I should start off by saying I didn’t want to read this book. My desire on the “devour this” scale was a very sad zero, and if it wasn’t for my body and brains sudden failure to function I can almost assure you this is not something I would have picked up, however when I found myself bed bound on Monday, and unable to focus on the complicated details of the current horror novel I was reading, I got desperate and asked for help. “Kindle-ites” I tweeted. “I need a girly book that is fast to read and available for Kindle” and within minutes this is the answer I got “Forget You” by Jennifer Echols. I’m not going to say I’ve never seen this book before, as a devout YA reader it’s kinda hard to miss, I just wasn’t wowed by the synopsis. But nevertheless… I followed my readers advice and here we are.
Zoey’s life is perfect, or at least a clone of it. Money is not an option (with a wealthy dad,) and her life is full of the “good stuff” (like having a hoard of friends, and a spot as captain of the swim team.) But perfect doesn’t last long when after an evening out Zoey comes home to find her mother in the worst possible position…barely alive, and completely alone. In an effort to escape the daunting truth of her new (and not so improved) existence Zoey does the only thing she knows, hides behind the plight of teenage angst, unfortunately her running away doesn’t last long as she suddenly finds herself being drug from her crumbled car, and clutching to the one person she has sworn to despise for eternity, and the worse part… no memory of how she got there. Will Zoey’s memory of that fateful night ever return? Will she ever figure out why Doug is suddenly being so nice to her? And at the end of the day… will everyone be too broken to forgive or will things finally be glued back together?
This book surprised me by being a pretty decent read, but unfortunately its flaws (which are found mostly in the first 3-4 chapters) acted like a bad rash that just wouldn’t go away. The beginning of this novel was completely disjointed. So much so that I felt as if I were reading single sentences instead of a fluid plot. The groundwork (or the what & where I guess you could say) was sloppily (<– is that a word) established, and the characters dialogue appeared vapid and flat. Now… (yes, I know you’re wondering why I called it a decent read and then continued to slam it) once I realized I would never enjoy this story if I continued to pick it apart, I did something I don’t normally do… I shut off my brain (which apparently had been working better than I expected) and just read. This is the point in which I realized the story was pretty good, and even though there were 2 characters (Zoey’s Dad & Brandon) I wanted to smack the living crap out of, I discovered I had developed a genuine fondness for the rest of them. Investment, I guess you could say. Yes, there were a few places that seemed a bit trite, but more than anything I found myself completely captivated by the “Oh God… what really happened” factor. I have to give it to Echols though when it comes to character development. I did a complete 360 on my feelings for the hero in this novel, which only goes to show you… a little love, and a lot of artfully crafted actions can change even the most cold-hearted of us.
My recommendation…. read if you are a YA fan, or even a fan of interesting love stories, just make sure you don’t take it too seriously otherwise you are liable to be disappointed.
Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Everything you say to your child is heard, you may not think so from the grunt or nod you get… but trust me, they remember EVERYTHING! Think before you speak.
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[Rating:3/5]
