Forever Me by Thomas Amo

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~

Picture and description provided by Goodreads

My Review

      I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

   I really found this book to be not only wonderful, but it also contains a powerful message for all of us.  The story goes way beyond two kids from opposite sides of town falling in love and creates a great story with twists and turns that made it impossible to put the book down.

   Hannah is the sweet teenage daughter of the town sheriff, whose mom had passed away a few years earlier.  Other than missing her mom, life is pretty good for Hannah.  The only thing marring her life is the presence of the Stilettos, the truly horrible group of popular girls that think they run the high school.  Hannah usually stays out of their way but an incident forces her to stand up to them.  Suddenly Hannah’s life is out of control.  Enemies are friends, friends are enemies, and she is in a relationship with the most popular boy in school.  I don’t want to give any spoilers so let’s just say that things get really crazy.

   The author does such a great job with his character development.  I fell in love with Hannah and was completely drawn in to her life.  From the crazy mean Stilettos, to the drunken past beauty queen, and everyone in between, all of the characters in this book were so realistic and you are able to really feel what the characters are going through.  I must say that the Stilettos are certainly terrifying.

Parent's Guide: There is some swearing in the book, underage drinking and some disturbing violence, like PG-13 type stuff, so I would definitely recommend that parents use discretion before letting your kids read this book.  I do feel like the message is so great that it would be ok to let some of the things slide so that all high school girls could read this book.  Even if the message only reached a few girls this book has done its job.  In a society where media has almost no positive messages I give kudos to this author for putting out something that is both entertaining and positive.