Heartbeat Review

Title: Heartbeat
Author: Sharon Creech

Pages: 180
Release Date: March 16, 2004
Genre: Poetry

Summary: Twelve-year-old Annie ponders the many rhythms of life the year that her mother becomes pregnant, her grandfather begins faltering, and her best friend (and running partner) becomes distant. (from Goodreads)

My Review:

I really liked Heartbeat. It taught many life lessons throughout the story. Annie goes through changes in her life, whether it be through gaining a new family member to possibly losing one. It helps her realize meaning in her life and realize that life isn’t just going through the motions. This book helped me reflect on my own life and the situations I am going through, plus, I noticed how much I related to her.

Annie is given the assignment to draw an apple everyday for 100 days. At first, she did not know exactly what to do and didn’t want to draw the same apple over and over again. But after a few days and drawings, she realizes that there are so many different ways to draw a single apple. This showed her that there is different meanings in life and you just have to find a new way to look at things and the possibilities the world has in store.
At first when I was reading Heartbeat, I was wondering why it was written in poetry format when it didn’t even rhyme. It started to bug me. But after the first few chapters, I realized that it helped emphasize her emotion and show how she was feeling and I started to like it. It also showed how her mind worked.
Heartbeat is entertaining to read. Annie’s crazy grandpa makes it really funny and her use of footnotes gives a hint of sarcasm, which I really liked. It was a really good book and I would recommend it to everyone.

Rating: