Book Review: Heartbeat

Heartbeat

by Elizabeth Scott
Hardcover, 304 pages
Expected publication: January 28th 2014 by Harlequin Teen
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

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?

Review:

It seems like the more I read Elizabeth Scott, the more I dislike her books. I've read four Scott books to date, including Heartbeat. The first one I rated 5 of 5 and the next books, I gave 4 and 3 respectively. And now this. Without looking at my rating, guess how many stars I gave this book?

My ultimate problem with Heartbeat is that the protagonist, Emma, is too unlikable. She is very rude and self-centric. I understand that she's grieving from the death of her mother but somehow, she has shaped this grief into hatred and focused it all to her stepfather, Dan. If there's one person that deserves sympathy here, it's him. Emma has a habit of cutting off people's sentences, especially Dan's and she's so disrespectful of him I wondered why Dan hasn't shipped her off to her grandparents. But that's Dan. He's very understanding and he always tries to reach out to Emma, but she keeps calling him off. Even when she hurt him multiple times, Dan stayed good to her.

Emma also has a horrible bestfriend, Olivia. Not horrible in a way that she hurts Emma emotionally or mentally. In fact, she's always there for Emma but everytime they're together, they never talk about what matters. She doesn't call Emma out with how she treats Dan or how stupid she's being. As a friend of someone like Emma, I'd expect her to slap some sense into her because a real friend would help her face her problems instead of avoid it. She's also a some-sort-of-a-hipster. She reportedly brought a typewriter to school when the instructor assigned them to do a research. She hates electronics. Though she has a reason for hating them, I thought it wasn't even remotely valid. Caleb is the same. He's not a some-sort-of-a-hipster but like Olivia, he seems to be encouraging Emma with what she was doing to Dan. He has gone through what Emma and Dan are going through but he is not the Emma in his story, he is the Dan. He knows what it's like to be on the receiving end of hate but oh, why don't you two talk about how you're both suffering. I honestly didn't care about these characters. Except Dan because he's a great person.

Heartbeat is undoubtedly an emotional and heartfelt read. I teared up at a few scenes and literally wailed on some, but because of sympathy for the characters or dislike, I'm not certain. I also liked Scott's prose here. It's true that I'm not a fan of this book and I established that within the first five pages, but it's also true that Scott's words have magic. I literally couldn't put this down. It's just too bad that I didn't feel for the characters.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Disclosure: This e-galley was received from the publisher (Harlequin Teen via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Between Here and Forever

Between Here and Forever
by Elizabeth Scott
258 pages - Hardcover
Expected publication date: May 24th 2011 by Simon Pulse
Source: ARC from Simon & Schuster Galley Grab

Summary: (from Goodreads)

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it’s nothing compared to living without her.

She’s got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn’t always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could..

Review:

Between Here and Forever is a powerful novel that delves deeply into the topics of sexuality, racial discrimination and self-acceptance. Abby has been living in the shadow of her sister, Tess, for all her life. In Abby's eyes, Tess is the most perfect girl in town. She has learned how to deal with having a sister who is loved by everyone. That is, by accepting that she is nothing compared to Tess. Although she claims that she is perfectly contented with who she is, it is clear that she is insecure and tries to hide it by flat out downgrading herself.

She also claims that she hates her sister; how she always gets everybody's attention, including the first boy she ever loved. Which could be true but despite whatever she says, it is obvious that she truly loves her sister. She does everything to make her sister wake up; bringing a good-looking boy to her hospital room and making him talk to her. As if his swoon-inducing voice could make her sister magically open her eyes and start conversing with him.

Between Here and Forever has a lot of depth and surprising turn of events, but despite that, this book didn't quite work out well enough for me. The characters and plot were okay. Eli and Abby are not the most likable characters there is. The atmosphere in this book is quite gloomy as well. I didn't like how Abby always sees the worse in herself. Like when Eli told her that Clement called her a 'firecracker', she thought Clement just compared her to 'a thing that people blow up on holidays'. Or when Eli compared her to a dragon, she thought '[I] ...got called a big scaly-firebreathing monster'. It's amusing at first but when you find out that she's actually serious, it suddenly gets annoying..

But nevertheless, the story in its entirety is still worth the read. I finished this in a little over than four hours. This is my third Scott book and although it didn't quite reach my expectations, I'm still on the look out for her future works. And as well as past.

Rating: 3/5 stars

*This e-ARC was provided by the publisher (Simon & Schuster via S&S Galley Grab) in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Bloom

Bloom
by Elizabeth Scott
231 pages - Paperback
Published April 24th 2007 by Simon Pulse
Source: Bought

Summary:

There's a difference between falling and letting go.

