Forever Innocent (Forever #1) by Deanna Roy

I ugly cried.  I ugly cried a LOT reading this.  We are talking full on sobbing, heaving, tissues required ugly crying.  I knew it was coming, I could feel it from page one and going though it was just as hard as I imagined it would be.  Please be aware if you delve into this one, its difficult to read at times, but it is also beautiful.

During their senior year of high school, Corabelle and Gavin were expecting a bouncing baby boy.  When Corabelle's water broke just 32 weeks into her pregnancy their worlds got turned upside down again, and just seven days later, their son died.  Right after his funeral Gavin takes off and Corabelle is left to grieve on her own.  After transferring schools four years later, Corabelle is shocked to run into Gavin in her astronomy class.

My imagination was in full swing as I turned Deanna Roy's descriptions into pictures in my mind.  Everything was so vivid that it made everything very real for me.  I was moved by this book in so many ways.  As a NICU mom to a 31 weeker, I have first hand knowledge about a lot of the feelings Corabelle and Gavin went through in those too short 7 days with their son.  Having a child in the NICU is an experience you cannot fully comprehend unless you've been there.  The way Deanna Roy wrote about it brought me right back to the day Baby Girl was born and the weeks that followed.  And I relived it.  Then I experienced the worst fears I had during that time, through Corabelle and Gavin's eyes.  But this book isn't about that experience.  It's about moving on and finding closure and never forgetting.

"Crossing the line isn't about forgetting the people we love.  It's about not letting our past sorrow steal our future joy." ~ Gavin

Corabelle and Gavin's story doesn't end with Forever Innocent.  The rest of their story will be in book 2, Forever Loved.  I'll for sure be keeping an eye out for more info!
Review by Danielle