Forever & Ever (Allanah Hunt, Text)

Forever & Ever is Barkindji and Malyangapa author Allanah Hunt’s debut novel and a devastating exploration of first love, loss and the perilous work of growing up. Set in the sleepy town of Murder Gully, it follows Talia and Johnny, two teenagers navigating family expectations, racism and heartbreak. Told through dual first-person timelines – Talia’s perspective in the present and Johnny’s beginning a year earlier – the narrative builds suspenseful tension as their stories converge. When 16-year-old Talia falls pregnant, Johnny panics and abandons her. Left virtually alone to face an unimaginable reality and impossible decision, Talia confronts family rejection, devastating loss and her own darkest thoughts, including self-harm and suicidal ideation. For Johnny, a Barkindji teen, racism isn’t intangible; it’s lived and felt as he learns why his parents demand he be the best version of himself. Through accessible prose decorated with pop culture references, including the Marvel universe and Supernatural, Hunt captures teenage life without glossing over its more confronting realities. The anger, uncertainty and raw emotional truth of adolescence emerge through two distinct characters who learn to care for themselves first in order to help others. Readers who loved Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give will appreciate the unflinching examination of cultural identity and racism, while fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars will recognise first love with devastating stakes. Allanah Hunt leaves us with hard-earned hope and a novel to read with your heart in your hand.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Ana Brawls is a librarian, reviewer and emerging writer originally from Brazil. Her work has been published in Australia and abroad. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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