I was very excited to read The Forever Girl, as I had heard quite a bit about it, read some of its many reviews, and become aware of the controversy surrounding it. Like many others, I wanted to know what the big deal was. I've never posted a review on Amazon or Goodreads, but as I read The Forever Girl, I felt compelled to add my perspective to the unusually large pool of reviews, which I have come to believe are largely dishonest and bloated with unearned generosity. I have added a SPOILER ALERT in front of certain paragraphs, so READER BEWARE if you haven't read The Forever Girl.
Let me begin by letting Mrs. Hamilton know what I found truly compelling about her novel. The character of the crazy old woman, whose radical Christian beliefs seemed to have driven her crazy, was written very well. She stayed true to her character throughout the story, with the nonsensical letters threatening Sophia and insisting she gift her house to God and quit being a heathen. This character brought something fresh to the story, and I really enjoyed her.
SPOILER: I quite enjoyed how we come to realize that the animals in the woods with Sophia were actually Charles. It wasn't just dumped on us flat out with some awkward story that doesn't really fit with the dialogue. A little mystery is great.
Like many others have pointed out, Hamilton's knowledge of the Wiccan belief system and practices is very well researched. She knows her herbs, rituals, and holidays very well! I commend her for this. Many writers skimp on the details, but with the use of knowledge in this story we come to realize just how important it is to Sophia and the progress she will make.
SPOILER: The scene when Sophia happens across the address she has read about was very well done. We finally see a little action! Thalia and Circe stir things up for us a bit and we get to see that the story is taking a turn. The dialogue is great, and Thalia's "friends" give us a look at some new kinds of characters we haven't seen before. This standoff leaves us wondering about what is going to happen next.
The creation of the Witch, or Spirit Elementals, was very unique. I love the story of how the universe created them, how people believed that their magic died with them, and how the Salem witch Trials was incorporated. It was all very believable. This was the most original part of the story. When we see Sophia beginning her research on her ancestor we have a suspicion that she is the one real witch that was prosecuted, but the mystery, and learning what is going on, is half the fun.
SPOILER: The scene that seems to have gotten quite a bit of negative attention is one that I most enjoy. This would be when Sophia's house was set on fire. The crazy old woman finally lets loose, fulfilling the wishes of the latest letter she taped to her door. I am sure we were all heaving a sigh of relief when she managed to get herself and Red out of the house unharmed. The bleeding eyes scene really jarred me. It was brutal, and I liked it. But the best part was how well the twist was done. When I learned that the woman had been possessed, and this was what had been causing her years of insanity, it fell together wonderfully and made you feel bad for the lady. What everyone seems to be up in arms about is that Sophia did not press charges, but it makes perfect sense to me. Who would press charges on a little old lady who had no idea what she was doing? Wouldn't that just be cruel? Maybe that's just me.
SPOILER: The next thing I must compliment was yet another twist, (Hamilton seems to enjoy throwing these in) when Ivory tries to stab Charles. We realize the extent of Ivory's dismay but are completely blind to what is happening and why. While I enjoyed the new problem, I must admit I was quite frustrated that Sophia was not as interested in what happened, but I will get back to that. What I most enjoyed here was the memory scene. Where Sophia finally does realize what is going on. It is intense, and I loved reading about Ivory's story as she followed Elizabeth's spirit throughout the years.
SPOILER: Lastly, the mausoleum scene, I have mixed feelings about this. I liked how again we are introduced to the ritual that enabled Sophia to erase Ivory's memories. Only this time she was able to use this to help Charles and Adrian through the tunnels of this underground building. But, the ritual (Ignisvisum) is poorly explained. How is it that she can read through their minds without erasing their memories, like she did Ivory? But other than that, we are introduced to the true head of the family, and we get to see what it is really all about. We see who the people are that took Charles' parents and why they want Sophia so badly.