Lauren has a good life: decent grades, great friends, and a boyfriend every girl lusts after. So why is she so unhappy?

It takes the arrival of Evan Kirkland for Lauren to figure out the answer: She's been holding back. She's been denying herself a bunch of things (like sex) because staying with her loyal and gorgeous boyfriend, Dave, is the "right" thing to do. After all, who would give up the perfect boyfriend?

But as Dave starts talking more and more about their life together, planning a future Lauren simply can't see herself in -- and as Lauren's craving for Evan, and moreover, who she is with Evan becomes all the more fierce -- Lauren realizes she needs to make a choice...before one is made for her.


Review:

I think all girls have, once in their life, dreamt of having the perfect boyfriend. Handsome face, gentleman, smart, rich, athletic, thoughtful, caring, loyal... you name it. Lauren thinks she should be lucky that of all the girls in the whole student body, it's she that Dave chose. The perfect boyfriend all the girls dreamt of. But for some reason, Lauren is not happy. Not with Dave. Instead, she finds happiness from a boy who’s the opposite of perfection.

It's easy to hate Lauren and condemn her for her decisions. To get mad at her and tell her to just do what's right. The thing is, she knows she's not doing the right thing AND she wants to right it. But she always ends up doing the opposite. I understand what she's going through. Why it's so hard for her to decide between Dave and Evan. She thinks that by staying with Dave, she's doing the right thing of not disappointing/hurting the person who loves and trusts her the most. The same thing her mother failed to accomplish when she was just a young girl.

But in staying true to her words of not letting herself become like her mother, she started becoming a more awful person. It was a bit hard to connect with the characters here unlike the characters in Perfect You, another book by Scott which I've just finished reading. The atmosphere here is a little gloomy as well. But once again, I am struck by Scott's writing. I know there is a one year difference between the publication date of this book and Perfect You, but the difference between the atmosphere and characterization is so apparent. If I just picked this one up without looking the author's name, I wouldn't have thought that they were written by the same author. Point is, Elizabeth Scott has one heck of a writing ability. She can write different characters with different personalities but each can make an impression to the readers. I can't wait to read more of Scott's works.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Book Review: Perfect You

Perfect You
by Elizabeth Scott
282 pages - Paperback
Published March 25th 2008 by Simon Pulse
Source: Bought

Summary:
Kate Brown's life has gone downhill fast.

Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate's invisible.

And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can't stand even though she can't stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she's sure she's just his latest conquest.

Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen -- but only if she lets them....

Review:

Kate Brown tends to wallow a lot in her own misery. She is pessimistic and always assumes the worst in a person, even in herself. She acts as if she’s got all people figured out, so she goes ahead of them and often says something bitchy. Her character is not something that is very likable, but it is easy to empathize with her given the situation she’s in.

Kate’s life is a total mess. Her long-time best friend, Anna, suddenly stopped talking to her and is hanging out with the popular people they used to make fun of. Her brother who has graduated from college chose to make a career in watching television instead of finding a real job. Her father quit his desk job in order to live up to his ‘dream job’ which is selling vitamins at the mall. And her grandmother who they all dislike is coming over to help with financial problems, because apparently, Kate’s dad’s new job isn’t providing enough for the bills and other expenses.

The characters here have intense personalities. Even though they tend to be immature, annoying and sometimes unrealistic, they all add a very good flavor to the story. In Kate’s family, she’s the only one who seems to have a good grasp with maturity, though she’s not one without attitude problems. I really like Will a lot. He’s hot, cute, thoughtful, understanding and has very nice teeth! He’s the sanest character in the book. Other than them, all the characters could be nerve wracking. Her father acts like a grade-schooler. He’s too caught up with his dream that he doesn’t realize that he’s neglecting his family. I also hate how he does everything to avoid bad news and confrontations. Her mother is also very disappointing. She’s TOO understanding for her family’s own good. She understands why her husband seems to have neglected their family. She understands why he chose selling vitamins at a mall instead of getting a real job. The grandmother tends to be really annoying as well, but among the family, she’s the one who understands things the most.

This is my first Scott book, but this will surely be not the last. I love Scott’s writing. The way she wrote Kate was simply amazing! I especially love the ending. I was a little scared back then because there were only a few pages left, and everything in Kate’s life was still a total mess. I was worried that the ending may seem rushed, but oh, she nailed it! She totally nailed it! It’s probably one of my favorite contemp endings. This book has great pace, great plot, great writing, great everything! Absolutely recommended to everyone of all ages!


Rating: 5/5 stars!