For fans of Gabrielle Zevin and Lurlene McDaniel, In a Heartbeat explores the ties of family and the weight of regret when a mistake costs Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition. Left in the afterlife, reflecting on what she could have done differently, Eagan's still-beating heart is given to Amelia who has been waiting patiently for a transplant. When their thought, feelings, and dreams begin to mysteriously overlap, Amelia knows she must search for Eagan's family and find a way to give them all the closure they need move on. Praise for In a Heartbeat: "[A] dramatic story of loss and second chances. . . a highly satisfying read." -Booklist "Readers will likely come away teary-eyed and inspired." -Publishers Weekly Ellsworth’s dual narrative explores the large and small ways medical technology forever intertwines the lives of two strangers. When 16-year-old Eagan, a figure skater with her sights on the Olympics, dies in a fall on the ice, 14-year-old Amelia receives the heart transplant that she and her family have been desperately awaiting. Trapped in a foggy limbo, Eagan must relive the defining moments of her painfully short existence before she can cross over to the hereafter. In alternating chapters, Amelia grapples with conflicting feelings over her new heart, and inexplicable changes in her post-op personality drive her to seek out her anonymous donor’s family for answers. Ellsworth’s dramatic story of loss and second chances is deftly tempered by its candid teen narration and light touches of mystery and romance, making it a highly satisfying read, especially for fans of the novels of Lurlene McDaniel and the recent Cold Hands, Warm Heart (2009), by Jill Wolfson. Grades 8-12. --Kristen McKulski Loretta Ellsworth is the author of two novels for young readers, both published by Henry Holt. THE SHROUDING WOMAN was named to the 2003 Amelia Bloomer Project List, was a CCBC Choice, and a 2005 Rebecca Caudill Nominee. IN SEARCH OF MOCKINGBIRD was nominated for Best Books for Young Adults, Teen's Top Ten, was a Midwest Bookseller's spring/summer pick, and won the 2007 Midwest Bookseller's Choice Award Honor Book for Children's Literature. It was also picked up by the Book-of-the-Month Club, was named to the 2008-09 Tayshas Texas List, is on the 2008 New York Library List of Teenage Books and is a 2008 Notable Children's Book in Language Arts. www.lorettaellsworth.com Used Book in Good Condition