Beating Heart
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Overview
She haunts his dreams.
She is a momentary chill in warm sunlight, a shadow, and a memory of secret kisses and hidden passion. He is seventeen, and ever since he moved into this house he has dreamt of her . . . hot, wordless dreams that turn darker and more intense every night. Ghost and boy fascinate each other—until her memories and his desire collide in a moment that changes them both forever.
Synopsis
She haunts his dreams.
She is a momentary chill in warm sunlight, a shadow, and a memory of secret kisses and hidden passion. He is seventeen, and ever since he moved into this house he has dreamt of her . . . hot, wordless dreams that turn darker and more intense every night. Ghost and boy fascinate each other—until her memories and his desire collide in a moment that changes them both forever.
Publishers Weekly
After a rocky divorce, 17-year-old Evan's mother buys a Victorian fixer-upper where she can write and, with Evan and his young sister Libby, make a home. Along with the stained glass window and gingerbread outfittings, comes the spirit of a girl who died in the house a century before. The ghost sees in Evan a reminder of her own lover (a workman's discovery of a box of papers reveals the identities of the two 19th-century lovers). Evan begins to feel ill at ease, and he dreams of sex with a pale-haired girl. His brunette girlfriend, Carrie, senses his emotional withdrawal and becomes more demanding. The story unwinds in two voices, that of the ghost, and the other the third-person account from Evan's perspective. The dead girl's voice starts out as lyrical, conveying her emotions and longing in poems almost like Haiku in their brevity and emotional trenchancy ("quiet/ night nestles into corners/ tall clock in the downstairs hall/ ticks the seconds/ I roam"). Later, the ghost, too, becomes demanding; and past and present converge to bring about a kind of healing for both the ghost and Evan. The third-person narrative works as an excellent foil, portraying Evan's kind nature with an even tone as opposed to the growing urgency of the dead girl's obsession. This is an evocative, often sexy book, demonstrating Jenkins's (Breaking Boxes) skill and imagination. Ages 14-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
After a rocky divorce, 17-year-old Evan's mother buys a Victorian fixer-upper where she can write and, with Evan and his young sister Libby, make a home. Along with the stained glass window and gingerbread outfittings, comes the spirit of a girl who died in the house a century before. The ghost sees in Evan a reminder of her own lover (a workman's discovery of a box of papers reveals the identities of the two 19th-century lovers). Evan begins to feel ill at ease, and he dreams of sex with a pale-haired girl. His brunette girlfriend, Carrie, senses his emotional withdrawal and becomes more demanding. The story unwinds in two voices, that of the ghost, and the other the third-person account from Evan's perspective. The dead girl's voice starts out as lyrical, conveying her emotions and longing in poems almost like Haiku in their brevity and emotional trenchancy ("quiet/ night nestles into corners/ tall clock in the downstairs hall/ ticks the seconds/ I roam"). Later, the ghost, too, becomes demanding; and past and present converge to bring about a kind of healing for both the ghost and Evan. The third-person narrative works as an excellent foil, portraying Evan's kind nature with an even tone as opposed to the growing urgency of the dead girl's obsession. This is an evocative, often sexy book, demonstrating Jenkins's (Breaking Boxes) skill and imagination. Ages 14-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
This original and captivating novel combines poetry and prose to bring out the voices of a murdered sixteen-year-old girl from the late nineteenth century and a contemporary seventeen-year-old boy who moves into the house where the girl once lived and died. The ghost of Cora Royce tells the story of her childhood, her love affair, and her murder in words and lines which float across the pages of her sections in seemingly random but always intriguing patterns. Evan Calhoun's story is told in close-up third person prose as he, his mother, and his five-year-old sister Libby move into the house after his parents divorce. Evan's mother loves owning the huge old house, but Evan resents the move and worries about his little sister's isolation in a partly commercial neighborhood with no other children nearby. The stories begin to come together as Cora invades Evan's dreams. His real life girlfriend, Carrie, starts to seem less appealing than the blond girl he dreams of, and their relationship slowly deteriorates. Cora fell in love with a young man who lived with her family after getting in trouble at home. The two enjoyed sex with each other, but when she talks of marriage he tells her it is impossible. Evan's sexual relationship with Carrie ends when he is no longer willing to tell her that he loves her. On the last day of Evan and Carrie's relationship, with his mother out of the house, Evan holds his hand over Carrie's mouth when he thinks he hears Libby coming, just as Robert held his hand over Cora's mouth in the same room when he thought he heard someone in the hall. But though Robert smothered Cora, Evan releases Carrie when he realizes that Libby's in trouble. When Cora's ghost sees Evancomforting Libby and Carrie abandoning him, she realizes she has confused Evan with Robert and her spirit is finally able to leave the house. 2006, HarperCollins Children's Books, Ages 12 up.—Judy DaPolito
VOYA
A seventeen-year-old boy moves into a dilapidated, historic house with his mother, starting over after a marital break up. Evan is a typical, often sullen teen with a girlfriend and undisguised disdain for his family and the house. They are all unaware that they have moved into a home with a curious spirit. Cora, a young lady who died in the home more than one hundred years ago, expresses her impressions of the new activity within the house intermittently through the novel's pages that set her words in a poetic form similar to that of e. e. cummings. She is confused about who these people are and why she is there. Her initial contacts are through Evan's dreams, most of them sexual. She grows obsessive about him when she realizes that he is not her boyfriend. A discovered box of news clippings, photos, and old letters sheds some light on Cora's identity and fate. As time goes by, she becomes more daring and angry that Evan has a real-life girlfriend. The tale draws to a climax as Cora attempts to repeat her tragic history. The book is not spooky, and the supernatural element is presented more in a romantic vein. The characters are well developed and are given realistic dialogue. The book can be finished in one sitting and might be suitable for older reluctant readers. Others should appreciate the artistry of the spirit's poetic musings, an echo from a more literate time revealed through her words. All in all, an attention-getting premise is presented with skillful writing. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2006, HarperCollins, 256p., and PLBAges 12 to 18.—Kevin Beach
KLIATT
Filled with the heat of awakening sexuality, Jenkins' story crosses decades and genres as memory and reality meet each other in a dance shrouded in tragedy. The book begins with a wispy poem spread delicately across the white space of the first 11 pages. Two pages of narrative set the scene. Evan, his divorced mother, and his five-year-old sister Libby have just moved into a house more than 100 years old, and Evan isn't happy about it. Fifteen more pages of poetry, another voice from another time, intimate that the speaker has been there a long time and resents the imposition of the new inhabitants. The story continues to unfold in this waltz between the past and present, while parallel plots reveal themselves: first love, secret intimacy, fear and regret. This is, indeed, a ghost story, where both characters are haunted by the past and can only be freed from it by understanding how love and passion are not the same thing and that sometimes emotions spiral out of control. Jenkins' poetry is carefully crafted, at first flowing across the pages in wisps of thought, and then building in length and intensity as the past is revealed through the present. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2006, HarperCollins, 243p., Ages 12 to 18.—Michele Winship