Title: Heartbeat
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Genre: Young Adult.
Contemporary. Romance.
Publication Date: February 1st 2014
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: E-Book
Pages: 240
Rating: 4/5
Does life go on when your heart is broken?
Since her mother's sudden death, Emma has existed in a fog of grief, unable to let go, unable to move forward--because her mother is, in a way, still there. She's being kept alive on machines for the sake of the baby growing inside her.
Estranged from her stepfather and letting go of things that no longer seem important--grades, crushes, college plans--Emma has only her best friend to remind her to breathe. Until she meets a boy with a bad reputation who sparks something in her--Caleb Harrison, whose anger and loss might just match Emma's own. 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?
I received this book from
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Despite
the fact that she has quite a few books out, ‘Heartbeat’ was my first
experience with Elizabeth Scott. I’ve been meaning to read her other books for
ages, but I’m glad that Heartbeat was the one I started with, because I loved
it.
This
story is incredibly unique- it’s not really something you read in books, and
even in real life, it’s not something that gets discussed. I think that’s what
makes this book so powerful. The story is about a teenage girl named Emma whose
mother has passed away, but her body is being kept ‘alive’ to ensure the safety
of her unborn child. Can you honestly say you’ve ever read a YA book like that?
Of course, there’s the romance but most of the story revolves around Emma and
her mother, and everything that comes along with that. It’s a book of serious
rollercoaster-like emotions.
The
main character, Emma, is wonderful. She’s completely heartbroken at the loss of
her mother, and as the book goes on, I found myself wanting to support her. I
can’t even imagine what that would feel like, but I wanted things to get better
for Emma. One of my favourite things was Emma’s best friend, Olivia, who is
honestly so supportive and caring. I really liked how their friendship was just
as important as the romance. Admittedly, this book isn’t really about the
romance at all- it’s about family. It was so beautiful to see the connection
between Emma and her mother, especially as I feel like sometimes parents are
just disregarded in YA.
Of
course, I adored the romance. At first, I was worried that Caleb was going to
be one of those bad-boys for no reason, but really- he wasn’t like that at all.
He had so much depth to him that I didn’t expect to find- all of the characters
did, it was really lovely to see such deep characters that worked perfectly in
a story like this.
I
really give props to Elizabeth Scott. I can’t imagine that writing a book like ‘Heartbeat’
would be easy to do, but I really think that it was handled incredibly well. I
can’t wait for this book to actually be released so I can pick up a hard copy
for myself.
Great review!!! I was not sure how to feel about this book, because I have been disappointed by Scott's books before...however, your review really made me look forward to reading this!
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you! I hope you like it :)
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