Beating Heart by A. M. Jenkins

Evan has just moved into a Victorian Era house that his mother adores. The relationship with his girlfriend seems to be going downhill. Besides, in his dreams, Evan has been having intimate and passionate relations with an unknown girl. He finds papers that had been left in the house from decades past; one of the pictures in the pile is of the same girl that he sees every night in his sleep. Both Evan and the "ghost" of the house are discovering what they really want and need by their interactions. How do their "visits" help each other?

Beating Heart is a mixed book of prose and poetry. Evan's story is told in prose while the ghost's story is told in first-person poetry. The book was a very quick read because of the constant switch between the two characters. Sometimes I would reread the poetry for comprehension, but I would always look over the poetry again because of how beautiful it was. The way the words were laid out on the page matched the tone of the poems and kept me wanted to read more. I recommend this book to readers of poetry or books on teenage self-discovery.

The book is primarily of a sexual theme.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Carlisle, Pennsylvania United States of America