What do you think?
Rate this book
Forever & Ever
Talia is sixteen, pregnant and angry. Her family is broken. She’s looking after her unwell mother. Her dad’s gone. At school she is shunned. And Johnny—the one person she thought she could count on—just walked away.
Johnny is Barkindji, smart and confused. He’s struggling with the weight of his parents’ he wants to please them, but is the future they’ve planned for him the one he really wants? He makes a decision he knows he’ll leaving Talia behind.
But some love—no matter how impossible—never lets go.
Forever & Ever is a gritty, heart-wrenching love story set in a Murray–Darling river town simmering with deep-seated prejudice and long-buried secrets.
‘a heartfelt exploration of love, loss and relationships… I would strongly recommend this book to kids 14+’ Eadie, bookseller, 16 years old
Johnny is Barkindji, smart and confused. He’s struggling with the weight of his parents’ he wants to please them, but is the future they’ve planned for him the one he really wants? He makes a decision he knows he’ll leaving Talia behind.
But some love—no matter how impossible—never lets go.
Forever & Ever is a gritty, heart-wrenching love story set in a Murray–Darling river town simmering with deep-seated prejudice and long-buried secrets.
‘a heartfelt exploration of love, loss and relationships… I would strongly recommend this book to kids 14+’ Eadie, bookseller, 16 years old
- GenresYoung AdultFamilyRomance
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 3, 2026
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Read
December 14, 2025ARC
June 17, 2026
This one is a heartbreaking read and beautifully penned by debut author Allanah Hunt.
Two time lines, two points of view, two lives changed in an instant.
The YA plot, set in a little Murray-Darling river town in SA, is cleverly woven between the two main characters Talia and Johnny telling the story of the same moment that changes everything for them and what comes both before and after.
These two characters have tough, gritty, human lives. Their families are not perfect. The world is not perfect. It is messy and ugly and full of truth and hate and love and heartbreak. It's a tough look into the breaking mental health of young people going through the loss of their dreams and the weight of family expectations. It also tells the tale of learning how to deal with the very adult issues of pregnancy, loss of dreams, racism, absentee family, and mental health issues in parents who end up needing to be the one looked after by the child in the parent/child relationship. There is so much good here too. Unexpected friends who stick by you, unknown family secrets coming to light that explain much of the past, and an honestly amazing grandma whose cameo is delightful.
An in-your-face truth story highlighting the everyday racism that many try not to see, the fears connected with youth pregnancy, what it is that holds a family together or rips it apart. It is also a comment on the ugliness of everyday people and what a heavy weight parental expectations can be on their children.
Describing the book as Romeo and Juliet themed is spot on. Prepare to be destroyed by this one. I cried.
Two time lines, two points of view, two lives changed in an instant.
The YA plot, set in a little Murray-Darling river town in SA, is cleverly woven between the two main characters Talia and Johnny telling the story of the same moment that changes everything for them and what comes both before and after.
These two characters have tough, gritty, human lives. Their families are not perfect. The world is not perfect. It is messy and ugly and full of truth and hate and love and heartbreak. It's a tough look into the breaking mental health of young people going through the loss of their dreams and the weight of family expectations. It also tells the tale of learning how to deal with the very adult issues of pregnancy, loss of dreams, racism, absentee family, and mental health issues in parents who end up needing to be the one looked after by the child in the parent/child relationship. There is so much good here too. Unexpected friends who stick by you, unknown family secrets coming to light that explain much of the past, and an honestly amazing grandma whose cameo is delightful.
An in-your-face truth story highlighting the everyday racism that many try not to see, the fears connected with youth pregnancy, what it is that holds a family together or rips it apart. It is also a comment on the ugliness of everyday people and what a heavy weight parental expectations can be on their children.
Describing the book as Romeo and Juliet themed is spot on. Prepare to be destroyed by this one. I cried.
June 23, 2026
"No escape ever turned out to be one, because I could never leave my thoughts behind."
Talia and Johnny's lives are filled with trauma and hardship, in between their friendship and love and the people around them who were there for them.
When they got pregnant it was as fast as it was slow. The demarcation between the weeks of the pregnancy and the months of their relationship were cleverly intertwined. Reading the past and present concurrently and the surprises I really should have seen coming. I read the ebook with a table of contents, and I was able to check back when I got confused. I might have felt differently with the paper copy without a table of contents.
"For the first time, I wanted something in my life."
I love the term "the Quickening." This book showed me why I love those words for a baby's first movement. Growing a baby can be a slow process, especially if you're 16 years old. Feeling a baby move for the first time might be traumatic, if you're wondering whether to keep the pregnancy, keep the baby, keep the baby's father, lose the life 16 year old you expected. All while surviving racism, bullying, problematic parenting, uncaring adults, and teenage insecurity.
"I'd be the angry one. The violent one.
The black one."
The racism was horrific - from microaggressions to hate crimes. I should have seen how bad it would be. (I wasn't tuned to the right frequency.) Talia's Dad's worldview is particularly insidious. The moment he said "Is it Johnny's?" is one of the most powerful lines in the book.
"But let me go back to the beginning.
Or the end.
Sometimes, they are one and the same."
