Heartbeat

Starred review from January 19, 2004
Creech returns to the free-verse form she employed so successfully in Love That Dog
for this insightful exploration of life's beginning and ending and the joys to be encountered on the journey. Twelve-year-old narrator Annie loves to run but has no interest in competing. She likes hearing the "thump-thump, thump-thump
" of her bare feet hitting the damp grass, and running alongside her friend Max when he joins her, stride for stride. The running becomes a metaphor: Annie's grandfather who once loved to run is now growing forgetful; Max joins the track team and his wish to win drives a wedge between them; and Annie's father and pregnant mother take her with them to hear the baby's heartbeat ("a-whoosh-a-whoosh-a-whoosh
/ very fast/ as if the alien baby/ must be running hard"). Annie describes her own heartbeat as "thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP
," curiously close to the rhythm of her running. Through Annie's observations, Creech eloquently captures the contrast between the baby's embarkation on life and Grandpa's slow withdrawal from it: "It is as if/ he is evaporating/ or shrinking/ disappearing—/ little pieces vanishing each day/ while the alien baby/ grows bigger and bigger." Annie's growing interest in and talent for drawing becomes a theme that develops so subtly that readers may be surprised by the ways in which the threads of the novel come together for a fully satisfying conclusion. Ages 8-12.

May 10, 2004
Seigfried's youthful, bright (but not overly chipper) voice proves a good vehicle for interpreting Creech's latest, a novel-in-poems about the swirl of momentous change that moves through 12-year-old Annie's life. An introspective artist and talented athlete who loves to run barefoot through the countryside, Annie truly embraces her free spirit. But the big picture of Annie's place in the world takes on complexity as Annie's mother becomes pregnant, her best friend Max urges her to conform and join the track team and her grandfather becomes increasingly forgetful. Through it all, Annie discovers ways to view things from new perspectives and follow her grandfather's advice to "stick to your guns." The result is a wholly satisfying emotional journey. Listeners will enjoy keeping pace with Creech's well-drawn Annie as Seigfried's effective narration makes her character even more memorable. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)

FYI:
Simultaneous Harper/Joanna Cotler hardcover.