FORGOTTEN by Cat Patrick



Forgotten was one of those books that hooked me on plot (and cover) alone.  The premise seemed so interesting, so unique to YA in particular, that I just had to know if the author could pull it off.

And Cat Patrick did.  She pulled it off and then some in her brilliant debut.

London Lane, 16, remembers forwards.  She doesn't recall anything from the past, unless she writes it down and reads about it in her notes the next day.  Then she meets Luke, a boy who stirs something inside her, a boy who gives her his sweater the first time they meet because she looks cold, a boy she has an instant and undeniable connection with.  A boy she's destined to forget, again and again, but also one she's falling desperately in love with.

I have to say that I really enjoyed it.  It took me only two days to read Forgotten (pretty much a record for me if you don't count the 7^th Harry Potter; I tore through that faster than any book I've read in my life...then read it again b/c it was just that spectacular J), and at the end, I was completely satisfied with how it all turned out.  The mystery aspect was interesting as was London's actual disorder--which definitely drove the book forward--but what I loved best was the romance.

I believed whole-heartedly that London and Luke were in love.  Despite their age, despite her inability to remember him, I bought their relationship and ate it up with a spoon.  There was something tragic yet beautiful about London falling in love with Luke each and every time they met.  Thematically, it showed London's depth of character and the strength of her and Luke's relationship.  I think that kind of maturity and depth is so often absent from YA romance (yes, even/especially the forbidden, love-at-first-sight ones that we're supposed to believe w/out the author actually showing us why these two MCs love each other).  It was great to see Patrick succeed in that area.

Also, I was fully able to suspend my disbelief throughout the book.  With this kind of novel, so dependent on the character's lack of past memory, there was plenty of room for error and plot holes.  But I didn't spot any.  I was never pulled out of the story b/c of some silly mistake, and I could just sit back and relax while Patrick wove her tale with a deftness rarely found in a first-time novelist.

Thank you Franny for recommending such a great book on your blog!  I'm glad you introduced it to me, and I'd encourage everyone who likes YA with a great romance and a little mystery thrown in to give Forgotten a chance.  It's a good one J

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl