Book Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

SUMMARY:

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon.

But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.


OPINION: 5 STARS

Emotional and expressive, Forget You is another intricately weaved romance from Jennifer Echols. Starting with a simple premise, Echols builds an engaging story that will pull readers through a range of feelings. Although the question of what happened in the time frame Zoey cannot remember is carried throughout the book, Echols adds other elements to keep both mystery and enjoyment high.

Zoey is a mildly annoying character, the girl who sleeps with a guy and though he’s a playboy, she is sure things are different now. Despite this aspect, Zoey is still a strong, well developed character who holds a perfect blend of maturity and naivety. Her interactions with her dad are heartbreaking and infuriating and much of her actions- including the ones to dub her as annoying- are understandable. She is not a shallow person nor does she lack morals- despite her actions with Brandon. As she continues to investigate the events leading up to the car crash, Zoey encounters both entertaining and surprising events. Echols has done a fantastic job writing an amnesiac character, allowing things to slowly settle back into character and compounding it further by Zoey’s determination to keep the full extent of her amnesia a secret.

Doug, despite his past, his temper and the intrusiveness with which he suddenly asserts himself into Zoey’s life, is an adorable, heartfelt guy. The reader will experience a range of emotions towards this boy, some in response to Zoey and others in response to Echols’ beautiful writing and innate ability to profoundly develop her characters. The descriptions used to describe both Doug and many scenes he’s in is striking, painting a picture any reader can imagine vividly.

Echols makes nothing simple for either character, their battles firing instantly and often cooling just as rapidly. The push and tug of his relationship with Zoey is the epitome is teenage romance, with Zoey not falling instantaneously for the bad boy character but also not turning her nose up at him. Their story is a memorable one with the reader wondering the entire time if they really will end up together.

The pace of the plot moves steadily, considering the premise. Watching Doug and Zoey grow is a large part of this book but Echols leaves little time for boredom despite the magnificent character development- development which does take time. Echols shies away from nothing, including an arrange of teenage hormones, lust and emotion throughout the book in various ways but still writing in a way that will appeal to a wide range of audience ages.

Certainly a book to be read again and placed at the top of the favorites shelf, Forget You is a breathtaking ride into the world of teenage love and a perfect summer romance. Typical to a hallmark I associate with Jennifer Echols, Forget You holds very strong, memorable, and flawed characters along with an elaborate plot and several twists to keep the reader engaged. Complacency is not a part of Echols’ books, rendering Forget You, along with her first romantic drama Going Too Far, must reads.

Details:
Source: ARC received from author free of charge for review
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: MTV; Original edition (July 20, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439178232
ISBN-13: 978-1439178232

Author's Website