Title: My Beating Teenage Heart
Author: C. K. Kelly Martin
Series: None
Release Date: September 27th, 2011
Number of Pages: 288
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Ashlyn Baptiste is falling. One moment she was nothing—no memories, no self—and then suddenly, she's plummeting through a sea of stars. Is she in a coma? She doesn't remember dying, and she has no memories of the life she left behind. All she knows is that she's trapped in a consciousness without a body and she's spending every moment watching a stranger.
Breckon Cody's on the edge. He's being ripped apart by grief so intense it literally hurts to breathe. On the surface, Breckon is trying to hold it together for his family and his girlfriend, but underneath he's barely hanging on.
Even though she didn't know him in life, Ashlyn sees Breckon's pain, and she's determined to find a way help him. As her own distressing memories emerge from the darkness, she struggles to communicate with the boy who can't see her, but whose life is suddenly intertwined with hers. In alternating voices of the main characters, My Beating Teenage Heart paints a devastatingly vivid picture of both the heartbreak and the promise of teenage life—a life Ashlyn would do anything to recover and Breckon seems desperate to destroy—and will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, John Green, and David Levithan.
I’m a little torn about this book. I was really hoping I would love it, but I just couldn’t get into the book at first. After a while, I got a little more into the book, but it simply felt a little too slow at first.
One of the things that I really liked about the book was the writing. That’s what kept me going, as I was hoping I would get captivated by the book. The emotions were beautifully portrayed, but it was only that. Breckon couldn’t get past his sister’s death, as he felt guilty, but Ashlyn was only an observer. That made the book a little slower for me, as she only seemed to be giving me z second point of view on Breckon, which I didn’t personally need.
I wish Ashlyn could have had a bigger impact on the book. I wish there could have been something better for her. Strangely, she’s the one I felt the most sorry for. She lost her life, her chance to bet with her family, to have a future. Breckon may have lost his little sister (which is a tragedy), but he still had his future, his family and his friends. I felt like Ashlyn should have had more. Does it sounds heartless? I felt sadder for Ashlyn that Breckon.
Overall, I liked it, but I sadly didn’t fall in love with this book. I enjoyed the writing though, which is why I’ll have to read more from C.K. Kelly Martin. I know many readers have loved this book, but it simply wasn’t for me.
