A review by kyouen
The Last Forever by Deb Caletti

4.0

As always, I really enjoyed Deb Caletti's writing. Tessa was a wonderful narrator. I really was able to get into her shoes to feel her loss and guilt over the death of her mother. The supporting characters were great, too. Tessa's relationship with her father changes with her mother gone, and at first she isn't able to wrap her mind around that. She believes in the black and white "a parent takes care of the child" thought, and when this is shattered, she has a hard time coming to terms with it. The dips in their relationship are very realistic. It allowed for character growth for both of them, which is something I really enjoy reading.

I'm glad that Caletti took us back to a familiar place (Parrish Island) to connect with familiar characters (from other books). We get to see that they've continued living, and I really enjoyed that. She introduces a few other characters that are Tessa's age, but the most important one to Tessa is Henry. She doesn't particularly like the others, but she tries to because they're important to him. The protagonists in Caletti novels usually fall in love quickly, and that happens in The Last Forever. When we fall in love, people always want to give us advice (or withhold it) and Tessa has to deal with her grandmother and father's protective wings.

I have a hard time believing that her grandmother wouldn't have warned her that Henry was dating a boy before he met Tessa, however.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book

although I didn't like the shocking way that Henry's sexuality was revealed (apparently I was one of the few that didn't see it coming)

. The characters were well-rounded, and I wish I could see more about their lives and how the relationships advance.