Review + Giveaway: Forgotten

FORGOTTEN
Cat Patrick
Young Adult
304 pages
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY
London Lane has no memory of any of the days that came before the one she's currently living. Every morning her memory of the previous day is wiped clean, and she is forced to rely on detailed notes and messages she writes to herself each night in order to have a semi-normal existence.

Even more unusual is London's ability to remember the future. She knows what's going to happen to those around her, she knows who will be a part of her life and who won't, and she knows what certain actions in the present will lead to weeks, months, and years down the line.

One person she desperately wants to remember in the future is Luke. Luke, who she meets over and over again each day but whom she can't see as part of her life in the future no matter how hard she looks. While she decides to be happy with him each day despite her worries over their relationship long-term, he helps her learn that the future is fluid, and just maybe she has the power to chart a different course than the one she's already seen.

MY THOUGHTS
Forgotten is one of those stories that progresses quietly–no huge dramatic gestures, tragically epic romances, or intricate mysteries–just the day to day life of a young woman in a extraordinarily unique circumstance. There's something inherently fascinating in such a simple premise however, and the subdued quality to London's tale gives us a great deal of time to think as we let the questions raised by her ability to see forward but not back slither into our subconscious, coiling themselves around our minds until we find ourselves thinking about them more often than not. Even when there are powerful moments and serious revelations, the overall feeling is one of tense tranquility, holding us suspended in a state of curious anticipation as we dare not move a muscle for fear of shattering the peaceful chaos and creating a ripple effect we might never be able to undo.

London is a truly sweet girl with a fairly dry sense of humor that tends to pop up at unexpected moments, eliciting a grin from us as we are humored by her cute awkwardness. She approaches her situation with full acceptance, sparing us the drama of any "why me" musings as she organizes her life into select memories she wishes to take with her each day. Despite her rather trite and cliched reaction to Luke on his first day at school, their relationship is adorable and touching, made all the more interesting by the challenges of her condition. There is one moment of extreme melodrama that forces an eye roll from us, but her young age leeches some of the heat of our irritation as we remember the mature approach doesn't often come easy when dealing with first love (and especially a first love that begins anew each day) when in high school.

The ending of Forgotten is much the same as the rest of the story in it's sedateness, presenting us with some interesting information about London and the memories long gone from her mind, but not shifting the story into a sudden frenzy of enlightenment. Instead, we are left to draw a lot of our own conclusions about what the future holds, acutely aware that London possesses the ability to change her memory of the future, and wondering if and how she might fight to alter what we've already witnessed as a temporary truth. This book is an enjoyable read, but not necessarily one that will be forever ingrained in our minds as some others are. It has a lulling quality to it that is a nice change of pace from all the angst and action so prevalent in other tales, though this same quality prevents it from leaving an indelible mark as well.

Rating: 3.5/5

GIVEAWAY

Thanks to the amazing people at Big Honcho Media and Little, Brown, I have 2 copies of Forgotten to give away today! To enter, please just leave a comment with a valid email address so I can contact you if you win. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run through midnight on Friday, June 24th after which time 2 winners will be chosen and announced on the blog. Good luck everyone!

Forgotten website
Be sure and check out London's video diaries!