I was thrilled when I was offered a graduate teaching position at the prestigious Tennerson Girls Academy. At twenty-three, this would be my first ‘real’ teaching assignment. Working at the elite boarding school, home to the daughters of some of the wealthiest people in the world, was a great opportunity that I would’ve been stupid to pass up. One week into my new job, and I suddenly had no idea why I chose high school…I was a seventeen year old boy once, I knew how teenage girls behaved. You can’t even imagine the hell of trying to teach thirty, hormonal driven seventeen year olds who have been cooped up, away from any male contact. I could handle the whispers every time I entered the room. I could even handle the obvious attempts at gaining my attention. What I couldn’t handle was her…
Rich bitches and way too many rules. Was it any wonder that I hated school?
Add to that the lack of male contact, and I was going insane. Like literally. I wasn’t used to this. A year ago I was normal. I had a boyfriend, friends and a loving family. There is nothing normal about me anymore, and nobody here lets me forget that.
My name is Wrenn, and I’m only here because my aunt took me in after what happened, but my aunt also happens to be the headmistress of this academy…Can you see my problem?
I’m hated for my lack of money, and I’m hated for who my Aunt is.
Then he arrived. Dalton Reed. My new history teacher.
Slowly, he helped me see that even in the worst situations, there is always hope.
**ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review**
Even though this is a teacher/student love story, it is not drama/angst filled like most in this genre. Technically, it is a forbidden love because of the dynamics of the relationship, but I didn’t feel that way at all while reading this text. Perhaps I feel this way because there is only a four year age difference, and Wren should actually be a freshman in college. This made it easy for me to see a romance working for them instead of blowing up in their faces.
The heavy scenes in the text do not center around being found out; the focus is rather on the fact that Wren and Dalton are not whole people – one is dealing with the death of her 3 immediate family members while the other is hiding a potential fatal illness from both himself and the people around him. Both are afraid to let someone in. Wren doesn’t want to lose anyone else, and Dalton doesn’t want anyone to have to watch him die if in fact he is sick.
There is an instant connection between Wren and Dalton when he starts his teaching position as her History teacher. Ethically, Dalton knows that it is wrong to feel drawn to a student, but despite his best intentions, he is drawn to Wren; he feels things for her that he has never allowed himself to feel with anyone, and it gets to the point where he doesn’t want to stop his feelings for Wren because she calms and balances him.
“You can’t choose who you fall in love with, all you can do is be damn thankful you’ve found someone who understands you.”
Even though Wren and Dalton are only teacher/student for a few weeks, it is enough to get Dalton in serious trouble if their relationship gets out, which you can probably know going in that relationships like this one are always found out. Despite the predictability of this plot line, how it is handled isn’t scandalous, and I feel it is done this way because the story is not really about their forbidden romance but more so about two young people struggling to survive the hands that life has dealt them and where they find the most comfort is with one another.
“You can’t live life waiting for things to go wrong, because then you’re not really living.”
The ending is marvelously written to depict true life circumstances. Missy Johnson could have chosen to give Wren and Dalton their happily ever after with all things perfect, but she doesn’t. When dealing with death and illness, things do not end perfectly. It is clear in the epilogue that there will be struggles to endure, but both Wren and Dalton are willing to fight for each other despite the hardships because they both know each other is worth the risk.
“Everyone is going to die. That is part of the journey of living. What matters most is living each day you do have like it might be your last.”
Always You is a sweet story with a meaningful lesson about living and dying. I love the fact that it isn’t angst driven; it is less about the taboo relationship and more about what two people in love can help each other overcome.
4 poison apples!
Missy lives in a small town in Central Victoria with her husband, and her confused pets (a dog who think she’s a cat, a cat who thinks he’s a dog…you get the picture).
When she’s not writing, she can usually be found looking for something to read.
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