Now that I've highlighted what I think makes this book decent, I'll now discuss what's wrong with the book and why I've given it one star. Beginning with the many counts of glaring plagiarism that miraculously no one else has pointed out.
I can not attest to how many times any of The Forever Girl fans have read the Twilight novels, but I can tell you that I myself have read each book at least eight times. Sickening, I know. But I am a sucker for an amazing love story with true original qualities. And I am a stickler for detail. So here we go:
After the first four chapters, we are finally introduced to the main male character we all come to know as Charles. And in chapter six we get our first taste of long awaited action. Within Chapters fix and six, we come to realize that Charles can shape shift and that a man known as a Cruor is after Sophia. A Cruor is a made up species that is really just a vampire with a fancy new name. So here we have our first Twilight parallel. Not a big one mind you, but only just the beginning: shape shifters and vampires are the premise of the story. In chapter eight we are introduced to trackers. The very same kind of trackers that we find in the Twilight series. The "get a whiff of your scent or a read on your brain and I can find you anywhere" kind of trackers. Only, wait! Sophia doesn't have an aura, so she can't be tracked. This is eerily similar to the circumstance of no one being able to read into Bella's thoughts, and her not being able to be tracked for that reason. Next we learn that some cruor can influence the minds of other cruor, and human alike, by messing with their emotions. Just like Jasper, again from Twilight, can change the emotions and influence minds to help or to hurt those around him. To continue, in Chapter Nine we are told that the saliva of a cruor can heal small wounds. This can only remind us of the last book in the Twilight series, when Edward is frantically trying to seal Bella's puncture wounds with his tongue to keep his venom from seeping out: healing her wounds with his saliva.
Some more little things easy for the reader to miss would be that all of these creatures tend to drink animal blood instead of human blood. We are given a brief explanation for this, but still it is hard to ignore. The scene that had me pulling my hair out in frustration was the day after Sophia had been attacked, when Charles comes to meet her where she works, at a restaurant. This whole scene derives from Twilight. It was almost exact, down to certain lines. Charles lets Sophia ask him questions, as long as they are not questions that will get her into more trouble or give her too much information about himself. Then, here comes the waitress. We all remember this from the movie, even if you didn't read the book. She asks Charles if she can get him anything, completely ignoring Sophia, until Charles orders a drink and does not make eye contact with the waitress. The waitress is aggravated when she is forced to ask Sophia what she wants. She is obviously not happy that Sophia, not she, is sitting with this handsome guy. When she comes back to make to check on him, she asks if he is sure she can't get him anything else. The same words the waitress in Twilight uses. Beyond that we have the constant fluttering stomach, fast pulse, and blushing. Again, not a very big thing, but in Twilight this was a huge deal because Bella, like Sophia, had never been in a real relationship before. Next we have Charles wanting to stay distant from Sophia so that she cannot get involved in his world. And then later his words that are almost the exact same as Edward's when he claims he is compelled to protect her, that he does not want to keep resisting being around her. Then we have some more trivial moments that remind us of Twilight when Charles shows up at Sophia's window creeper-style, he makes fun of her out of date vehicle, and admits he has a hard time understanding her. All of these being some of Edward's favorite things to do.
Now I will move on to the larger examples. Let's begin with Sophia's parallel to Bella. Bella's thoughts can not be read by any of the vampires that contain the power to do so, none of their special abilities can affect her, and she cannot be tracked. Much like Sophia has no aura, this makes her immune to the effects of the powers of those around her, and she also cannot be tracked. Also, we learn that these Cruor originally fed from the blood of the corrupt, which Edward confesses to Bella he used to do. Which bleeds into the fact that Charles shamefully admitted to Sophia that he used to do this; much like Edward told Bella he was guilty of the same. From here we move on to the fact that Thallia's queen wants to turn Sophia and use her for her abilities. Or for what her abilities could bring for their benefit. Sophia is a rare specimen, much like Bella, and she wants her for their own. And they are going about ways to make this happen, just like Marcus, the main vampire of the Volturi, who is much like their king, only opposite as he looks thousands of years old while the queen in The Forever Girl looks fifteen, tries his hardest to obtain Bella and have her turned so that her powers will peak and he can use them for his own reasons.
