In a Heartbeat
By: Sarah Vanio
The Theme
The theme of In a Heartbeat is "Always do your best because you never know what the future may hold."
Summary
Eagan died because of an accident on the ice. She left many things behind including her heart. Her heart is now inside Amelia, a desperate girl in need of a heart. Amelia feels really lucky to be alive. Except now she is beginning to take on strange characteristics. While Eagan is trapped somewhere in heaven, she does not know what to do with herself. As things become less gray, she finds her grandma and where she really wants to be. Amelia is trying really hard with her friend Ari to find out who this girl was. When they find out they call the family of Eagan and let them know. The book comes to a happy ending where Eagan is happy in heaven and Amelia is happy on Earth.
Description of Two Characters
Eagan- A professional ice-skating girl who loses her life to a small mistake on the ice. Amelia- A girl who is in desperate need of a heart because of her current heart condition.
Setting
The setting takes place in three main different places. 1) Gray clouds in heaven 2) The hospital 3) The house of Amelia and her family.
Gray Clouds
The gray clouds represent where Eagan went when she died. She was trapped in these gray clouds and didnt know where to go. She could hear people talking in the background, but there was no one in sight.
Amelia's Hospital Room
This represents where Amelia had her transplant because her heart was failing. This is also where Amelia started taking on different charcteristics. An example of a strange characteristic that she took on is that she asked the doctor if she could do sports such as ice-skating.
Amelia's Bedroom
Amelia's bedroom represents the room where she was after her translplant. She had to stay in bed for a while so she could fully recover.
Confict/Resolution
One example of conflict/resoultion is Amelia's failing heart. This is an example because her failing heart problem gets resolved. It gets resolved because Amelia gets Eagans heart.
About the Author
The author of my book is Loretta Elsworth. She writes for children and young adults. She is also a former middle and high school teacher plus she is the author of three young adult novels, The Shrouding Woman, In Search of Mockingbird, and In a Heartbeat. She has four children and one granddaughter, and lives in Minnesota.
3 Favorite Quotes
3 of my favorite quotes from the book are 1) "Her heart gave me a second chance at life." -Amelia 2) "I was off by an inch." -Eagan 3) "I blend into the fog like a single tree in a forest." -Eagan