Review: The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Growing up, Mallory Dodge 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, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at a public high school. But she never imagined 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 soon 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.

I haven’t been reading a lot of YA lately and I randomly picked this book up one day as I was browsing my kindle selection and read the entire thing in a day. I have enjoyed all of the YA books that I’ve read by Armentrout and this one was no different.

Mallory Dodge grew up in the foster system and one of her housing assignments was with a horrible drunk that scared the pants right off of her each and every day. Her saving grace while living there was her friend, Rider Stark. They became best friends and Rider did his best to protect Mallory from all the bad things that happened but one night, Rider fails to protect Mallory and she suffered from third-degree burns and was ripped away from Rider. They spent four years apart. In that time, Rider moved to another foster home that was heaps better than the one he shared with Mallory and Mallory was adopted by the doctors who helped heal her burns after the fire that ripped Rider and Mallory apart. Mallory was never the same after leaving that home and Rider never forgot about her. When they reunite, Mallory is attending high school again and she’s attending Rider’s school.

At first, Rider and Mallory were thrilled to see each other again. I thought their reunion was sweet and I really enjoyed seeing them get to know each other again. They weren’t the same people that they were the last time that they saw each other and seeing them try to find their way again was surprisingly emotional. I wasn’t expecting all of the emotions that I felt while reading this one. Mallory had overcome a lot in her life and seeing her try to be stronger and more assertive in her wants and needs was great to see. I really liked that we got to see her really grow into her own. She wasn’t perfect but she was as honest as she could be and her relationship with her adoptive parents was great. I liked seeing them try to make room in their lives for Rider even though they didn’t trust him. I loved seeing their trust in Mallory and I really loved seeing Mallory’s spine strengthen as the story unfolded. She came a long way from the Mouse that Rider knew.

Rider was another compelling character that I grew to love over the course of the book. He didn’t have an easy life and he struggled with trying to find his place in the world without a solid family foundation. When Mallory came back into his life, seeing the shock and then the guilt but overall joy from him made me so happy with the way that things turn out for him in the end. Like Mallory, he came a long way from the young boy that Mallory knew and I love that no amount of space or time could diminish what they meant to each other. Sure, they meant different things to each other now since they were both still really young kids back then but their relationship was solid and it was strong and I just really liked seeing the two of them grow together in love.

This was a great read. Jennifer L. Armentrout did a great job of pulling my emotional strings throughout this entire book and before I knew what was what, I had read this entire book in one sitting. So yeah, I liked this one. It’s good and I definitely recommend.

Grade: 4 out of 5