Review - Chasing Forever Down by Nikki Godwin

Title: Chasing Forever Down

Author: Nikki Godwin

Release Date: March, 2013

Pages: 273

Goodreads Rating: 4.31 Stars

My Rating: 4/5 Stars

My Content Rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing; Some language)

Summary from Goodreads:  After seventeen-year-old Haley Sullivan meets a mysterious stranger who plays by his own rules, she's more than determined to learn every trick of the trade from the master himself. But her dream-chasing mentor disappears after that night, and according to the local newspapers, he's been dead for years. Knowing he's very much alive, Haley enlists best friend Linzi to join her on a scavenger-hunt-style road trip that ultimately lands them in the surf town of Crescent Cove, California. Mystery guy is no mystery here, though – he's Colby Taylor, the west coast's biggest professional surfer. 

If Haley wants to talk to the wave rider again, she'll have to get past his four intimidating bodyguards who are highly skilled in the business of sending starstruck fangirls back to where they belong. Haley is up for the challenge if it means chasing her dreams and escaping the perfectly corporate future that's been planned for her. But dealing with these bodyguards isn't exactly what Haley imagined it'd be. Sure, being thrown off a jet ski sucks, but falling in love with one of them might just be worse.

After I read American Girl on Saturn, I was pretty much desperate to get my hands on another Nikki Godwin book, so I immediately went on Amazon and bought Chasing Forever Down.  I knew this book was going to have a different feel from AGoS, which was definitely true - it takes itself a lot more seriously and feels more introspective and much less lighthearted.  While I can't say that I loved it quite as much as I loved AGoS, I did really enjoy this one and I'm really glad I read it!

The synopsis explains the book pretty well, so I'll just jump right in to my review.  

The negatives:

• The Forever chasing.  So, this book is all about how Haley meets this mysterious guy who she really connects with and who she believes can somehow teach her how to throw off the chains of her parents' expectations and chase her forever down.  She makes numerous references to this forever chasing and its symbolic meaning (a few too many references in the beginning, in my opinion) and then she decides that the only way to truly succeed at escaping her life is to track this guy down (who she finds out is a legendary surfer).  So, she goes after him.  My problem was that, by the time I was well over halfway into the book and she still hadn't gotten to him, I was starting to worry.  I felt like Haley had fallen for this guy she'd barely met and I was supposed to be too - but he wasn't even really in the book.  His presence was definitely there, overshadowing everything, but he was not.  It wasn't until somewhere past three quarters of the way in that I realized that Godwin was going a different direction with the book (thank goodness!) and it was all redeemed.  In the end, the book wasn't about Colby Taylor and his ability to chase forever at all - it was about Haley's journey of self-discovery and some of the hard truths she had to learn along the way.

What I loved:

• Surfing.  I don't know much about surfing and have never been all that terribly interested in it, but Godwin really captured the joy and the heart of the sport in a way that made me become interested.  Not to mention the interest she sparked in the surfers.  :-)
• The friendships.  In Haley's quest to get close to Colby, she actually finds herself becoming a part of the lives of the people around him - the people who are protecting his secret.  In fact, she finds a family of sorts with this group of surfers and a type of acceptance she's never really felt before.  I loved each and every one of these guys, but I especially loved AJ, who Haley seemed to understand better than anyone, even though she hadn't known him all that long.  Godwin did a fantastic job of creating three-dimensional characters who I couldn't help but love!
• Haley's personal journey.  As I said before, this book is really about Haley's personal journey of self-discovery.  I loved her character arc and how much she grew throughout the book.  It was really this journey that made the book successful - even more than the actual plot in some ways.  Like I mentioned, this book is introspective.
• The suspense.  Godwin also did a great job of building up suspense and creating mysteries surrounding Colby and the people who surround him.  There were quite a few secrets for Haley to untangle, which kept you guessing throughout the book.

This book was a great read!  Even if you're not a fan of surfing, I think you'll find that there's a lot to love about Chasing Forever Down. The second book in this series is coming out at the end of this month and I can't wait to read it!  4/5 stars.

Want some other opinions?  Check out what these other people thought of this book:

Paradise of Pages - 5 Stars
Always Lost in Books - 5 Stars
Oops! I Read a Book Again - 4 Stars
Home of a Book Lover - 3 Stars
Book Briefs - 2 Stars

    

Look for book #2, which is going to be released on April 27th.

About the Author

Nikki Godwin is a YA/NA/LGBT author. She can't live without Mountain Dew, black eyeliner, and music by Hawthorne Heights. When not writing, she internet-stalks her favorite bands and keeps tabs on surf competitions. She adores pro surfer John John Florence and has made it her life goal to meet David Desrosiers of Simple Plan.

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