(DNF) REVIEW | Why Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer Did Not Work For Me

Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer
June 2, 2015
HarperTeen
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* E-ARC courtesy of Edelweiss + HarperCollins

Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.

After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.

Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.

Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.

Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.

[note note_color=”#BFD1D1″ text_color=”#ffffff”]I received this book for free from Edelweiss + HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.[/note]

First sentence: “Just do it. Now, now, now, Zoe thinks as she blows loose strands of her blond hair off her sweaty forehead.”

DNF-ed at 25%

Proof of Forever is pretty unremarkable, and that’s very disappointing.

Four girls—Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe—used to be the best of friends, but in their final summer at Camp Okahatchee, something happens, forcing them apart. A couple of years later, the girls meet up again and are somehow transported back in time to the summer that changed everything via a photo booth. This is like their re-do of their actions when they were fifteen. Will they make it back to the present?

I wanted the friendships—that’s why I requested this book—and well, what I read in this book was not what I wanted at all. I expected the emotions to seep into my veins, to actually feel the loss and the regret that these girls may be feeling, but I got none of that. I don’t even want to talk about what type of people these girls are because I don’t care about them. I didn’t get a sense of their complexity as characters; they just felt one-dimensional. I couldn’t get into the writing because it was too simplistic and “told” a whole bunch.

I don’t know where my brain was because I did not remember that Proof of Forever had time travel (nor did it sound familiar). I missed the memo because when the time travel aspect was sprung on me, I felt disoriented—as if I was the one who was sent back in time, not exactly sure where the hell I was (I really didn’t know what was going on for ten minutes). It was quite alarming; I wasn’t a fan, especially since I didn’t quite believe these characters’ reactions when they were transported back in time. I was expecting them to be as disoriented as I was, but they weren’t. (Also, I’ve been told that the time travel is just a plot device—that these girls don’t give a thought to the repercussions for messing with the past—and I sighed so loud.)

Charlotte told me that the friendships are overshadowed by the romance? Umm, no thanks. I wanted friendship, not romance. You’re better off reading a different book if you want friendship or time travel because Proof of Forever doesn’t do either well at all.