We are told that the only way Charles' kind can age is if they are no longer shape shifting. Just like how the shape shifters in Twilight can not age until they also give up their shape shifting abilities. Then we have again a Bella/Sophia parallel. Sophia is in a constant battle to get Charles to give up shifting so he can age and be with her until they die, while Bella is in a constant battle that makes more sense. She wants Edward to turn her so that she will quit aging, and they can be together forever. Each is a constant battle between the couples, and each male has a reason to keep these things from happening. Now, in a scene where we get a glimpse of what Sophia is capable of, we see her powers take on the shape of a dome, if only for a few seconds at a time. This is not explained; it just seemed like it was tossed in. Bella, also has abilities by the last book of her saga. And guess what it takes shape of? A dome! A big freakin' dome.
I'm sure people will pick apart these instances and claim they aren't directly plagiarized from Twilight, and for the sake of argument I'll allow that maybe Hamilton did it subconsciously, accidentally, or that it's a complete coincidence. Okay. The Forever Girl still faces a major dilemma, in that too much of its story directly parallels the most famous book of its genre. Deliberate or not, these similarities render The Forever Girl horribly unoriginal and derivative, and if this book ever hits bestseller status (real bestseller status, not Amazon Top 100 for a day) Hamilton is going to face some very, very angry Twilight fans.
But let's move on to the book's other problems.
I will say that I was very put off before the end of the first chapter. I was mentally exhausted trying to read this story. I quite literally had to make myself keep turning the pages. Normally I wouldn't bother continuing, but due to the controversy surrounding the book, I wanted to push on. Nothing of consequence happened until the sixth chapter, and then again not until about fifty percent of the way through the book.
In the first chapter, we are loaded with what is called info dumping: a big pile of information that should be revealed delicately and naturally throughout the story but is instead slapped in our faces with awkward dialogue instead. This makes me think that Hamilton doesn't believe we have the capacity to figure things out as we go along, or that she just wanted to get it all out into the open without having to figure out the proper circumstances for such conversations to take place. We experience this again in chapters six and seven, complete with unbelievable dialogue, too many names for too many different kinds of characters, and little organization of thought. I blame this on the info dumping. If we had been introduced to the different types of characters as the story went along, not all at once, they would have been easier to remember.
Along with the unbelievable dialogue come unbelievable circumstances. When Sophia see's strange, cloaked figures roaming down her road with glowing eyes and no real shape, it's not a big deal to her. She ponders for a couple of minutes and then goes straight to sleep. Seriously? If that happened to me, I'd be locking my doors, calling people, and looking for a change of pants after peeing myself. But Sophia not only goes to sleep, she doesn't even think about them again until several chapters later. And speaking of crazy circumstances that make no sense, why does Sophia begin to freak out about all of the dead animals in the forest, and the two live ones with glowing green eyes, but when she sees her friend, she dismisses the carnage immediately, says nothing to her friend.
A few more things:
Why did we get a bunch of information about Lauren before we met her, but almost no information about Ivory when we do meet her? It was confusing that we learned more about the character we hadn't met yet. But then here comes Ivory and they are supposed to be best friends. Why was there no information on how her mom came to be a part of the crazy lady's basement church? It is kind of a big deal when the main character's mom turns out to be loony, as she is a big part of her life. Wouldn't there be some back story? I will say, though, that I was enticed by the fact that this crazy mother was keeping Sophia's secret. It kept me wondering why Sophia never told the police what really happened, why Sophia didn't believe she deserved the kindness of the shopkeeper's wife. Though I was confused as to why the shopkeeper's wife wasn't suspicious of her, while the rest of the town was.
