Always Forever Maybe - Paperback

by Anica Mrose Rissi (Author)

A powerful YA debut, told with astonishing insight and wit, about the depths and boundaries of true friendship and obsessive teenage love--perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen, E. Lockhart, and Sara Zarr.

When Betts meets Aiden at the candy store where she works, their connection is like a sugar rush to the heart. Betts already knows the two of them are infinite. Inevitable. Destined to become an us.

Betts has only ever kept one secret from her best friend, Jo, but suddenly there's a long list of things she won't tell her, things Jo wouldn't understand. Because Jo doesn't see how good Aiden is for Betts. She finds him needy. Possessive. Controlling.

She's wrong. With a love like this, nothing else matters.

• First Love: It starts with a sugar-rush connection in a candy store. For Betts, falling for Aiden feels inevitable, infinite, and perfect... at first.
• Possessive Boyfriend: But her best friend Jo sees the red flags. The constant check-ins, the jealousy, the way Aiden needs to be the center of Betts's world. Is this love, or is it control?
• Emotional Abuse: As Betts drifts from everyone else in her life, she sinks deeper into a romance where love and control become dangerously blurred, and every argument leaves her feeling like she's the one to blame.
• Coming of Age: A powerful and unflinching look at gaslighting, manipulation, and the strength it takes to find your voice again, even after you think it's lost.