Review: Beautiful, Insightful, Real
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 14, 2013
I am truly at a loss with my review. I want to talk about The Next Forever, and how amazingly honest and insightful I found it to be, but I can't make my heart go there.Lisa Burstein is a gift to young women, and the people who love these girls. I wish, so much, that Pretty Amy and The Next Forever had been around when I was younger. How much easier my life might have been if I had been able to hand my mom, dad, or boyfriend (now husband) one of these books and said "You truly want to know me? What's going on inside my head? Here, read this." I find so much of myself in Amy that it is scary. And the way in which Burstein is able to convey the angst, the questions, the doubts that consume Amy's thoughts... it truly blows my mind.The Next Forever is not "Pretty Amy 1.5: Amy and Joe Live Happily Ever After". What it is is a honest, sometimes heartbreaking look at what happens next. The doubts Amy has about her choices, her ability to think and speak for herself. Joe has his own worries. He's a "saver". What will he become to Amy if she no longer needs him to rescue her from herself. For this, I give Burstein major love. So often in books, we want that happy ever after, wrapped up nice and neat. But that's not life, and it's not fair to always portray it as such. Like we all do, Amy and Joe realize that each day is takes work, each day is a gift, and each day is it's own forever.Once again, Lisa Burstein has proved to me that her books are invaluable, must-reads if you were, have ever or will ever love an "Amy". THANKS, Lisa, for giving all of us a voice.