The juxtaposition between the bad and good parenting of the first and second generation in both families, with the future parenting (or not if they gave up the baby) of Talia and Johnny was poignant.
"There's a time when you need to be taken care of as well."
And whipped cream can definitely replace a meal.
March 31, 2026
A YA story set in South Australia. The teenager love between Talia and Johnny. Talia from a dysfunctional family (divorced parents) mum had an abortion and drinks a lot, dad not reliable. Johnny of aboriginal decent so his dad puts pressure on his to succeed and not be defined by his race. There is an uncle who is also half aboriginal but he has since died, but he had been ostracised from the family.
Talia is pregnant with Johnny baby, so it brings up so many discussions about teenager pregnancy, judgement and racism across different families. Quite complex themes discussed. Depression, suicide, murder. Definitely Year 9 and above. It was ok
Talia is pregnant with Johnny baby, so it brings up so many discussions about teenager pregnancy, judgement and racism across different families. Quite complex themes discussed. Depression, suicide, murder. Definitely Year 9 and above. It was ok
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2026
With thanks to ‘Good Reading Magazine’ (Australia) for the ARC and the opportunity to review.
This debut, Australian coming-of-age love story is packed with emotion, confronts many conversation-starter topics, but ultimately leaves its main characters, and its readers, with a hopeful conclusion.
Living in Murder Gully, a small Murray-Darling river town, are Talia and Johnny. These 16 and 17 year-old high school students narrate short, alternating first-person POV chapters, which occur across two timelines. Johnny’s begins in January 2024, when he first interacts with Talia; and Talia’s story starts in March 2025, 6-weeks pregnant and newly single after Johnny has left her. The first and final two chapters set in February 2026, cleverly draw the two swiftly-paced narratives together.
As their friendship grows and romantic relationship blooms, the challenges they face, be they family-based or within the broader societal context, are explicitly shown. Both stories are introspection-filled with authentic contemporary language, the lens trained not only on themselves, but often more broadly as well. This is especially so of Johnny and his lived experience of being Barkindji (First Nations). Through him, Talia’s eyes are opened to the very real racist pressures that Blak people endure. Long held prejudices that the townfolk display, and secrets that are uncovered, reinforce double-standards and lies.
Interwoven are many mature issues and themes: grief, depression, violence and alcoholism. The weight of family expectations, inter-racial dating, teen pregnancy, abortion, Postpartum Depression, self-harm and suicide-ideation. Though I was sometimes frustrated with the decisions and rationalising that Talia and Johnny made along the way, I had to remind myself that they are still only teens. Learning to grow up fast and deal with the world the hard way. Thankfully, support from their friends will help navigate their paths.
Original review found here: https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/op...
This debut, Australian coming-of-age love story is packed with emotion, confronts many conversation-starter topics, but ultimately leaves its main characters, and its readers, with a hopeful conclusion.
Living in Murder Gully, a small Murray-Darling river town, are Talia and Johnny. These 16 and 17 year-old high school students narrate short, alternating first-person POV chapters, which occur across two timelines. Johnny’s begins in January 2024, when he first interacts with Talia; and Talia’s story starts in March 2025, 6-weeks pregnant and newly single after Johnny has left her. The first and final two chapters set in February 2026, cleverly draw the two swiftly-paced narratives together.
As their friendship grows and romantic relationship blooms, the challenges they face, be they family-based or within the broader societal context, are explicitly shown. Both stories are introspection-filled with authentic contemporary language, the lens trained not only on themselves, but often more broadly as well. This is especially so of Johnny and his lived experience of being Barkindji (First Nations). Through him, Talia’s eyes are opened to the very real racist pressures that Blak people endure. Long held prejudices that the townfolk display, and secrets that are uncovered, reinforce double-standards and lies.
Interwoven are many mature issues and themes: grief, depression, violence and alcoholism. The weight of family expectations, inter-racial dating, teen pregnancy, abortion, Postpartum Depression, self-harm and suicide-ideation. Though I was sometimes frustrated with the decisions and rationalising that Talia and Johnny made along the way, I had to remind myself that they are still only teens. Learning to grow up fast and deal with the world the hard way. Thankfully, support from their friends will help navigate their paths.
Original review found here: https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/op...
Read
April 10, 2026The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of Forever & Ever
‘An evocative and gutsy new voice.’
Tara June Winch
‘A heartfelt exploration of love, loss and relationships… I would strongly recommend this book to kids 14+.’
Eadie, bookseller, 16 years old
‘A devastating exploration of first love, loss and the perilous work of growing up…. Readers who loved Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give will appreciate the unflinching examination of cultural identity and racism, while fans of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars will recognise first love with devastating stakes.’
Books+Publishing
‘An evocative and gutsy new voice.’
Tara June Winch
‘A heartfelt exploration of love, loss and relationships… I would strongly recommend this book to kids 14+.’
Eadie, bookseller, 16 years old
‘A devastating exploration of first love, loss and the perilous work of growing up…. Readers who loved Angie Thomas's The Hate U Give will appreciate the unflinching examination of cultural identity and racism, while fans of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars will recognise first love with devastating stakes.’
Books+Publishing
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews