The Problem with Forever

Gr 9 Up—Having survived too many violently nightmarish years in foster care, Mallory knows how lucky she is to finally have two unconditionally loving parents. After years of intensive therapy, she's ready to try something most teens expect to experience: her senior year of high school. Mallory's first day goes well enough until her last class, when she recognizes a face she hasn't seen in four years—the boy who saved her life again and again as they were growing up. "Mouse?" Rider asks, using the childhood name he gave her to remind her to stay quiet as he endured the beatings that kept Mallory as safe as possible. This older Rider is more bad boy than little boy lost, yet despite the years they spent apart, their reconnection is immediate—and threatens the peace Mallory has finally achieved. Prodigious, best-selling Armentrout's ("Dark Elements" series, "Lux" series) latest stand-alone novel is achingly narrated by Amy Landon, who infuses a somewhat predictable love story with empathy and charm.