The Problem with Forever: A Compelling Novel

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

For some people, silence is a weapon.

For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield.

Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.

Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.

It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.

• ISBN10: 0373212054
• ISBN13: 9780373212057
• Publish Date: 17 May 2016
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Edition: Original ed.
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 480
• Language: English

Reviews

[liz089]

Read more about this review and others on my blog Freyja Eats Books

REVIEW.
So this is a standalone book from JLA, something I've never read before, just as I have never read a "normal" book by her. It has always some magical or fantasy element in it. Like the Lux series with aliens, the Covenant series with Gods, The Dark Elements, A Wicked Saga.. all of them are in the Syfy/Fantasy genre. But this one isn't, and that made me very curious about it.

I've seen a lot of this book coming by lately, it is heavy promoted everywhere I look, so I wanted to pick it up as soon as it was released.. and now I finally got to it.

Only to be very dissapointed. Because damn.. this book was BORING. At the beginning it was okay, we got to know the characters and their background, to make us understand what they have been through and how that has shaped them.
We follow all of this through the eyes of Mallory, Mouse, who is extremely shy so to say. Because of her past in a very bad fosterhome she has been conditioned to be quiet, and because of that she barely talks or knows how to function in real life. The only person who ever cared for her was the other fosterkid in that home, Rider. He took a lot of hits for her. But four years back she got out of that house after a big incident and met some great people who take great care of her. So now she is going back to school after a lot of therapy and home-schooling.. and guess what.. She is in the same class as Rider! They instantly fall for each other, but still take most of the book for them to realise that and after some drama (with drugs and gangs and not finding oneselve worthy) they have a happily ever after.

Everything was so predictable.. I could lay out the entire plot after the first couple of chapters and I was not surprised once.
Okay, with these kind of books it usually is like that, we all know they are going to end up together.. but the road to that is most of the time a lot more interesting and full of passion and heart-brake. This book did not move me at all. No heart-breaking scenes that got to me or passionated love scenes that made me ache. I felt NOTHING.

And she does have some points with this book, like that when schools know you're from a certain part of town they care less, because you'll never do something meaningful with your life, no expectations.. That is good stuff, good to bring to our attention. But well.. it has all been done before. Some of this stuff really reminded me of Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, and the whole Jayden stuff really reminded me a lot of the first Step Up movie, and I did not really find it very original because of that.

The main characters were likable enough, but I could not really get into them.. And I really felt the romance was way too cheesy. I do like some romance, and cute stuff.. but this was like a huge sugar overdose, in a bad way. It made my teeth hurt. Ugh.

FINAL THOUGHTS.
This book was way too boring for me, and not enough happened throughout the book. It only got interesting about 80%, and they took way to long to get there. Because of that I kind of skimmed through some parts, and I hate it when a book makes me do that. Especially when I don't miss anything by doing that. So I would like to give this book 2 Freyja's and personally, if you want to read about this kind of thing, with troubled teenagers and fostercare, I would recommend reading the Pushing the Limits series by Katie McGarry over this one. That series is way more interesting and not as dull as this one.

[chemicalscream]

Also posted on my book blog MEReadALOT with a GIVEAWAY....
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Wow, I have no words for this book. Jennifer L. Armentrout is one of those authors who I don’t even bother reading the synopsis for any book she writes..I just usually dive in to the book. The Problem with Forever is a heartbreakingly beautiful book and when I started reading the prologue I knew that it was unlike anything she’s written before.

Mallory is a high school senior who has spent the last so many years being homeschooled. After having such a traumatic childhood that has left her with a severe case of PTSD, she is ready to drop her shield and face her fears by attending Public School.

Mallory is not a girl of many words, She uses silence as a shield. It’s what she knows, it’s what Rider told her to do, it’s what she did to survive her childhood. It’s been four years since the event that lead to Mallory getting out of the foster house she lived in with Rider. It’s been FOUR YEARS since she’s even seen Rider or talked to Rider. She’s been adopted by an amazing and supportive couple. She’s learning how to overcome what she’s been through. She’s learning that it is ok to speak, or make a sound. She’s ready to take on school and get over her fears, make friends and to live her life.

Mallory’s first day as a senior at Lands High doesn’t go so well. She’s having trouble find the words to respond to a simple “hi” from the girl a few lockers down, the atmosphere in the cafeteria is too overwhelming for her, etc. When she gets to the last class of the day, the class that she probably fears the most, SPEECH, it’s there where she runs into her knight in shining armor…

Rider Stark grew up with Mallory, they were both foster kids that ended up in one of those foster homes straight out of a nightmare. He did everything he could to protect her, he even saved her from their horrific life though it ended up taking her away from him. After the events that took Mallory away from him, Rider ends up in a group home and then from there it ends up in Mrs. Luna’s house.

The second that Rider sees Mallory, it’s like the four years it had been since they’ve seen one another never happened. It’s obvious that he hasn’t forgotten her, that she has never been that far from his mind. They re-connect instantaneously and it’s a beautiful thing.

Jennifer did a really good job of putting Mallory’s discomfort when speaking aloud into this story. Every time she “spoke” in the book, you could tell that she was fighting her urge to just stop talking. With Rider’s help and the help of her new friends, Mallory slowly gets over her fear of using words, of speaking to and being around people.

Rider is just going along with everything, he thinks that he doesn’t deserve to do anything in life. He’s just existing..but Mallory shows him that he deserves to have anything and everything in life that he wants. Just because he grew up in the system doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t try to make his life better. That he shouldn’t go to college or to art school. He’s obviously extremely smart and a very talented artist. He just doesn’t think he’s good enough for all that, or good enough for Mallory. In the end, Rider being there in her life and doing what he always did for her, helped push Mallory into HELPING him. Showing him that he found a HOME WITH PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT HIM, the same as her. Mallory makes him realize that he can do anything he wants.

I really enjoyed this story, even as I had tears running down my face through it. The characters were great, the story line will definitely have your emotions all over the place and in the end..Rider and Mallory are finally finding the happiness that everyone deserves to have in their life.