Over the weekend, I read In a Heartbeat (Walker Books for Young Readers, 2010), Loretta Ellsworth‘s new novel. I had been waiting for this book to come out ever since I heard Loretta describe the book and its two main characters who tell the story in alternating chapter–teen girls, one the recipient of a donor heart from the other. I don’t know Loretta well, but I like her and wanted this to be a good book.Besides that, the agent for this sale is my friend and sometime critique partner, Mary Cummings. In fact, I think (but I could be wrong) that this was Mary’s first sale as an agent. |
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So I had my fingers crossed. And I was not disappointed. Both Eagan and Amelia are real people with real strengths and real faults. And the plotting and pacing are awesome. I couldn’t wait to find out how everything would end, and I raced toward the end of the book. But then I was sad that the book was over. When I feel that way after the last chapter, I know it’s a book I can recommend!
I think this is the kind of book teenage girls are going to lend to their friends, saying, "You’ve gotta read this!" Congratulations, Loretta and Mary!