Jack Ferguson (AnnaSophia Robb) is an eighteen-year-old orphan and former juvenile delinquent who wants to raise her little sister Coke (Sophia Anne Caruso). In order to get custody she needs a home and a job, so she manages to con her way into a job as a babysitter, realizing too late that her charge, 11-year-old Glory Adams (Taylor Richardon), is severely autistic. At first Jack finds the job impossible, but she eventually gets the hang of it, and Glory makes great strides. Meanwhile, she pursues a romance with Glory's 17-year-old brother, Robert (Israel Broussard).
Jack of the Red Hearts contains examples of:
- Bavarian Fire Drill: Jack specializes in these. She tells Donna Graham, the babysitter who was supposed to be hired, that they've already hired someone else, then asks for Donna's resume "in case she doesn't work out." She then walks into the Adams home, introduces herself to Glory's mother Kay (Famke Janssen) as Donna, and makes up everything else Kay wants to know on the spot.
- Big "NO!": Glory screams "NO!" repeatedly as Jack leaves the house after her cover is blown.
- Eat Dirt, Cheap: Glory eats fistfuls of dirt while she and Jack are relaxing outside.
- Eyes Always Averted: Glory rarely makes eye contact, despite her parents' and therapists' efforts to force it on her.
- Fake Charity: Jack and Coke panhandle with a Red Cross bucket.
- It's All My Fault: Kay blames herself for ignoring the early signs of Glory's autism and therefore not getting her early intervention.
- Sensory Overload: One boy who shares Glory's occupational therapist wears ear protectors because otherwise he can hear the water going through pipes. Later, Glory covers her eyes in a sunny parking lot.
- Title Drop: Glory identifies a card Jack holds out as "Jack of the red hearts."
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Kay has put the family $150,000 into debt pursuing one quack treatment after another. At one point she drinks from a Cure Autism Now mug. She complains about Glory when they're in the same room, and even when she talks about her positive qualities she's clearly sarcastic, so her claims to love her daughter can sound a little hollow.
