YA Book Review: Between Here and Forever

Between Here and Forever
By Elizabeth Scott

Release Date: 24 May 2011
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: S&S Galley Grab

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Goodreads Description:

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible. Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her. She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen. Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

Thoughts, Musings, Ramblings...

Before I get into my thoughts on this one, I have to say upfront that I have quite the love affair with angst-ridden teenagers working through some difficult things, falling in love for the first time, and finding some semblance of self-worth.  I (apparently) have a thing about story involved dead/dying girls as well, as I would rank The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and If I Stay by Gayle Forman among my absolute favorite books.   This was my first Elizabeth Scott book and I was excited to read it as a break from the paranormal reading that I've been doing.  I was looking for a breath of fresh air and hoping for a Gayle Forman style story that would sweep me away--make me laugh, cry, love, and live with the characters.  I wouldn't say that I was disappointed but I don't think that it quite lived up to my expectations.

Abby is a fairly typical self-deprecating younger sister living in the shadow of her "amazing" older sister.  Throughout the story, I honestly wanted to slap her more times than I can count and tell her to open her eyes.  Her insecurity is pounded into your head throughout the entire book, and honestly, it made me almost completely unable to get behind her as an MC.

Tess is, in Abby's mind, the girl who everyone likes and I have to admit that I felt like I got to know her more through the story that I did Abby.  As Abby learned about the Tess she didn't know, I did too and I really liked her.  She was a teenager dealing with a lot of emotional difficulties and tough choices.  I loved how Tess was unveiled slowly throughout the story.

Eli....oh Eli.  Eli was such a real, fabulous love interest and friend.  His character was beyond well-developed and I loved the dynamic that he brought to the story.  Again, I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say that Eli is awesome.  You will fall in love with him.

What this book does fantastically is bring in diversity and sexuality in such a seamless way that it doesn't come across as preachy or forced or any of the things that often happen when an author tries too hard to do those things.  I don't want to spoil anything so I'll leave it at that but be prepared for a well-rounded cast of characters.

Overall, I might recommend this to contemporary fans who can hack the self-deprecating MC.  It's a quick read and it definitely has its redeeming qualities.