Forever For A Year
Author: B.T. Gottfred
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Summary:
Told in Carolina and Trevor’s alternating voices, this is an up-close-and-personal story of two teenagers falling in love for the first time, and discovering it might not last forever.
First Sentence: It was my idea for us to start using our full names.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
What I Liked
I’ve mentioned this in my past reviews and I’ll mention it again: I love when contemporary books that are mainly focused on the romance is told from both the girl and the boy’s point of view. When that happens, we readers can understand and see what both the main characters are thinking instead of having to speculate hey, why does he like her? or vice versa. Forever For A Year is a book told using two different voices: Carolina, the female main character, and Trevor, the male main character. Their voices and chapters tell the same events happening in their own point of view, which I really enjoyed reading, and best of all, they don’t sound the same (except that is a problem too – see two paragraphs below for more information).
The reason I requested and read Forever For A Year is because I love how realistic the synopsis sounds. After reading Forever For A Year, I can also say that I love the overall and final message Forever For A Year gives you. The ending of the book left me thinking and I sadly can’t say any more about the ending as it’ll definitely be a spoiler. All I can say is that despite the book’s faults, aka what I didn’t like about Forever For A Year, Forever For A Year is a book worth reading just to see its overall message and the impact the ending will have on you.
What I Didn’t Like
When I saw how Carolina’s point of view was written, I was thrown in for a loop. Carolina is an example of how adults think teenagers speak and think: dramatic with a touch of whiny added in, but not how teenagers really think or speak – I should know since I myself was Carolina’s age a few years ago. Trevor’s chapters are a lot better compared to Carolina’s – there are no dramatics in his point of view, but he did hit the cliche mark at times. However, I could tell from reading Trevor’s chapters that B.T. Gottfred is a great writer; the one downfall of Forever For A Year is that he overdramatized Carolina’s point of view.
Overall
If you’re willing to look pass the overdramatic and whiny “teenage” voice in Carolina, you’ll definitely enjoy reading Forever For A Year.
One winner will receive a Summer love prize pack consisting of a copy of Forever For A Year, a summer tote bag, and sunglasses, courtesy of Macmillan!
I am so excited for this giveaway! I’ve had this book on my TBR list on Goodreads for a looooooooong time!
Allana recently posted…Book Review: The Fold
While whiny character voices tend to annoy me I think I will definitely look past it because Forever For A Year sounds amazing! As much as I love books with HEA endings it’s nice to read books that feel more realistic and leave you thinking about the book. I also agree that dual POV is great with romances. Nice review!
Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf recently posted…Review: Defy by Sara B. Larson // no love triangle!
I have been looking forward to Forever For a Year since I first heard about it, I look forward to reading it because of your review and I always look forward to reading new authors(to me) and am hoping for good things from Mr Gottfred. I love stories told from both female and male perspectives because you can learn so much more about the relationship between the two characters.
Well i still hope this one will end up a winner for me…coz i want more better YA contemporaries to read. and we have a popular saying here in my country… there is no such thing as forever…bitter much? maybe LOL!
I usually hate when authors write teenagers in a stereotyped way, as if we’re always saying “like” and always swearing, or hating our parents…however I think I’m going to give this book a go because the synopsis is great!
I haven’t read this book but would really love to!
Gorgeous review Kelly :D Thank you so much for sharing about this book. <3 I have not heard of it before. Huh. But yeah. Reading what you say about it.. I don't think it would be a book for me at all o.O I don't like the sound of the summary, about heartbreak and breaking up, and what you say about the ending :p Can't be a happy one, lol. But glad you sort of liked it :)
Carina Olsen recently posted…Review: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
interesting cover
Hmm the whiny/overdramatic voice sounds a little off-putting, but maybe I’ll give it a try anyways. I don’t think I’ve read a YA book where the chapters are split between a male and female character before, so it would be interesting to try out.
you make a good point… The reason why I don’t like reading romance novels is because I think they are too fictional to the point of pretentious. but I am intrigued to read this as to what you said on how the book interprets teens… nice review!
Sounds like a good book! I am excited to read it!
This book sounds good! Glad I was skimming through you reviews. And it is a giveaway! Woot woot!
This looks awesome! Def will have to request this for my bday! :D
I heard a lot of good things about this book and I can’t wait to have my own copy! It is really intriguing! And I totally love the cover!
I like that the story is told from both the girl’s and boy’s point of view. I’m looking forward to reading Forever for a Year.
I’ve seen this book around and have it on my TBR, it sounds like a great story. I am looking forward to reading it. I’m trying to read more contemporaries, and thought this would be a good one to read. I think sometimes stories that go from alternating points of view can be a bit hard for readers to stay with the story, but, sometimes its nice to get all sides of a story.
April @ Between the Pages recently posted…I am trying to patiently wait for Glass Sword (Red Queen 2) by Victoria Aveyard
I never understand why authors make female teen characters overly dramatic and whiny. Granted, it has been 14 years since I was a teenager, but I don’t remember being that way. I know that there are most definitely teen girls that act this way, but not the majority. Anyway, this is a book that hadn’t crossed my radar, and now I am really hoping for a chance to read it. Thank you fr the review!
Jaime Lester recently posted…Smithsonian Everything You Need to Know