Beating Heart by A.M. Jenkins

Title: Beating Heart
Author: A.M. Jenkins
Age Group: Teens
# of Pages: 244
My Rating: 4.5/5

Evan moves into a new residence with his mom and little sister after his parents divorced. His new home dates back over a century and he is not impressed.

A young ghost who used to live in the home is still around. She mistakes Evan as her old lover and enters his dreams nightly.

In this haunting and mesmerizing tale, readers will enjoy A.M. Jenkin's beautifully poetic writing about young love.

I left this novel on my shelf for a couple of months with little interest because I never saw any reviews for it. When I first started, I was a little surprised that part of the novel was written in the format of a poem. Luckily, it was not like that throughout because I'm not into reading poems. Written in two perspectives, you get the ghost's observations and Evan's day-to-day story.

The story revolves around Evan's feelings towards his parents' divorce and his relationship with his girlfriend while the ghost watches from the sidelines. Along the way, the ghost's past is revealed and you find out why she's still around. Although the plot is quite simple, the author made it enticing, having you want to read more out of curiosity. An issue that is raised in the novel is about teenage relationships. Some people take it seriously, while others don't. Love during one's teen years is something difficult to grasp because it is hard to know if the emotion is real. I really liked how it is incorporated into the novel because it brought out the realism in the characters.

Quick, memorable, and engaging, I recommend Beating Heart for anyone who wants a unique contemporary read. I am going to try to look into the author's other works because Beating Heart left me wanting more. If you want, you can read the preview of the novel here.

Review copy provided by HarperCollins.