Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer | Book Review

(Stand-Alone)

Published: June 2nd 2015

Synopsis:

Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.

After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.

Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.

Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.

Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.

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My Rating:  4/5 (Really Good)

Book Information

Publisher: Harper Teen

Genre(s): Young-adult fiction, contemporary

Page Count: 352

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 0062330373

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Hi! Today I have a book review on Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer for you! I know this book has been on the TBR of many people (including mine) and although the decision to purchase and read this was quite sudden and spontaneous, I’m glad I did, because this was a super fun read!

Quick Summary

Proof of Forever follows four girls: Joy, Tali, Luce and Zoe, as they are taken to the past to relive their summer from two years back at camp. In the present, they are seventeen, and they have become estranged from eachother. They barely talk, contrary to their close friendship at fifteen, and now, after being transported to the past, the girls have to recreate their summer in order to get back to the present. Along the way, the girls find new love, and make great memories, but most of all, learn to be the friends they once were.

Plot

The plot was a mixture of friendship, romance, and had an overall feel of contemporary to it, with elements of time-travel thrown in. It was very enjoyable, although at first the time-travel thing kind of threw me off. What I really enjoyed though, was how Lexa Hillyer took this slightly familiar and common plot, and made it into her own. Maybe it’s just because I haven’t read many books with a plot like this one, but I found Proof of Forever to be a fun book that brought back many memories of camp and friendship, without being a copy of other books with similar elements.

I would’ve liked the plot even more had it been more concentrated on friendship, and perhaps incorporated more scenes with the girls getting along than bickering. Most of the time, the girls are on their own, having their own adventures, and I guess I would’ve liked it a bit more had they gotten a long more, had we gotten to see more of how they became closer again. The plot was also slightly predictable, but overall, I really liked it.

Characters

There was a variety of characters that I enjoyed. I really liked Joy and Zoe from the very start, there were qualities in them that I could identify in myself. Actually, I found there were qualities in all the four girls that I could identify in myself, and that made them more relatable and fun to read about. At the end of this book, I was rooting for them all, and it was a lot of fun reading about the girls’ adventures as they recreated their summer and became closer friends.

If the characters not been so distant with eachother for so long in the story, it would’ve been a bit more enjoyable, but it wasn’t too much of a big deal to me. The characters went through so much development by the end of the novel, and it didn’t really matter. The characters seemed so real, and I could really picture them being alive, talking, walking people, and that’s what made reading this book so enjoyable.

Writing Style

I applaud the author for handling 4 POVs so well! I could always distinguish the voices, and Lexa Hillyer managed to transition the story from character to character smoothly, allowing us to remember what was happening in the POV of a character after we left it for another POV. Does that make sense? Either way, paired with the fun plot and realistic characters, the writing style was super fun, and easy to read, which is why I flew through the book so fast.

Book Trailer

Overall…

I definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a contemporary romance novel with friendship. The friendship isn’t as focused on as I would’ve liked, and the plot was a bit predictable, but paired with a variety of interesting characters and great writing, this book is addicting. I swear, I was 70% done the first day I started it, because I just couldn’t stop reading! I always rooted for the characters, and the ending left me satisfied. If this seems like your kind of thing, go for it! I’m sure you’ll love it just as much as I did.

Let’s go eat this! Don’t take forever.

-A