The Problem with Forever

The Problem with Forever is a young adult contemporary romance novel by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Published in 2016 by Harlequin Teen, the plot centers around a young girl who must face her own fears and find her voice if she wants to help the boy she loves with his troubled past. The book won the 2017 RITA Award for a Young Adult Romance. Armentrout is a very popular young adult author who regularly features on bestseller lists. She also writes under various pen names for adults and “new” adults.

The heroine is Mallory Dodge. She’s a teenage girl who spent most of her younger years in an abusive foster home. Her parents were aggressive, violent bullies. Mallory learned to stay silent and keep out of their way. She doesn’t know how to speak her mind or voice her opinions. She’s very nervous speaking to new people. As she got older, she earned the nickname “Mouse” because she’s so quiet.

Her foster family also fostered a boy called Rider. He’s the same age as Mallory, but he handled the abuse differently. He fought back so they left Mallory alone and focused their anger on him. He always protected Mallory and read her stories when she got scared and upset. Rider and Mallory are very close friends until they’re separated at around 14.



Mallory now lives with two doctors, who adopted her knowing the problems she had before. They ensure she sees a psychiatrist and works on her speech problems caused by PTSD, and they home-school her for a while. They coddle her, but it’s only because they’re so worried about her future. However, as Mallory gets older, she feels she’s missing out on vital experiences by staying home so much. Her parents, somewhat reluctantly, agree that she can attend high school for senior year.

Once senior year begins, Mallory’s excited to see what the first semester brings. What she doesn’t expect, though, is to find she’s in the same classes as Rider. She doesn’t recognize him at first, but it doesn’t take her long to realize it’s him. She discovers that he’s spent years trying to track her down, and he never realized she was so close the whole time. Mallory’s delighted to see him again, because for years he was her only friend. What’s not so exciting, however, is the fact that Rider has a girlfriend called Paige.

Mallory only has one friend, who lives near her home. She’s very awkward in social situations, and each day at school feels like a minefield. Her parents keep a close eye on her, to make sure she’s coping, and they help her when things get too stressful. Rider, on the other hand, is very sociable and fits in with the popular kids easily. He’s got a reputation for being a troublemaker, and it’s known he dabbles in drugs, gangs and alcohol.



When Mallory tells her parents about Rider being in school with her, they’ve mixed feelings. On one hand, they know she’s happy because Rider meant so much to her, which in turn makes them happy. On the other hand, Rider might trigger memories of her past that she’s not ready to deal with yet, and she could relapse after making such great progress. Mallory understands their concerns, but she’s determined to get close to Rider again. It feels like they’ve never been apart.

However, it’s not as easy to pick up where they left off as Mallory expects. Rider dealt with his PTSD very differently, and he’s deliberately self-destructive. He’s aggressive and easily agitated, and alcohol is an escape for him. He wants to forget what happened, but his foster experience destroyed his sense of self-worth. He thinks he’s unlovable, and that what he wants or needs never matters. Although he has Paige, he’s very insecure and constantly needs reassurance.

Rider helps Mallory find her voice in school, and he introduces her to people. As they grow closer again, they talk about their past and how important it was that they had each other. Mallory wonders if she could have survived without Rider, and he feels the same way. Over the semester, they fall in love with each other. Rider doesn’t know what to do because he’s got Paige, but he thinks he’s supposed to be with Mallory forever.



As Mallory and Rider spend more time together and start a relationship, problems grow. Mallory knows some of his behaviour is problematic, and she encourages him to think about the future. She wants him to have prospects, go on to college like her, and make something of himself. Rider, however, slacks off in school because he doesn’t think he’s good enough for college.

Eventually, Mallory tells Rider she’s dumping him for his own good, until he realizes how valuable he is. She can’t be with someone who’s temperamental and irresponsible. This is the wake-up call Rider needs to realize Mallory loves him, and he needs to stop pushing love away. They reconcile, and it’s an open-ended but happy conclusion.