Customer Reviews

Forever Changes

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Brianna Pelletier was born with a death sentence. Her DNA gave her Cystic Fibrosis. The only unknown for Brianna is how long she will have.

It's Brianna's senior year and while her friends are planning for college, Brianna's plans are far simpler: live to see graduation. She never intended to go to college. She never believed she'd survive this long. But things are going pretty good. She's managed to avoid any serious infections and remain out of the hospital. She fears that if she needs to return to the hospital, she'll never leave. Well, she'd never leave alive.

So as senior year progress, she gains insight into what it means to really live, by an unlikely source - her ailing math teacher. Her alphabetically placed study buddy, Adam, hears a rumor that Mr. Eccles was in a band, Love, in the past. Downloading the music, Adam shares the bizarre album, Forever Changes, with Brianna. The music reaches a part of her that she could never put into words. After hearing the music, and then encountering Mr. Eccles one evening on a deserted beach, the two form an understanding with each other.

Through Brianna's dad's gentle love, the nerdy pressure from Adam, and the desire to live courtesy of Mr. Eccles, Brianna takes living to the next step - she attends an information session at MIT and takes the scariest step of her life, sending in her application. This action could bring hope or despair. On one level, she fears that by sending it in, she is hexing herself that she will never live to see her admission to MIT. But on another level, she doesn't want to die and wants some ray of hope, something to live for.

In Brianna, Mr. Halpin shares with readers both a wish to live and a desire to not die, which really are not one and the same. Brianna does her best with the hand she's been dealt. More than anything, she dreams of being like everyone else without a care in the world, but she has greater obstacles to overcome. She does so bravely and without blame. She's an inspiring character to curl up and share a few hours with.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

The best word I can find to describe Forever Changes is bittersweet. It was both sad and funny and was also very thought-provoking, making me put things in perspective. Which, might I add, is something I've really been needing to do lately.

One thing I loved about Forever Changes was how all the characters seemed to play equally important roles in Brianna's life, from her friends to her dad to her math teacher. It was almost like there were no minor characters and I really liked this about the book. The relationship between Brianna and her math teacher Mr. Eccles was an original and interesting aspect as well. Brianna's friends all carried their own unique and funny personalities, especially Adam, whom I loved. Someone who really stood out to me though was Brianna's dad who, despite his tough guy exterior, was a real sweetie who loved his daughter more than anything. And of course, I really liked Brianna's character. She was so smart and likable, plus her love of math made her really stand out against other YA characters.

It took me a little bit to get into this book but once I did, I really enjoyed it. There are plenty of books out there about teens suffering from illnesses like cancer, so it was refreshing to read about a girl with Cystic Fibrosis. Mom and I know a woman who has CF, she is one of the lucky and rare cases as she is in her fifties now. Also, the mathematical aspect to this story, though math is not my favorite subject, was intriguing and really made this story unique. I only wish Forever Changes could have been longer.

The writing was really good and I can say Forever Changes is one of those few books where I'm actually GLAD it was written in third person. To say why would spoil the book a bit which is also why I'm not going to tell you why I liked the ending, which I did.

So I confess, what really drew me to this book was the fact that the MC and I have the same name. How shameful, right? Yeah I know. Well anyway, though I figured I'd at least like this book, I didn't really have any major expectations for it. In the end, I really liked it as it was not only original but also a great combination of engaging, funny, serious, thoughtful, and sad. Since the main character, Brianna, is 18-19yrs old in this book, I can easily see both teens and adults enjoying this lovely, touching novel. I'll definitely be re-reading it and I highly recommend it.

Like Brianna, I live with Cystic Fibrosis. Fortunately, I have a lesser case than her and am as healthy as any kid my age. I was able to relate to her thinking and I was happy that somebody finally wrote a story about a brave girl with CF. This book touched my heart and I would reccomend it to anyone.

This book was beautifully written with a great message. It tore at my emotions and made me want to read it all in one sitting. I recommend this book!

This is a great, easy read that addresses illness with candor, compassion and humor--all from a teen's perspective. The characters are unforgettable. Halpin does a great job crafting his characters from pieces of people we've all known in our lives. 5 stars--mos def!

This is a story of a young girls fight to live and live she does until the very end. I recommend this very touching book to young people fighting emotional and physical and healthy issues.