From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER - a young adult title about friendship, survival, and finding your voice. This incredible book is available today! Read more about this stunning new novel below and be sure to order your copy today to receive an amazing FREE fan pack while supplies last!
About THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes a riveting new story about friendship, survival, and finding your voice.
For some people, silence is a weapon.
For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield.
Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.
Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.
It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.
Prologue
Dusty,
empty shoe boxes, stacked taller and wider than her slim body, wobbled as she
pressed her back against them, tucking her bony knees into her chest.
Breathe. Just Breathe. Breathe.
Wedged
in the back of the dingy closet, she didn’t dare make a sound as she sucked her
lower lip between her teeth. Focusing on forcing every grimy breath into her
lungs, she felt tears well in her eyes.
Oh
gosh, she’d made such a big mistake, and Miss Becky was right. She was a bad
girl.
She’d
reached for the dirty and stained cookie jar earlier, the one shaped like a
teddy bear that hid cookies that tasted funny. She wasn’t supposed to get
cookies or any food by herself, but she’d just been so hungry that her tummy
hurt, and Miss Becky was sick again, napping on the couch. She hadn’t meant to
knock the ashtray off the counter, shattering it into tiny pieces. Some were
shaped like icicles that clung to the roof during the winter. Others were no
bigger than chips.
All
she’d wanted was a cookie.
Her
slender shoulders jerked at the sound of the all cracking on the other side of
the closet. She bit down harder on her lip. A metallic taste burst into her
mouth. Tomorrow there would be a hold the size of Mr. Henry’s big hand in the
plaster, and Miss Becky would cry and she’d get sick again.
The
soft creak of the closet door was like a crack of thunder to her ears.
Oh no, no, no…
He
wasn’t supposed to find her in here. This was her safe place whenever Mr. Henry
was angry or when he—
She
tensed, eyes peeling wide as a body taller and broader than hers slipped inside
and then knelt in front of her. In the dark, she couldn’t make out much of his
features, but she knew in her belly and her chest who it was.
“I’m
sorry,” she gasped.
“I
know.” A hand settled on her shoulder, the weight reassuring. He was the only
person she felt okay with when he touched her. “I need you to stay in here,
‘kay?”
Miss
Becky had said once that he was only six months older than her six years, but
he always seemed so much bigger, older than her, because in her eyes, he took
up her entire world.
She
nodded.
“Don’t
come out,” he said, and then he pressed into her hands the redheaded doll she’d
dropped in the kitchen after she broke the ashtray and rushed into the closet.
Too frightened to retrieve her, she’d left Velvet where she had fallen, and
she’d been so upset because the doll had been a gift from him many, many months
before. She had no idea how he’d gotten Velvet, but one day he’d simply shown
up with her, and she was hers, only hers.
“You
stay in here. No matter what.”
Holding
the doll close, clenched between her knees and chest, she nodded again.
He
shifted, stiffening as an angry shout rattled the walls around them. It was her
name that dripped ice down her spine; her name that was shouted so furiously.
A small
whimper parted her lips and she whispered, “I just wanted a cookie.”
“It’s
okay. Remember? I promised I’d keep you safe forever. Just don’t make a sound.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Just stay quiet, and when I…when I get back, I’ll
read to you, ‘kay? All about the stupid rabbit.”
All she
could do was nod again, because there had been times when she hadn’t stayed
quiet and she’d never forgotten those consequences. But if she stayed quiet,
she knew what was coming. He wouldn’t be able to read to her tonight. Tomorrow
he would miss school and he wouldn’t be okay even though he would tell her he
was.
He
lingered for a moment and then he eased out of the closet. The bedroom door
shut with a smack, and she lifted the doll, pressing her tearstained face into
it. A button on Velvet’s chest poked at her cheek.
Don’t make a sound.
Mr.
Henry started to yell.
Don’t make a sound.
Footsteps
punched down the hall.
Don’t make a sound.
Flesh
smacked. Something hit the floor, and Miss Becky must have been feeling better,
because she was suddenly shouting, but in the closet the only sound that
mattered was the fleshy whack that came over and over. She opened her mouth,
screaming silently into the doll.
Don’t make a sound.
Register your preorder of THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER by May 20th to receive a FREE fan pack! Includes inspirational wall art, a colorful poster, and flag-as-you-read stickers. You will also get immediate access to an extended excerpt from the book.
Praise for THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER:
“The intensity between Mouse and Rider is palpably sizzling… romance aficionados [will] lose themselves in Mouse and Rider’s smoldering glances and steamy kisses.” –Kirkus
“Armentrout’s effort to gradually coax her protagonist from her shell via a supportive, loving community succeeds, and readers looking for an inspirational comeback story will find Mallory’s to be satisfying and hopeful” –Publishers Weekly
# 1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.
Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.
She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.
