Heartbeat by Elizabeth Scott

HEARTBEAT by Elizabeth Scott 4 STARS

Synopsis :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?
* I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review from netgalley 

Overall- Wow. Im not even sure where to begin with this story. This is one of the most heart wrenching, beautifully written and emotionally draining stories I have ever read. I am in awe of Ms. Scott. She was able to put all her characters emotions on the table, and weave an amazing story. This is not the warm and fuzzy kind of emotional story, this is an agonizingly painful, and emotional read that really digs deep into the world of death. What does pain for those left behind look like, what hope is there for those that are grieving the loss of their loved ones, how do people learn to move on with their loves after death occurs. Its truly difficult to understand grief in this way unless you have experienced it, and I personally have not, but having read this, I certainly feel closer to it, and better able to realize the overriding emotional rollercoaster that loss takes someone on.


Cover -- Cute
Rating: PG 13 
Overall: a heartwrenching story of finding oneself and love in the most unusual places in the most odd of times.  
Characters:  Dan, Emma, Caleb, Olivia 
Page Turner: Not really and yet sometimes
Series Cont.? No
Book Boyfriend: Caleb. 
Genre: Young Adult  
Sex Scenes: No
Setting Highschool in midwest 
Recommend if you like- Almost; Going Under; Reason to Breath Series; Pushing the Limits.




Plot-
This story is difficult. Its different from the other "difficult" plots I've read. Instead this is a story about death and loss, specifically how people deal with those and move forward in their own life after suffering. This story line is different, its not just death, but the constant reminder, more than an unborn child but the thought of a a mother being kept alive so a child can continue to grow to survive. Its unique and sad and controversial. Ms. Scott does a great job of trying to show the different ways people deal with this and their opinions but the truth is, everyone will react differently.
The book moves a little slow, but thats okay, this isnt a fast paced book, truth is, the book is slow on purpose. The characters build and grow. Learning moment after moment. I was fascinated with the level of intensity each scene was able to produce, the emotion that it dragged out of me so easily. It was beautiful, it was broken, but it was exceptional. This is a great book for those that like a great heart wrenching story with love thrown in there, more than just romantically, but also through family and friends.

Danielle Panabaker as Emma 

Characters-
Emma- Wow. What a draining character. I loved and I hated Emma. But I think I was supposed to. I loved her because she was so incredibly HONEST. Nothing about Emma was fake. NOTHING about her situation was unreal. What made Emma a great character was not only that she felt like a normal teenage girl going through a rough time, but her situation, her pain, and grief felt so raw, real, genuine. I felt every emotion, every thought that Emma had and said. I cried for her, and I cried with her. In the end I loved Emma. Her realism was perfect and even though her negativity could be annoying, it was true and I appreciated everything about her.

Dean Geyer as Caleb

Olivia- I really enjoyed Olivia, she was exactly what Emma needed, a true friend. What my mom would call "a keeper." An a character, she truly built up the world for Emma. She was everything Emma needed, whether thats a friend, a shoulder or someone to just be there, without ever having to say anything. I was really impressed with the authors ability to weave Olivia into the world and keeping her there, so often I see side characters who are simply there, but Olivia helped move things forward. She helped her friend deal in a way only a true friend can.

Olivia Margot Robbie

Caleb- Aw Caleb. I just want to wrap him in my arms and hug him and never let go. Caleb's pain could truly be felt and resonated through me every time his character was in the scene. I felt his pain and sorrow, yet I was also able to see that he was trying to hard to move past the pain and grief, the guilt that ate at him. Whats worst about Caleb isn't his history, or his future, but his present, the one before Emma. His family situation is extremely heart breaking, and disappointing, yet I can see it happening, I can see that it may be the way things happen sometimes, without trying even, without knowing. Caleb though is able to move pass this on his own, in his own way. His grief is different, his pain is different, and I loved seeing his character grow and develop with Emma. He warmed my heart and I was extremely happy that with Emma he was able to see happiness at the end of a dark tunnel.

Dan - Dan was the one character I wasnt sure about until the end. By then I realized that deep down, he  was struggling to deal with things, and his pain, his hope, his loss, were all experienced differently than Emma. I liked that he never strayed, but that we saw glimpses of how Dan could have been through Calebs family.