Heartbeat, by Sharon Creech, 2004

12-year old Annie loves running, barefoot, with her friend Max, but she doesn't want to compete. Moody Max is just the opposite. Annie's mother is pregnant, her grandfather is ailing of dementia, and she has an art teacher who assigns her an apple to draw one hundred times. A middle-grade novel in verse using entirely free form. Annie's character felt contrived, genderless and personlity-less, and her story lacked meaningful conflict or change; other than the baby's birth there was no plot progression or climax; details felt haphazard, manipulated, or preachy; the poetry was lackluster without exception. Not recommended.