Heartbeat

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Middle Grade | Published in 2004

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Pages 9-40

Pages 41-61

Pages 62-82

Pages 83-100

Pages 101-117

Pages 118-128

Pages 129-148

Pages 149-175

Pages 176-199

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Character Analysis

Annie

Annie is a 12-year-old girl living in a small town. As the first-person narrator, she is the writer of the free verse poems that make up the novel. Annie’s understanding of the movement of time, people, and thought is often framed through the imagery and language of running. From the first poem of the book, her heartbeat is given the same rhythm as her footsteps, indicating that running is integral to who she is as a person. She runs every day with her childhood friend, Max, whose mysterious moodiness she finds frustrating. She is very aware of how adults perceive her, and often questions her decisions and how they are interpreted: “Why do people not listen when you say no? / Why do they think you are too stupid/or too young / to understand?” (78).

She is preoccupied with the prospect of a life as real as her own growing and developing inside her mother, and she finds herself feeling protective of her parents and her grandfather as she grapples with the responsibilities of growing up. She is frustrated and confused by the pressure to run for sport, as it flies in the face of her relationship with the activity. She is interested in what she learns in school, occasionally employing what she learns in class in her writing (131) and embracing the apple assignment wholeheartedly. Happy in a small town, she is confused by the difference between her perception and Max’s view of their town. Though running is a constant in her life, art and drawing draws her attention as well. While Max dreams of saving up for running shoes, she is content to run barefoot, and instead saves up for charcoal and colored pencils (60).

Max

Max is Annie’s childhood friend, and her frequent companion on her runs. He grew up alongside Annie, but their stories diverge at the death of his grandfather and the departure of his father. Since then, he has been “quieter” and “more serious” (25), and dreams of leaving his hometown. He is a year older than Annie, which accounts for his moodiness. His attitude towards running contrasts that of Annie: He is preoccupied with a need to be the fastest, and to win, because he claims that it is his “ticket out of here” (31), and that he “has to win” (176). His reasons are never clear, as he and Annie do not speak openly about feelings. A rift grows between him and Annie due to his intense preoccupation with winning a race and her frustration with the mounting pressure to join the girls' track team. Though he is quiet and uncommunicative, he clearly cares greatly for Annie. He expresses to her that it’s important she be at his race (138), and anonymously gifts her art supplies.

Annie’s Mother

Never given a name, Annie’s mother is identified through her relationship to Annie. Annie’s mother is seen through Annie’s perspective, and as a 12-year-old, Annie sees her mother as more of a maternal figure than an individual. The daughter of Annie’s live-in grandfather, glimpses of her relationship with him are seen through Annie’s eyes. In “Fried Chicken,” she is scared and distraught that her father cannot remember how to make the family dinner she grew up eating (51), and she expresses that it’s important he live to meet his newest grandchild (34).

Throughout her pregnancy, she is the more confident and assured member of the family; Annie sees herself and her father as being worried, uncertain and in awe of the pregnancy. She often reminds them both to be more positive: “a million things can go wrong / but my mother says that / a million things can go right, too / and that a billion things / have already gone right” (127). Despite her husband’s concerns, she is unwilling to give birth in a hospital, and instead chooses to give birth at a birthing center (101). Annie’s view of her mother changes when she witnesses the birth; she is suddenly in a position where she must comfort and support her mother and feels that their connection has been strengthened.

Annie’s Grandfather

Annie’s grandfather’s name, Joey, is revealed only after his grandson’s birth, as the baby is named after him. Self-described as having brains “like scrambled eggs” (19), his comprehension of who he is and who others are shifts by the day, causing Annie distress. He has lived with Annie and her parents since the death of Annie’s grandmother. He and Annie share a love of running, though much of his relationship with the sport is shrouded in the mystery cast by his memory loss. He stopped racing competitively at 13, because like Annie, he believes in running “for the pleasure of running” (180). Though he is not well enough to be physically present for the birth of his newest grandchild, he is very emotional about the new arrival. He and baby Joey are foils to each other, both at different ends of life, unlikely to remember their present. He is very aware of the fact that he is nearing the end of his life, and though he says he should go ahead and “kick the bucket” (34), he also tells Annie that he would “stay here forever if [he] could” (141). To maintain his presence in her life after he is gone, he writes letters for each of Annie’s birthdays. He shows them to her, but tells her not to open them until he is gone (142). He also acts as a mentor to Max, giving him his old running shoes and telling him the “secret” of running for the fun of it.