True Blue Forever

Rating:
Summary: Praise for True Blue Forever
Review: "True Blue Forever" is an excellent read. The characters transport you back in time to your own High School days. The fast moving pace keeps you riveted as you turn each page. Your soul is touched by each one of the four High School characters leaving you rooting for each. The author makes the story of young love poignant and believable while conveying each characters nuance. Joyce Sterling Scarbrough is truly a gifted writer and I can't wait to read her next novel.

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Summary: I could almost open a school locker it was that REAL...
Review: "True Blue Forever" takes the reader into a high school drama and it's so real at times it's as if you can open a locker door...Scarbrough tackles more than football players in this excellent novel about getting through the torturous teen years, and does it without the reader knowing it...until they are done reading and realize they've read a book and didn't actually live it. That's talent... and this author has plenty of it...I look forward to future books by this bright author.

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Summary: A big block in a world full of Hondas - by FordPower351
Review: A friend of mine was telling me about this book they were reading and they mentioned that one of the characters drove a Boss 429. Well since they only made about 1200 of these Mustangs, I immediately became skeptical, thinking that the author was just using these rare, top of the line vehicles like they were store brand cereal. So I read the book convinced that it would reek of stale overused stereotypes in every other story. Well it turned out to be a huge girly love story like I had expected. But what I didn't expect, and don't let anyone know this(especially not the Chevy guys), but I loved it. I read it all in one night, a night that was supposed to yield a rebuilt carburetor. But my Holley carb had to wait for Jeana and Mickey and Billie Joe, and I don't regret it one bit. The story line was excellent and constantly had me wanting to read more of it. My wife must have thought I was under the car with another woman with all the lauging I was doing out in my garage, because she came out to see what was "so freakin hilarious," as she put it. Well she read it the night after I finished and absolutely LOVED it. Although she did keep asking me why there was so much grease on the pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a great story, not just a love story, but a lot more. This was one of the best books I have read in a long time, and I hope there is a second book on the way? I did have one problem with it however, I felt that Mickey was spending way too much time with Jeana and not enough time with his Ford. But I guess Jeana was just that one special girl we all have. And he really didn't need that much time to work on his Mustang anyway, those Fords run forever you know!

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Summary: All-Season Reading Forever
Review: I have just completed a warm, moving, thoroughly enjoyable novel, penned by one talented lady by the name of Joyce Scarbrough. (No need to write her name down... I predict that, over the next couple of years, hers will be the one that will pop into your head whenever you think of 'relationship' novels.) Now, for a brief glance at the power of her novel 'True Blue Forever,' that is the basis of my claim. Anyone can devise a plot. This is why Aunt Bertha, the best friend, and the next door neighbor all approach an author with the story that the author 'just has to write, the story that can't miss!' The fact is, as any author or reader can tell you, a novel is developed to stand on its own or fall in failure based on how real, how authentic, in short, how love-worthy and hate-worthy the characters are. The breadth of the characters in 'True Blue Forever' is why this novel will 'stand' -- will stand for a long, long time. Jeana and Mickie have an enduring quality to their love that you know, from their first embrace, will enable them to climb over and move beyond any obstacle. And the obstacles they face are monumental, and for the reader, compelling. That speaks eloquently for the strength of their love. But, of course that strength is meaningless until tested. Enter the antagonist. I guess the true test of the antagonist, as a character, is how to make him fearful, dangerous, and a worthy opponent to the one (s) you are pulling for without making him so evil that he becomes a caricature to whom the reader can not possibly relate. The author excels with the development of a completely believable Wade Strickland. You grow to hate him, you really do. You want him to suffer for his wrong-doings, to suffer greatly! Then, at about the moment you wish him dead, wiped off the earth, the author, with uncanny timing, gives the story a tweak and you see Wade in a different light. Maybe you'll give him another chance -- if it's not too late... I want to go out on a limb, here, and predict that 'True Blue Forever' will be a summer reading hit. Look around you at the beach or shore. If there's any fairness in the world, I think you'll see it in the hands of sun-worshipers from coast to coast. I'm sure your friends will be reading it. You'll be able to borrow a copy from them. But do yourself a favor and buy your own copy. This is a book you'll also want to cuddle up with in front of your winter fireplace. As long as there's love left in this world there should always be room on your books-to-be-Re-read bookshelf for 'True Blue Forever.'

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Summary: This Book is a Must Read!!!
Review: If you enjoy quality fiction, then True Blue Forever is for you. This novel has believable characters that become so real, you want to reach in the story and hug them! This story of adolescent love is so compelling, it will make you laugh and cry, and will definitely help you remember your first true love. True Blue Forever is a must read. Bravo, Ms. Scarbrough!

