Review: The Problem with Forever

image from of amazon.com

image from of amazon.com

Leah Fikes, Editor

The Problem with Forever By: Jennifer Armentrout

I found this book when browsing at the library, read the back cover, the first few chapters and then checked it out. I didn’t know anything about it and had never heard of it, but the idea and plot sounded interesting. Around three hours later, I finished the book and loved it.

The book is about a foster girl named Mallory Dodge who is rescued from a traumatizing foster home after a dreadful accident and is adopted by a couple in Baltimore. Nicknamed “Mouse” by her childhood friend, she refuses to speak because she learned at her foster home that talking meant she got beat up. After three years of therapy, Mallory decides to go to high school for her senior year instead of being home schooled.

There she runs into Rider Stark, the boy who had saved her life countless times at her old foster home. She hadn’t seen Rider since the accident because they were separated. Immediately she begins to reconnect with her former friend much to the dismay of her new parents who believe the past is the past. Mallory discovers there is more between them than trauma and old history.

Mallory worries about Rider and his foster family but quickly discovers he is as protective with his foster brothers as he was with her. Rider has the reputation of a school rebel between spray painting the school, skipping class to catch up with her, and disappearing all together. She wants Rider to stop worrying about her and figure out how to turn his life around.

I liked this story because it is about finding your voice and overcoming your past. It also touches on the themes of accepting where you have been and trying to be a better person. Mallory’s problem is that the world is ever changing and nothing lasts forever, not even a promise Rider made when they were kids to protect her forever.

This book also mentions gang violence and drugs. They don’t take over the book but are more of a tone of the city of Baltimore and a cultural part of the area of the city where Rider lives. This book is a romance novel as well as a serious story about moving forward with your life.

I think the most important part of this story is the lesson that Mallory learns about her own life and the one that she teaches Rider. They learn to let people love them and be there for them always. Mallory learns that her voice is powerful and strong. Rider learns that it isn’t too late for him to take control of his life and clean up the messes he has left behind.

Overall I give this story 5 stars.