Heartbeat is about a seventeen year old girl named Emma, who studies for fun. School is her life.
Until suddenly, her mother is gone. Except, not exactly. Emma’s stepfather, Dan, is keeping her mother alive with machines for the sake of his unborn child. Emma is angry, hurt, and she feels betrayed by the only family she has left.
Now, let me just say that if you’re looking for a cutesy contemporary romance, you’re in the wrong place. Yes, there is a romance, but this book centers on grief. The way Elizabeth Scott writes pain and grief is so real. It’s definitely one of her strong suits (i.e. Living Dead Girl and Miracle).
Another heads up, I cried A LOT while reading this. So if you aren’t a fan of books that hit ya in the feels, then avoid this one.
Now, I’ve read some reviews where people think of Emma as a mean and unlikable character, and while I do understand, I have to disagree.
Emma’s whole world has become this thing that happened to her family. She’s stuck. She goes to school, where she’s lost all sense of ambition, then she goes to the hospital where she sits and has conversations with her dead mother.
And she blames Dan.
Is it fair? No, of course not. But everyone handles grief differently, and Emma’s grief becomes depression and anger. So, yes, Emma is sometimes mean, but I completely sympathize with her.
Overall, I loved this book. Scott has been a favorite author of mine for a while, and Heartbeat didn’t disappoint. The characters felt real. The emotions were so raw. And can I just say how much I love Scott’s writing? It was sometimes messy and repetitive, but it fit perfectly. The way it was written really let me feel all of Emma’s emotions.
Heartbeat was a solid 4.5/5 stars for me. Keep reading if you want to hear a little more about what I thought.
*SPOILERS*
As I said before, grief is a strong suit for Scott.
In Emma’s case, we see how her grief took her memories, and twisted them to the point where she was convinced that her mother was terrified and didn’t want to be pregnant. When really, her mother was scared; scared of losing the baby.
Emma also reveals how Dan stopped being there after her mother’s death. It wasn’t just that he didn’t ask her what she wanted, but that he stopped doing the little things that made him feel like family to her.
Dan is a great character. I loved how his grief wasn’t just pushed to the side. In the beginning, it seems as if Dan is trying to be a good father. And I believe he was, but let’s not forget, Dan also lost someone. He became a shell of the person he was before he saw his wife die.
“-when’s the last time you hugged me? Do you know, Dan? Because I do. It was the morning Mom died. After she died, you were there and I was there but it was like we didn’t know each other. You made your choices and we came back here and that was it. You go through the motions, you take me to see Mom and talk about how worried you are. But I saw you in that nursery. You were thinking about her. But me…you’ve said you won’t get rid of me, but that’s all. And I get it, I do. You’ve got a baby coming, and I was just part of the deal with Mom. You can forget me, and you did because when she died, you didn’t talk to me about anything. You never even looked at me.” (pg. 182-183)
I don’t know about you, but I was already full on ugly crying by this point.
Emma and Dan’s relationship was difficult to say the least, but it’s unfair to put all the blame on Emma. They were still a family. They still loved each other. But they were both broken.
Okay, now Olivia. Olivia is an amazing best friend. She is sweet, quirky, and has her own life and problems, but she’s always there for Emma. She wants her to open up, but she patiently waits. When she realizes just how close Emma has become to Caleb, she is understandably hurt that Emma didn’t confide in her. So she confronts Emma. And listens to her. I guess more people should try the whole little-to-no technology thing, because she is one of few characters out there who know how to actually communicate.
And that brings us to Caleb. As for Emma and Caleb’s relationship, I am a fan. Normally, I would say they were too serious too fast, but in this case, it worked. They connected over loss no one else understood. They built up their relationship quickly, but believably.
Caleb is adorable, despite his kleptomaniac tendencies. His past is just so sad. Does that make his actions okay? No. Not at all. But once again, grief becomes anger. What’s even worse is, Caleb has no one to help him through it. For years he actually believed Minnie’s death was his fault. It broke my heart.
And Caleb’s parents?
I know, I know. They were grieving too. But to blame a child for the death of his sister? That’s messed up. Even their love for Minnie sickens me. They way they turned the house into a Minnie Museum, and only chose skinny pictures to remember her by? Ew. And how can you be so horrible and selfish not to notice that, oh yeah, you have another kid. A son who needs you. A son who literally shakes with fear, because he think his own parents will turn the one person he can trust against him. And they actually try!
But seriously, they are despicable.
My one dislike about this book was actually that last scene with Caleb’s parents. I love how Emma stood up for him, but the whole scene just felt a little off to me. I feel like maybe they showed too much compassion for Emma. If they would have kept up the whole tight smile “nice” act, that would have been fine. But when they told Emma to get away from Caleb, they were, in their horrible, messed up minds, trying to help Emma. Maybe it’s because the rest of their actions made it seem as if they were too lost in despair to be compassionate to anyone.
Well, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Agree? Disagree? Let me know. And don’t forget to check out some of Elizabeth Scott’s other books!
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