review: heartbeat by elizabeth scott

Heartbeat was heartbreaking. Emma goes with her stepfather Dan (her dad died when she was young) to visit her mother in the hospital after school every day. But the thing is, Emma’s mother is dead. Her body’s being kept alive because she’s pregnant, but not far enough along for the baby to be born. Emma is incredibly pissed about the situation. She and Dan used to be close, but now she believes he only cares about his son. And for Emma, it is always “Dan’s son” never “my brother.” Emma has a really great friend to lean on, but it’s not until she starts talking to bad boy Caleb, who’s doing community service at the hospital, that she really starts to move past her anger and grief.

The portrayal of the relationships between all the characters was so realistic—Elizabeth Scott did an amazing job creating people with shades of gray. Emma and Dan aren’t perfect, but they aren’t evil either. The emotions of the characters really come through too. I couldn’t help but cry as Emma and Caleb and then Emma and Dan shared their grief with each other.
5/5
Review copy from Amazon Vine.