Always Isn't Forever

Informationen zum Autor J.C. Cervantes is a New York Times bestselling author of books for children and young adults. Her books have appeared on national lists, including the American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble's Best Young Reader Books, and Amazon's Best Books of the Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New Mexico Book Award and the Zia Book Award. She currently resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family, three spoiled dogs, and a lifetime collection of books, but she keeps part of her heart in Southern California, where she was born and raised. When she isn't writing, she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all corners of the world. Klappentext New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes is back with another sparkling, unforgettable YA romance, perfect for fans of You've Reached Sam . Best friends and soul mates, Hart and Ruby were poised to take on senior year together when Hart tragically drowned in a boating accident. Absolutely shattered, Ruby struggles to move on from the person she knows was her forever love. Waking up in the afterlife, Hart finds himself stuck on Ruby, too. But lucky for him, the angel who's responsible for guiding his spirit made a mistake by allowing him to die too early, so he's offered a second chance. Only it won't be as simple as bringing him back to lifeinstead, Hart's soul is transferred to the body of local bad boy and football star, Jameson Romanelli. When Hart returns to town as Jameson, he realizes that winning Ruby back will be more challenging than he'd imagined, considering she thinks he's her mortal enemy, and whenever he tries to tell her the truth his words are garbled by the rules guiding this cosmic body swap. Even worse, more memories of his life as Hart fade each day he spends as Jameson. If he doesn't act quickly, he'll never be able to tell Ruby the truth. While Ruby is still struggling with grief, she can't deny that something is drawing her to Jameson. As much as she doesn't understand the sudden pull, it can't be ignored, and she begins to see a new side of him, one she's not sure she's ready to accept. And why does he remind her of Hart? Desperate to see if the link she feels is real, Ruby begins to open her heart to Jamesonbut will their love be enough to bridge the distance between them? Leseprobe One Hart ~ Twenty-five hours before the end ~ It's always been Ruby. That's the first line of this "assigned" love letter, and it's all it takes to get the juices flowing and put me in the zone. From the first time I saw her eleven years ago at the local garden center, freeing some ladybugs from their netted prison. There she was, six years old, a mere fifteen feet from me, ripping open the small nets. She had this fierce expression on her face, lips pressed together, dark eyes blazing with determination. And just like that, I was sucked into her orbit. Even at the ripe old age of seven, I knew she was uncommon. I still remember how my heart lurched, screaming at me to go over and help her, to be her partner in crime: Take a risk! But I'm not built that way, never have been. Risks lead to injury and injury leads to pain and pain leads to misery. See the problem? Besides, I was seven and the thought of landing in Dick's Garden jail sounded like the worst kind of misery. So I hung back with my eyes glued to her, like she was some story and I needed to see how it ended. Some of the ladybugs were smart enough to take flight; others crawled over the netting, and the rest? They landed on Ruby's arms and hands. She just stood there, smiling, observing them with this kind of awe that I wished everyone in their life could experience even once. Most people would have fled the scene of the crime, but not Ruby. See, Ruby's a stu...

Auteur

J.C. Cervantes is a New York Times bestselling author of books for children and young adults. Her books have appeared on national lists, including the American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble’s Best Young Reader Books, and Amazon’s Best Books of the Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New Mexico Book Award and the Zia Book Award.

She currently resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family, three spoiled dogs, and a lifetime collection of books, but she keeps part of her heart in Southern California, where she was born and raised. When she isn’t writing, she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all corners of the world.

Échantillon de lecture
One

Hart

~ Twenty-five hours before the end ~

It's always been Ruby.

That's the first line of this "assigned" love letter, and it's all it takes to get the juices flowing and put me in the zone.

From the first time I saw her eleven years ago at the local garden center, freeing some ladybugs from their netted prison. There she was, six years old, a mere fifteen feet from me, ripping open the small nets.

She had this fierce expression on her face, lips pressed together, dark eyes blazing with determination. And just like that, I was sucked into her orbit. Even at the ripe old age of seven, I knew she was uncommon.

I still remember how my heart lurched, screaming at me to go over and help her, to be her partner in crime: Take a risk! But I'm not built that way, never have been. Risks lead to injury and injury leads to pain and pain leads to misery. See the problem? Besides, I was seven and the thought of landing in Dick's Garden jail sounded like the worst kind of misery.

So I hung back with my eyes glued to her, like she was some story and I needed to see how it ended.

Some of the ladybugs were smart enough to take flight; others crawled over the netting, and the rest? They landed on Ruby's arms and hands. She just stood there, smiling, observing them with this kind of awe that I wished everyone in their life could experience even once.

Most people would have fled the scene of the crime, but not Ruby. See, Ruby's a study in daredevilry. She didn't care if she got caught. All that mattered to her was setting those damn ladybugs free.

A wedge of sunlight spilled onto Ruby's golden-brown tangled hair. She looked up. Her eyes met mine. My face burned with the heat of someone doing something wrong. "Are you a good liar?" she asked.

I quickly spun away, knocking a tiny pot of mint off the shelf. I shrugged, feeling lost in my own skin. "Uh, not really."

She marched over with so much purpose, I thought maybe I should run, but she was already standing right in front of me. The ladybugs still clinging to her.

"Well, you have to be," she insisted as she picked up the mint pot and put it back in its place. "If anyone asks, I wasn't here. You don't know me."

"But . . . I don't know you."

Just then her mom called to her. "I gotta go," Ruby said with a smile that showed off a missing front tooth. "Don't forget." She mimed something with her hands that I took to mean, You never saw me.

And then she was gone. And I was left standing
next to some wilting basil, wondering what had just happened. As I walked back to meet my dad near the Mexican palms, I felt a tickle on the back of my hand. I looked down. One of Ruby's ladybugs skittered across my skin. Bright red with four black dots, its wings opening and closing, closing and opening. And then it took flight.

Yeah, so like I said, it's always been Ruby.

Now I look down at the legal pad on my bed, worried as hell that the words won't be good enough. There's tons more slashing I've got to do, but at least it's a start for our time capsule that Ruby insists we make for memory's sake.

The sound of a car engine and an electrical drill fill the space. Me and my dad live above his auto shop, Jorgé's. His specialty is the restoration of classic cars. I used to hate it, the no…