Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication Date: January 28, 2014
Pages: 304
Source: ARC from ALA
About the Book: Life. Death. And…Love?
Emma would give anything to talk to her mother one last time. Tell her about her slipping grades, her anger with her stepfather, and the boy with the bad reputation who might be the only one Emma can be herself with.
But Emma can’t tell her mother anything. Because her mother is brain-dead and being kept alive by machines for the baby growing inside her.
Meeting bad-boy Caleb Harrison wouldn’t have interested Old Emma. But New Emma-the one who exists in a fog of grief, who no longer cares about school, whose only social outlet is her best friend Olivia-New Emma is startled by the connection she and Caleb forge.
Feeling her own heart beat again wakes Emma from the grief that has grayed her existence. Is there hope for life after death-and maybe, for love?
My Thoughts: This book is not a light read but it is well worth the investment. The story really got me thinking and the characters made me care.
Emma especially captured my attention. She is so lost and full of hate for someone so young. My heart just broke for her. I cannot even imagine how hard it must be for her to have her mom die but to still see her day after day. Still, at times it was really hard not to think of Emma as selfish. She resents the baby and the fact that her mom is being kept “alive.” How could Emma think her mom wouldn’t want the baby to have a chance, no matter what the means?
And then there’s Caleb. He’s dealing with issues of his own. When he and Emma cross paths it’s the kind of situation that can go either way… they could make each other stronger or drag each other down.
And it doesn’t stop there. Elizabeth Scott really looks at different types of love and relationships in Heartbeat. It’s also about finding hope and the ways in which life takes from us but also gives back in return. I was so interested in seeing how everything played out.
Heartbeat is a book well worth the time and emotions you invest in it. Of course, I expected nothing less from Elizabeth Scott!
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