A Forever Kind of Thing by Carrie Thomas and Melinda Harris – Review by Tara Johnson Barnes

A Forever Kind of Thing by Carrie Thomas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A Forever Kind of Thing is a young adult contemporary romance that centers around the character of a teen girl named Mina. Mina is used to being bullied and teased because she has grown up poor and wears secondhand clothing. Her classmates are cruel, mock her, call her names, and spread rumors about her mom. When a new boy enters Mina’s fifth grade classroom, she cannot help but notice how cute he is and the confidence he exudes. Mina expects him to avoid her like all the other students and sit beside one of what would be considered a ‘cool kid’. Instead, the new student sits beside Mina and starts to talk to her. Mina tries to warn him that if he talks to her that he will be mocked and explains to him how the other kids bully and tease her. Rather than running scared the new student introduces himself as Wes, and Mina learns that they have a lot in common. Mina and Wes become fast friends and for the next two years the pair are practically joined at the hip. Then Wes suddenly vanishes, and Mina is left with a lot of questions and a broken heart.

Fast forward five years and Mina’s life has taken a drastic turn after her mom has married a wealthy man. Suddenly Mina has the life she thought she could only dream of. She is attending a prestigious school, wearing designer clothing, and is the most popular girl in school. When Wes suddenly reappears and pops back into Mina’s life, she is worried that he will reveal her secrets and ruin her new life. Wes has not had an easy life over the last five years as he has remained poor and in the foster system. Old feelings resurface and Mina is conflicted between her new life of popularity and the love of someone who truly knows her and loves her regardless of her background. The push and pull between Mina and Wes takes the two down a rocky road as they try to navigate their dark pasts and their feelings for one another. Can Wes and Mina ever truly have a life together?

I loved the writing style of these authors and found the storyline compelling. The characters were ones that I was immediately drawn to and found myself relating to. Mina was smart, strong, feisty, and determined to have a better life than what she had. She was tired of being bullied and teased for being poor and wearing secondhand clothing. Her classmates were cruel, and she struggled to feel worthy of anyone. Mina wanted more out of life and dreamed of leaving her small town. When she met Wes, she found someone who saw her for who she was and genuinely cared for her. He did not care about where she came from or that she wore secondhand clothing. Wes was also someone who grew up poor and had a less than desirable life growing up within the foster system. When Mina and Wes became friends, it changed both of their lives. They found friendship, love, hope, strength, courage, and allies in one another. That all came with a price though when their friendship seemingly dissolved into thin air. Love and hope turned to grief, loss, and heartache. When Mina and Wes were reunited after years apart the feelings were still there but the two had led very different lives and taken very different paths. The ensuing journey was one full of angst, drama, betrayal, hurt, anger, and second chances. I highly recommend this book!

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