Stop it. I’m not saying something preposterous here. There are plenty of people that just don’t drink.” Pretend you are casting the film version of Forever, Interrupted. Who would play Elsie and Ben? Susan and Ana? What about Mr. Callahan? This was an emotional ride. Who are we to tell people how to grieve or if they should even be allowed to grieve? That was what I think the central message of this book was. Love cannot be measured by everyone's standards, right? Elsie and Ben weren’t together for a long time, but it didn’t make their love "less" love compared to other people who have been together for a long time. Susan, who also lost her husband, did a great job in making Elsie see this. I'm just trying to tell you that your life will be very long with zigzags you can't imagine. You won't realize just how young you are until you aren't that young anymore.”

i like the novel's structure because i think it matches the mindset of someone coping with the loss of a partner. it's half grief story and half romance, because sometimes when your heart is breaking it feels crucial to recount all the tender moments in your relationship's history. I don’t even realize I am running until I reach the ambulance doors. I start to pound on them. I jump up and down as I try to pound on the window that is too high above me to reach. As I do, all I hear is the sound of the Fruity Pebbles crunching beneath my feet. I grind them into the pavement each time I jump. I break them into a million pieces.

More in Books

Elsie’s husband died after nine days of getting married. Ben never told his mom that he got married, or even told them about Elsie at all. You can imagine how awkward that would have been to meet your mother-in-law at the time of your husband’s death. Susan, her mother-in-law, was also in a tough position meeting her daughter-in-law for the first time in a horrible situation. As she is also grieving she puts a lot of her frustration on Elsie. Will these two women ever learn to understand each other?

Both are seared with grief; Susan is still mourning the death of her own husband several years earlier, and the loss of her only son is almost too much to bear. The two women immediately sour on one another, fighting over what to do with Ben's belongings and how to fulfill his wishes. But as time goes by, Susan and Elsie both realize that despite the terrible accident that brought them together, they are now the only family they have left. Do you ever yearn to read a romance where the relationships are messy and complicated, never of the nice and tidy variety? Do you yearn to FEEL all the emotions, both joyful and painful, which a complex relationship can evoke? That is exactly what you are guaranteed when reading a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel. Exposed are the inevitable curve balls thrown around those rosy corners of life. Exposed are the highest highs, the lowest lows of emotions, and you become consumed by them. Elsie Porter!” the cashier yelled. Apparently, she had been calling it for quite a while, but Ben and I were too distracted to hear much of anything. This author writes very beautifully and her stories give a very honest depiction of what her characters go through. Each of her books are standalones (not related to each other at all). I've read two of them and loved them both, and I have one more left that I'm definitely looking forward to reading as well. I love you, Elsie Porter Ross,” he says, and he bends down to the couch to kiss me. He is wearing a bike helmet and bike gloves. He grins at me. “I really love the sound of that.”Ana (the main character's best friend) was given so much importance throughout the book yet nothing much was mentioned towards the end of the book. As both Elsie and Susan try to navigate their grief and try to find a way forward, they learn to accept they weren’t the only person to love Ben Ross. Forever, Interrupted Book Review: My Opinion As always as is with her books, you get to know the characters like they are real people and you accept them for who they are no matter how flawed they are just like you accept some people as your friends and family just like that. Elsie Porter experiences great loss when her Forever is interrupted just 9 days after marrying Ben, the love of her life. She meets her mother-in-law, Susan, at the hospital for the first time following Ben’s death. Susan’s reception toward Elsie is far from pleasant.

Hi,” he said. It took me a second to confirm he was, in fact, speaking to me. That easily, my interest was piqued. Well, should we go get some? I’m sure CVS is still open and I’m sure they sell Fruity Pebbles. Or, I could go get them for you.” Why is it important to Elsie that she and Ben were legally married? What do you think about Susan’s point of view, that, “It means nothing . . . You think that some ten minutes you spent with Ben in a room defines what you meant to each other? It doesn’t. You define that. What you feel defines that. You loved him. He loved you . . . It doesn’t matter whether it’s labeled a husband or a boyfriend. You lost the person you love. You lost the future you thought you had” (p. 250)? Most of all what was special about this book is the way it makes you think. How would you be treated if the one you loved died suddenly and no one in his life really knew you? Is it real love if it's in such a short amount of time? This journey that Elsie went through was so intense, and I just felt for her every step of the way, the happy moments and the devastating ones. The mother-in-law, Susan, who is also grieving over her son - and the recent loss of her husband of thirty years - wants all rights over Ben’s dead body- cremation included.What?” I yell into his face. I rip my arms out of his grasp and I spin myself around. I try to run through what is clearly a marked-off area. I know that whoever marked this off would want to let me through. They would understand that I just need to find my husband. Forever Interrupted is Taylor Jenkins Reid's debut book, but the 5th book I have read by her. Admittedly, though she is one of my favorite authors of all time, I just didn't vibe with the writing here. But of course, that is a testament of her growth, and I respect that. The officer looks at me. He pulls his hat off his head and places it on his chest. I know what this means. I’ve seen it done on the doorsteps of war widows in period pieces. As if on cue, I start violently heaving. I enjoyed this book, TJR (if I can call you that), but I can see your storytelling has grown by leaps and bounds. In my opinion, everything you wrote after this was absolutely amazing! Sweet, heartfelt, and surprising, Forever Interrupted is a story about a young woman struggling to find her way after losing her husband. These characters made me laugh as well as cry, and I ended up falling in love with them, too." - Sarah Pekkanen author of The Best of Us