Heartbeat

Description

Ever since her mother became brain-dead and only continued to live to support the baby growing inside her, everything has gone downhill for Emma. Instead of being the bright, perfect daughter and student, Emma stops caring about her grades, becomes angry at her stepfather and refuses to socialize with anyone except for her best friend, Olivia. But when she meets and connects with Caleb Harrison, who is notorious for stealing cars and drugs, Emma unwittingly begins her journey towards recovery, first love and hope.

It is so rare for authors to realistically and fully portray emotions, but even rarer for one to really move me. In Heartbeat, however, Emma’s emotions are practically tangible and consumed me, and I loved it – I even found myself sniffling a few times during the novel! On top of that, Emma’s romance with Caleb was incredibly sweet and understanding, but also did not overshadow the main storyline. The side characters were also very realistic and had their own essential part in the novel.

Heartbeat was not just a story about with a sweet romance, but one that really deals with grief and anger. This is definitely a must-read if you’re a fan of YA contemporary!