Ellsworth, Loretta. In a Heart Beat

Ellsworth, Loretta In a Heart Beat
Walker & Co 2010 216p 16.99
978-0-8027-2068-9 ms/jr Organ donation VG-BN


Told in their separate voices, Eagan, who has died in a figure-skating accident, becomes a heart donor for Amelia, who then begins taking on some aspects of Eagan's personality. Ellsworth, in her author’s note, states that In a Heart Beat started out as therapy, written after the deaths of her mother and a nephew, who was an organ donor. The result of her effort is a heartfelt, honest to goodness, reach for the tissues because you can’t stop crying kind of a book. But rather than focus on the pedestrian “organ donor saves a life” plot, Ellsworth adds a twist with the theory of cellular memory. Cellular memory theorizes that the brain is not the only repository of memory and that other organs may also hold memories. Sixteen year old Eagan, a competitive ice skater, dies in a freak accident. As an organ donor, her heart goes to fourteen- year-old Amelia who has been living with congestive heart failure. Ellsworth brings us straight into the emotional turmoil of Eagan’s unexpected death and Amelia’s reluctance to live through someone else’s death. Eagan and Amelia’s stories are told in alternating chapters, as each deals with the circumstances of death and life. Eagan is athletic, full of life, with a controlling stage mother. Amelia is artistic, sheltered, with a mother who is devoted to her care and well-being. The two couldn’t be more different. Eagan tells her story in flashback, uncovering family secrets and trying to make sense of her complicated relationship with her mother. Amelia describes her recovery from the transplant operation, pleased with her new heart but believes that the heart has changed her in unexpected and unknown ways. She senses Eagan and begins to acquire some of her characteristics and memories. With the help of a friend, she is able to identify Eagan as her donor and feels compelled to contact Eagan’s parents, not knowing that her visit will reconcile Eagan and her mother. Eagan’s memory in her heart, the heart that now is Amelia’s, is the key to the reconciliation. As Eagan notes about Amelia, “We each saved each other.” For her part, Amelia realizes that Eagan wants her to learn to accept her gift of life. Characterization is strong and well-developed and readers relate to both girls on an emotional level. The theory of cellular memory is intriguing and propels the plot. Ellsworth does not play on saccharine emotions but leads readers to consider the possibilities of the power of memory, the importance of organ donation and the unseen angels that watch over us. Misc. Zajko, Rosanne