in a very gray area that shows memories of her life, good and bad. Her and her mother have a love/hate relationship but when she dies she sees how much her mom really cared about her.

Amelia, she's been sick for the last 7 or so years of her life because of a heart condition. When Eagen dies, she gets the heart transplant. She doesn't know how to feel. Sometimes she's happy to be alive and sometimes she's guilty for beingalive and knowing Eagen isn't. Suddenly she's beginning to get some of the same traits and Eagen and just KNOW certain things about her. Eagen becomes a part of Amelia through the heart. Now all of a sudden she gets smart with her show more mom, she's more gutsy. Amelia's set on meeting the family of Eagen's. That in itself was such an emotional moment in this book.

Warning: If you're a big cry baby like me don't read this book! This was such an emotional read...man. I was sucked in from the very first page. It had excellent character development. It was such a short book, only 200 pages but it was very much complete. Great plot. The author even managed to squeeze in a bit of romance in there. show less

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. Even memories come through to her.

I was craving a little more of the family dynamic and more specifically hoping for a connection into Eagan's mom's story, but that could just be because I'm a mom myself, and this is written with the teenage female show more in mind.

It would be an interesting discussion to have with a group of teenagers, most definitely. show less

I was pleasantly surprised by how well I liked the book. I initially believed that…well I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into. I typically shy away from contemporary fictions after several bad run-ins because I find them a) too boring; b) too dramatic; c) just not my taste. While In a Heartbeat is not something I plan to reread 10 times a week (though I’ve done that with some books) I do foresee reading some scenes again by the end of the year.

In a Heartbeat had a rather slow start. I began reading the book sometime in late January and reached the high tens—70 of so pages. Then I just abruptly stopped. Something didn’t compel me enough to finish those last 110~ pages. With the deadline looming oh so very close show more (less than 24 hours!) I needed to finish the book and write my review. The novel eventually picked up fast enough for me to breeze through the rest in about an hour or so. I would definitely recommend sticking with it until the end for this book.

Eagan’s POV I struggled through with in the beginning. I had a hard time coping with the flashbacks. It was a shift from the limbo to Eagan’s past that that did not sit well with me. I also had a hard time with Eagan in the beginning. I felt disconnected and a bit weary of her. This changed as well from the middle to the end with the introduction of several other characters. She grew on me.

Amelia, for some reason, I’ve always like from the start. Case closed.

Overall: Like with a car in winter, it takes a while before you start driving, but once it warms up, you’re breezing by with your favorite radio on. show less

Reviewed by Andrea for TeensReadToo.com

IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth is an emotional story about organ donation.

Fourteen-year-old Amelia has been battling with having a bad heart for years, until the day she learns that it is her turn for a transplant. And this is due to the fact that sixteen-year-old Eagan has had a tragic accident doing the thing she loves most in life - figure skating competitively.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints. One chapter is told from Amelia's view about what it was like to live with a failing heart and then how she changed after she received the new one, and then from Eagan's side as she looks back at memories from her life.

Growing up, I always loved reading stories by Lurlene McDaniel about show more 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 donation, 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, as we get to know her through flashbacks of her memories. And her story is wrapped up at the end. But I don't feel like we really get to know Amelia except that she was sick and she loved to draw horses. And it feels like her story suddenly stops at the end. The book was relatively short - only 195 pages. I feel that there could have been more from Amelia's point of view to connect with her better.

That being said, the idea for the plot is original (to me at least). I loved the theme of organ donation and that the transplant recipients might have characteristics from the donor's personality after the surgery. It's such an interesting idea and it really makes you think! show less