Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott

Simon Pulse, May 24, 2011

Read for YA Contemps Challenge

Summary from Goodreads:

Abby accepted that she can’t measure up to her beautiful, magnetic sister Tess a long time ago, and knows exactly what she is: Second best. Invisible.

Until the accident.

Now Tess is in a coma, and Abby’s life is on hold. It may have been hard living with Tess, but it's nothing compared to living without her.

She's got a plan to bring Tess back though, involving the gorgeous and mysterious Eli, but then Abby learns something about Tess, something that was always there, but that she’d never seen.

Abby is about to find out that truth isn't always what you think it is, and that life holds more than she ever thought it could...

I just have to say that in case it's not blatantly obvious by now, I have totes respect for Elizabeth Scott as an author. I haven't read everything she's written, but I have read a lot, and hello! She's the author of Living Dead Girl, which is #1 on my MAHROAT, which I'm sure you're all sick to death of hearing about. I love that Elizabeth can write something as dark and dramatic as LDG, mix it up with a romantic title like The Unwritten Rule, and even take a dip in the dystopian waters with Grace, and she does it all expertly and with style and poise.


Between Here and Forever is a wonderful addition to Elizabeth's growing list of titles. Abby spends her life in Tess' shadow, and now that Tess is in a coma, has found that her life has come to a sudden halt. She wants Tess to wake up, of course, but not for the reasons you'd might think. Abby wants Tess to wake up so Abby can be free to live her own life, to graduate from school and get the hell out of her sister's shadow, to make her own name for herself somewhere far away from her podunk little town. But she can't do any of that until Tess wakes up.

Poor Abby! Here's a girl who has spent her entire life feeling second best, and no one has ever tried to tell her otherwise. Of course she thinks that hottie Eli will prefer Tess, even in a coma, to plain old Abby. The brilliance that is Tess has been ingrained in Abby's head so much that she won't, can't even possibly fathom that someone as hot as Eli could ever be attracted to someone as mousy as Abby.

But guess what? Abby slowly learns that Tess was not as perfect as everyone thought. While Tess lies in her hospital bed, Abby begins to assert herself. She demands information about Tess from her parents, Tess' friends and roommates, and begins to realize that there is so much more to Tess than she ever knew.

I felt so very sorry for Abby in this story, but so happy that she had found allies in Claire (Tess' former best friend), Clemente (a elderly volunteer and wealthy donor at the hospital), and Eli; as unlikely as it might seem, this group has what it takes to prove to Abby that she is much more than her sister's shadow.

A powerful story of family, friendship, and romance, Between Here and Forever will appeal to anyone who enjoys realistic fiction.

Another 2011 challenge for myself: to read everything Elizabeth Scott has written.

eGalley received from publisher.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi