Review: The Forevers by Chris Whitaker

The Forevers is a YA novel that centres on human civilisation coming to an end. An asteroid is spotted and is set to destroy the world within 30 days. The novel follows a 17-year-old girl, Mae, who grows up during this societal emergency. I found the overall plot to be simple and easy to follow, but the ideas discussed are very complex and interesting.

As the world is coming to an end, consequences are no longer correlated to actions. I loved this concept, as it leads to a world of possibilities and allows the reader to ponder. This book asks the question: “what would you do if you only had 30 days left to live?” This book lets me imagine what I would do if I was in that situation. Sensitive topics such as bullying, abuse and depression are explored briefly.

One of my favourite aspects of this book was the characters. Each one is slowly built up throughout the book, but I especially found the protagonist to be memorable. Mae is portrayed as a weak character who is an orphan, has an abusive grandmother and a young, blind sister.

Overall, this is a novel that is extremely thought-provoking and emotive. There were many humorous scenes which added a lighthearted tone to the story. I would recommend this book to everyone over the age of 12 due to sensitive topics being mentioned.

T.C. age 15