Book Review- Forever My Lady

Lately we have received a lot of good books from our literature affiliates but recently we received a novel that was an excellent read. Jeff Rivera’s, Forever My Lady is one of the best youthful novels written for the year. Forever My Lady main focus is on young love and what happens when life is not guided properly.

Dio Rodriguez is a seventeen year old that lives in Las Vegas and is a member of a gang that he considers his family. His mother is an abusive drunk and she taking care of his little brother who he fears for; his father is no longer with them. There is one person that he has a lot of love for and that is his childhood sweetheart Jennifer.
Jennifer is the one person that can see through his tough exterior and knows that he is a good person brought up in a bad situation and he needs to do what he can to turn his life around.

Jennifer doesn’t have an easy life either. She is verbally abused by her parents and when she feels that she can’t take it anymore, she becomes a prostitute who works for a pimp named Wiggie who is definitely not the kind of guy you want to be a friend or an enemy. When Dio confronts Wiggie and says that she will no longer be working for him, Wiggie mouths off and Dio decks him pretty good and threatens his life. This is something that Wiggie will never forget.

A tragedy occurs and Dio finds himself in a correctional boot camp and told that he must turn his life around if he ever wants to see the rest of the world again. While away, he meets people who he will become friends with and they will teach him valuable lessons in love and life choices. He meets enemies that will teach him through their wicked ways that life is no worse for one man than it is the other, and that revenge only amounts to karma.

There are so many thoughts that go through the head of Dios that you almost feel like you are in his head. You feel the love that he has for his lady Jennifer; the disdain that he had for his mother; the questions that he has about the other campers, and his strength and determination to get out of the camp but will he make it?

Again, this is one of the best stories thus far for the year 2007 and time is ticking. You can appreciate that the book did not just focus on sex, deceit and backstabbers but it focused on real life problems that affect us all. That’s not to say that backstabbers aren’t real life problems it’s just not the only problems that surround us.

This book is highly recommended for teenagers.

Be sure to check for the interview with Jeff Rivera coming soon. In the meantime get the book and tell me what you think.

iView with Jeff Rivera

You have a very interesting cultural background, can you tell the readers about it?

Sure, my stepfather is Filipino which is why my last name is Rivera. Both my grandmother's were half-American Indian and half-Black American, my cousins are Puerto Rican so I guess that makes our family a big mutt United Nations mix!

What made you decide to write about the issue of teenage gangsta love?

I'm very passionate about telling stories about people that are overlooked and wouldn't get a second chance... one of those groups are those involved in gangs. When I was growing up I always had friends that were involved with gangs in someway, but I never judged them and saw them as human beings first. So in return, they acted like human beings not the gang stereotypes that other people saw them as. Love is universal, I don't know what it is. I guess I'm a hopeless romantic at heart.

Why do you think that this topic was important?

I feel like even though I don't come from that background, I've been chosen in some spiritual way to tell their stories. To let people know that at the heart of things we're all the same.

The idea that most of the conversation between Dio and Jennifer via letters made it a good read, why did you choose this style?

Thanks, well I think is some way it was a subconcious decision because that's how my mom and stepdad met and communicated... through letters. He was in the Philipines and she was in America. She would read us those letters when we were little before she actually met him in person.

When you wrote about Dio, what did you think of him?

Well since Dio is very much a part of me and my little brother I didn't judge him. He was always a human being that happened to be in a gang.

Was Dio based on someone that you know?

Yes, Dio is based on my friend Claudio, myself, my brother and my friend Sergio.

The ending had an interesting twist, do you think it will lead to a book two?

That's my hope-- that the story continues into a trilogy.

What character was your favorite character to write about?

I LOVED writing Louise because she was so salty and down to earth. She's my favorite. The one I had the most fun writing.

What are your plans for 2008?

My plans are to crank out book after book and to continue on my school book tour throughout the year. I'm having a great time speaking to young people and meeting fans. Many of the schools are making the novel required reading.

Will there be other books?

Definitely, besides the sequels I'm working on other stories some urban, some historical but always with an element of love.

Be sure to check out Jeff's website at: www.jeffrivera.com

Agasa Elitou-Interviewer & Reviewer