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable
Review: Joyce Scarbrough knows all the emotional buttons to push. Reading her fast-moving tale of four teens working their ways through those difficult years, I laughed and wept. I pulled for the protagonists and railed at the villains. And I was thoroughly entertained. It even has a happy ending.

Of course, the characters are too good to be true. As a father of four who went through their teens at precisely the same time, I found myself comparing Jeanna and Mickey to Skip, Wendy, Jeff and Marty, all of whom are now productive and responsible adults in their 40's. But back then their language was vile, they all experimented with drugs and took GED tests to get out of high school early, and protested for or against whatever the cause celebre of the day was.

So True Blue Forever is fiction, which is precisely what the author claims it to be. Jeanna and Mickey are more virtuous than real life; Billy Joe funnier; Wade meaner, although through an interesting twist he undergoes a transformation before the story ends.

Read True Blue Forever for pleasure. I would rate it suitable for anybody over the age of 12, considering the times we live in.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly Enjoyable
Review: Joyce Scarbrough knows all the emotional buttons to push. Reading her fast-moving tale of four teens working their ways through those difficult years, I laughed and wept. I pulled for the protagonists and railed at the villains. And I was thoroughly entertained. It even has a happy ending.

Of course, the characters are too good to be true. As a father of four who went through their teens at precisely the same time, I found myself comparing Jeanna and Mickey to Skip, Wendy, Jeff and Marty, all of whom are now productive and responsible adults in their 40's. But back then their language was vile, they all experimented with drugs and took GED tests to get out of high school early, and protested for or against whatever the cause celebre of the day was.

So True Blue Forever is fiction, which is precisely what the author claims it to be. Jeanna and Mickey are more virtuous than real life; Billy Joe funnier; Wade meaner, although through an interesting twist he undergoes a transformation before the story ends.

Read True Blue Forever for pleasure. I would rate it suitable for anybody over the age of 12, considering the times we live in.

(...)

Rating:
Summary: An Enchanting Story
Review: Joyce Sterling-Scarbrough has given us a trip back to the bitter-sweet times of reaching out for maturity, the agony and ecstacy of the teen-years.
Her characters are solid and the plot is alluring.
A really entertaining story to read. Be sure you read it!

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Summary: More than a great novel!
Review: Tired of bills, traffic, telemarketers, and--my biggest pet peeve--those dad-blasted blister packs that require The Jaws of Life for opening and always end up sticking me under a fingernail? Well, forget about it all for a few hours and read True Blue Forever. You'll find yourself in a world of first loves and first kisses, surrounded by blue-eyed hunks, super-cool muscle cars, moonlit nights on Gulf Coast beaches, and so much 70's music and culture it'll have you sporting a 'fro and searching for that Heatwave 8-track so you can listen to "Always and Forever" while you read.

Whether you're in high school now or it's a distant memory, and regardless of whether you loved it or hated it, you'll love meeting Jeana, Mickey, Wade, and Billy Joe: four atypical teens who will each win your heart in their own way. They deal with plenty of teenage angst, just none of the banalities featured in so many books--like the dreaded zit on picture day and having two dates for the prom. These are teens who make mistakes and are subject to raging hormones like everyone else, but they're smart enough to look at the big picture and take responsibility for the choices they make. You'll laugh and cry with them, seethe and long to soothe them, and when you get to the end of the book, you'll want to go back and read it again so you can visit with them a little longer.

True Blue Forever is more than just a novel: It's an introduction for readers to four new lifelong friends.

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Summary: A wonderful summer read!
Review: True Blue Forever is the tale of Jeana and the three men who loved her. Billy Joe the fun loving prankster, Wade the man we each have probably loved for looking so perfect, and Mickey the one beautiful inside and out. A beautifully woven story that will capture your heart, mind, and soul and even have you laughing out loud! The plot is thick with true to life characters that I found myself cheering for. I laughed at times, cried at others, and ultimately cheered throughout the entire book, it will effect you that deeply! The characters are truly unforgettable and written with such intensity that you will feel like you've meet them and in fact they will feel like your very best friends. True Blue Forever is a must read for anyone who carries love in their heart. This novel is a winner from beginning to end and won't let you down with its happy yet surprisingly original ending that will leave you with a warm feeling in your heart and a smile that will make you unable to put it down! Joyce Scarbrough is sure to go far with her endlessly romantic story of true love and one that is True Blue Forever.