Blog Tour: Forever ME by Thomas Amo (Review)

Forever ME by Thomas Amo

Genre: YA/NA realistic fiction and romance

Goodreads || Amazon

A review copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Thomas!!

Forever Me is considered YA and NA.

Inspired by True Events.

Hannah Richards isn't your typical 16 year-old at Wichita Falls High. Fashions, trends, cosmetics and style are unimportant to her. An avid reader, guitar player, classic movie and television buff, Hannah marches to the beat of her own drum. Visible only to her Father the town Sheriff, and her two best friends. Hannah lives a simple, un-pampered life as an "Eastie."

After coming to the aide of Taylor Monroe, a popular member of the ultra snobby "Stilettos" at school, Hannah's life beings spiraling out of control. As she starts spending more time with Taylor, her best friends abandon her, after a series of misunderstandings, causing Hannah to re-invent herself.

Hannah quickly gets caught up in a life much different than the one she knows, where status, glamour, makeup, appearance and acceptance become her masters. And what of the dark secret that haunts the streets of Wichita Falls?

Can Hannah survive the lies, deceit, jealousy and rage that are now waiting for her behind every corner? Will she succumb to the pressures of popularity? Or will she be crushed under the heels of the "Stilettos"?

~High school is hard enough just being yourself, let alone being someone you're not~

My Thoughts

When I first saw this book, I knew I'm going to enjoy it. I'm currently obsessed with YA contemporary romance book and I am always happy to read a high school drama book, since I'm a high school student myself. I was very excited to read this book and I wasn't disappointed!

I'll start by saying that as a teenager, I could relate to everything that happened in the book. Cliques exist in real life. Every school, everywhere in the world, has those "popular" kids who consider themselves better than the rest. Bullies and mean kids will always exist, and that's why teens must know how to deal with them in order to prevent them from affecting their self-image and confidence.

This book sets a great example (that is also based on real-life experiences) of how to stand up for yourself against bullies and I think it makes it important for teen readers!!

Hannah is just the ordinary teenage girl, but she had a special strength inside her that I just adored. Most teens are seriously affected by peer pressure, but Hannah was different. She always tried to be the best person she could and never let bullies hurt her.

She never listened to rumors and never judged people by their reputations. I liked how she always gave a second change to everyone - that showed what a good heart she had. She sets a great example for teen girls.

Another character I really liked was Taylor. First of all, I love her name because it remind my of Taylor Swift. lol. Taylor was the bravest girl ever. She has managed to turn her back on the Stilettoes and to start a new life in which she decides for herself. She was a great, supportive friend to Hannah and their relationship was totally to die for! They completed each other. I wished soooo badly, during the whole book, that I was best friends with them, too.

The first 40% of the book were slow paced as I got to know the characters and the relationships between them. That part was dragged a little bit too much and contained too many details and names I couldn't memorize. I think that the author could've skipped a lot of these details because most of them weren't important to the plot anyway...

As the book progressed and things started to happen, it became much more interesting. It became much more of a thriller, because one of its main incident was a mysterious murder of a teen girl. I enjoyed reading about the police investigation. I was trying to guess who the murderer is the whole book, but I just couldn't. I found out who it was only at the end and it was a big surprise!

This book was very well written and I liked the writing style - the author told the story each time from a different POV - Hannah's, her father's, Dylan's, Taylor's... I liked how I could get inside the head of many characters, and that helped me understand the story much better and feel connected to the characters.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable book. It was well written and suspenseful and also had a strong positive massage. I think it will appeal to teen girls and to people who enjoy reading about  life in high school.

Excerpt 
 

The alarm buzzed and Hannah rolled over on her back in bed and stretched. She tried to get her eyes to focus on her cell phone to see what time it was. The digital numbers told her it was 4:15 a.m. She stopped the noise and reached an arm behind her to shake Taylor awake, but the bed was empty. Surprised, she rolled over and found she had the bed all to herself. She hoped she hadn’t forced Taylor out. She had been known to be a bed hog, especially with the covers. She propped herself up on her elbows when the bedroom light flipped on. Like a vampire recoiling from the sunlight, Hannah’s hand quickly went to shield “Morning sunshine,” called Taylor in a chipper voice. Hannah slowly lowered her hand and saw Taylor standing in the doorway, still wearing her father’s t-shirt but with a gator clip in her hair to hold it up. “You did, but I changed it. Hot Girl Rule Number 1: Rise early and get your face on. Hannah let her head fall back on the pillow. “Ohhhh, let me be homely, just for an “Oh no you don’t,” called Taylor as she reached under the blanket, grabbed Hannah by the wrist and tugged her up into a sitting position. “Let’s get those feet on the floor, I already picked out your outfit, got the flatiron hot and made coffee.” “I swear, if I didn’t love men, I’d probably marry you, just for the fact you made me coffee,” Hannah said rubbing her face trying to wake up. “Yeah, don’t get ahead of yourself there, doll. You’re pretty cute, but not my type. By the way I made the coffee for me. I’m just sharing it with you. Now let’s get going, the sun will be showing up in an hour,” Taylor teased. “Okay, Sarge,” Hannah said with a half salute. Her feet touched the floor and she recoiled. She started to climb back under the covers but then saw the look on Taylor’s face. “Okay, okay.” Hannah stood up and winced once more from the cold floor on her feet. She stumbled from her bedroom to the bathroom across the hall. Taylor had everything laid out like a display in a showroom. She was truly organized when it came to preparing for the day. Hannah examined her face in the mirror. She was prepared for the worst. She was afraid she was going to wear the after effects of Lauren’s punches for the next week, but surprisingly, there was only a small amount of bruising on the corner of her chin and up next to her right eye. Even the swelling in her lip had pretty much disappeared. Taylor returned to the bathroom with a cup of coffee for Hannah. Hannah turned and took the cup with a grateful expression. She took a sip and instantly felt the perfectly made drink intoxicate all of her senses. She sat the cup on the vanity and wrapped her arms around Taylor and hugged her. “I love you,” she whispered. Taylor stood being a prisoner of Hannah’s clinch. Her eyes darted from side to side. Her expression of feeling awkward reflected in the mirror. “Um—love you too, but it’s just Hannah shook her head. “No, that is a cup filled with love,” she said with sleep-crusted “Okay—are you like this every morning?” “I just need a moment,” Hannah teased as she hugged her once more. Taylor gave the patented pity hand pat on Hannah’s back that meant, Okay, I love you too but I’m beyond “How did you sleep?” Hannah asked as she took a healthy drink of coffee. Taylor took Hannah’s hair into her hands and ran the flatiron across it. “Pretty good, “I know, but in my defense you’re the first person I’ve ever slept with.” “Yeah—let’s not share that information,” Taylor said teasing.