By Mariama J. Lockington, Farrar, Straus and Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2023
Mariama J. Lockington is an adoptee, author, and educator. Lockington’s middle grade debut, For Black Girls Like Me, earned five starred reviews and was a Today Show Best Kids’ Book of the Year. Her sophomore middle grade novel, In the Key of Us, is a Stonewall Honor Book and was featured in the New York Times. Her young adult debut, Forever Is Now, won the Schneider Family Book Award. Mariama calls many places home but currently lives in Kentucky with her wife, her sausage dog Walter, and an abundance of plants.
Forever Is Now, Lockington’s YA debut, is a novel-in-verse that takes place over the course of one summer in Oakland, California. Protagonist Sadie is 17, a poet, a boxer, and loves her city as much as she loves her family and friends. Though Sadie has anxiety, she has learned how to navigate it and is excited for the summer to begin. Then, one hot summer day, her world is turned upside down.
A beautiful day at the park with her girlfriend suddenly falls apart, after which everything gets worse. Already reeling, the two girls experience the traumatic event of witnessing a young Black woman being subjected to violence at the hands of the police. These events catapult Sadie’s anxiety into a form that is new to her, agoraphobia.
Sadie only feels safe at home, and the days begin to blur into one another as she remains within the four walls of her house, unable to venture outside without suffering a panic attack. Luckily, Sadie has the support of her family and her best friend, Evan, who comes to visit her regularly and brings her news of the outside world.
It is clear to Sadie that the outside world is not a safe place for her and for people who look like her. Though this is not a new revelation, the day in the park underscores the reality of being Black in America, where a day at the park can quickly go from pleasant to dangerous in the blink of an eye.
Though navigating the world is difficult, and Sadie’s anxiety magnifies many of her concerns into insurmountable obstacles, things begin to look up when Sadie meets a new neighbor and starts sharing her mental health experiences online.
With the help of her therapist and her parents, Sadie begins the journey of rediscovering how to manage her anxiety and to also find joy, discovering along the way that a key to feeling more free is to use her unique talents to speak out against injustice.
What works: Lockington excels in portraying characters that are strong and vulnerable, acknowledging the hardships of life while also celebrating and amplifying the joys that exist alongside the struggle. In sharing her struggles with her support system and endeavoring to create community beyond her immediate sphere, Sadie lets the reader know that it is okay to not be okay, to ask for help, and to keep trying.
What doesn’t work: Though the novel-in-verse format works here, the book would have been just as strong, or perhaps stronger, if it had been written free of the structure. The style works best when it is employed to share Sadie’s poetry and the incessant thoughts that arise when she experiences a panic attack, but not as well when there is interpersonal dialogue. The ending also felt a bit rushed.
Pass It OR Grab It? Grab it! Lockington is an exemplar at exploring mental health, queer love, and Black joy with humanity and heart. The book is best for high school and public libraries, and is recommended for fans of The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and We Weren’t Looking to Be Found by Stephanie Kuehn. Though Lockington’s second book, In the Key of Us, is a middle school novel, fans of Forever Is Now will appreciate its similar themes and heartwarming story.
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