To go ahead and get all these strangely made circumstances out of the way, I am going to skip around in the story a little bit. This is going to be a bit of a SPOILER. I want to know why Ivory had to kill the shopkeeper to keep Sophia from going to jail. All Sophia did was steal some food. If she had told the man what she was doing after she was caught, and even then if he decided to press charges she MIGHT have been in jail overnight. But that would most likely not have happened, since she wasn't even eighteen. Also, how did the mom know about the runaway? Sophia tells us that she did not want to take food from her own house because her mother would get angry. But when Sophia shows up with the food for the girl, her mom is already there, giving her food. So how did the mom know, and why would she give the girl the food? When Sophia acted as if her mom would never allow such a thing, this is all very confusing. At first Sophia says her mom is cruel, but later in the book when she is telling the story of the girl in further detail she says that it was her mother's kindness showing through her when she wanted to help the girl. This is very contradicting and jumbled. I don't even feel like my explanation made sense because I am so muddled just thinking about it.
Something else I did not get was how Ivory could be so mad when Sophia finally told her about her problem, and she did not find this strange. They had been friends for years, and when Sophia comes out with this, she does not find it at all strange that instead of maybe being a bit skeptical, she was just downright pissed? And she didn't try to talk things out with her best friend, aside from calling her once. She just shrugged it off because it was more convenient to the story. This seems to be happening a lot.
SPOILER: When Sophia stays with Lauren for an extended time, why is it that they will not go after her here in order to keep from exposing themselves, when they have already done so once, when they came across the address? Not only did they expose themselves, but they successfully wiped her memory with no problem. Why didn't they just do that again, and snatch up Sophia? If Sophia had just moved straight in with Charles it would have made more sense that they wouldn't come after her there. Sort of. But I feel that due to the fact that they had such amazing trackers, they would have been able to find Charles, and capture them both. The trackers make a huge hole in this story.
Another circumstance of Sophia's annoying reluctance to not care about anything in a crazy nonsensical way would be when the woman starts to show up in the yard. This crazy chick shows up, glaring at her through windows, and at one point her face is pressed against the pane and her eyes are gushing blood; yet, Sophia says nothing to her boyfriend who happens to be supernatural and might be able to tell her what is going on. She just goes on about her business like this is no big deal. Like this figure stalking her might just be checking her out. Nothing menacing about that!
SPOILER: Let's take a tiny break from Sophia and talk about Ivory for a second. We witness Ivory's memories over quite a stretch of time; hundreds of years, even. All of this time, she is with a man she calls her sire; he is the man who turned her. Throughout her memories we recall a bit of annoyance towards this man. But he does not seem to boss her around, and when he asks things of her, she brushes him off and goes about her business, and he never seems to care. But all at once she decapitates this man she has been with for hundreds of years! She could have just left him, like she had done once before, but instead she takes the radical route and cuts his head off! And what is even stranger is that she has no emotions about this. No hate, no grief, no guilt, no nothing. This just does not seem logical.
Back to Sophia. There is one point after she drinks Charles' blood that she asks him if the reason she is tapped into his emotions is because she is a forever girl. But this makes no sense as we have already learned that anyone who drinks a vampire's blood has heightened senses and the ability to see memories, and feel what they are feeling. Why was this even added in? Just to reiterate the fact that she is a forever girl? We already know this. Again, we as readers need to be trusted, to understand these things the first time they are stated. Also, what was with the dream she had about the dead sharks on the rocky beach, with the four girls in the forest? I understand that all the girls are her, but this scene looks like it was taken from The Craft. There is never even an explanation for this dream. We just see sharks on a rocky shore, for no reason.
Another issue I have is Red. At one point Sophia thinks about her grandfather having a bird in his house and how she used to like the bird. She says that this is the reason she is drawn to Red. But it clearly states that what drew Sophia to the bird was his broken wing and how she could not stand to leave him there to die. Also, what does not make sense is why he would not leave when his wing heals but for some reason flies off when he's in some strange land months later.
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