Beating Heart

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 otheruntil her memories and his desire collide in a moment that changes them both forever . From School Library Journal Grade 9 UpEvan, 17, doesnt think much of his creaky, fixer-upper new home. His mom seems to be spending more time on it than she does at work or with his five-year-old sister. In addition to the three of them, the rickety house is inhabited by the ghost of Cora, a teen who lived there nearly 100 years earlier, and whose effervescent, whispery poetry makes up much of the novels text. Most of her thoughts are about Evan, how beautiful he is and how much he reminds her of a past lover. Her words are hauntingly erotic as she admires him from a distance, in his bedroom, in the bathroom while he showers. He is intrigued by her story, especially when he examines a box of her familys files and photographs found hidden in the walls of the house. She begins to appear in his dreams, causing him to question whether he truly loves his girlfriend, Carrie, with whom hes had an intimate relationship for over a year. Jenkinss novel is subtly eeriea razor-sharp plot enfolded in a bed of feathery down, and a coming-of-age story about two teenagersone dead, one alivewho learn that the lines between love and sex are much more blurred than they could have ever imagined. Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Booklist Gr. 9-12. When 17-year-old Evan moves into the Victorian house his mother has remodeled, he gradually realizes that someone else still inhabits his room. He dismisses the thought, yet he continues to be haunted by graphic dreams of a young woman with fine, pale hair who matches the picture he finds in a box hidden in his room. As days and weeks pass, his nightly fantasy life begins to take a toll on his real-life relationship with Carrie, his girlfriend of two years. Both accessible and substantive, this book will be an easy sell to teens. Chapters alternate between narrative (Evan's life, feelings, and relationships) and free verse depicting the ghostly girl's thoughts about Evan, to whom she has transferred her love and passion. Readers will identify with Evan's fascination, the ghost's longing, and Carrie's frustration with the gradual demise of her relationship with Evan. There's also the subtle message about the possible differences between men's and women's perceptions of a relationship once it becomes sexual, and the hurt that can result from these often opposite perspectives. Frances Bradburn Copyright American Library Association. All rights reserved This house is mine and I am its beating heart. She is a ghost: a figure glimpsed from the corner of your eye, a momentary chill, and a memory of secret kisses and hidden passion. He is 17 years old: Evan Calhoun, warm and alive, and ever since moving to this big abandoned house, he has dreamt of her. Ghost and boy fascinate each other–until her memories and his desire collide in a moment that changes them both. Combining verse fragments with chiseled prose, A. M. Jenkins captures the compelling voice of a long–dead ghost and the perspective of a modern teen, twining mystery and romance in this evocative, sensual, and unrelentingly engrossing novel. Ages 14+ Following his parents' divorce, seventeen-year-old Evan moves with his mother and sister into an old house where the spirit of a teenager who died there awakens and mistakes him for her long-departed lover