Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Forget Me Not
Author: Alyson Derrick
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 5/5
Diversity: Korean American lesbian MC, Lesbian character, Sapphic romance
Recommended For…: young adult readers, contemporary, romance, LGBT, Sapphic romance
Publication Date: April 4, 2023
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Age Relevance: 15+ (religion, religious trauma, racism, romance, teen pregnancy, sexual content, homophobia, cursing, misogyny, gore, underage alcohol consumption, child abuse)
Explanation of Above: There is mention of Catholicism and some religious trauma shown in the book. There is romance and very slight/one scene sexual content that is vague about what happens. There are racist remarks and confederate flags shown in the book. There are mentions of teen pregnancy. There is homophobia mentioned and shown in the book, and a scene where closeted characters are forced to come out and are kicked out. There is some cursing. There is some misogyny. There is slight blood gore mentioned. There is one scene of underage alcohol consumption. There is some child abuse mentioned and one scene of it being shown.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Synopsis: A romantic ode to the strength of love and the power of choosing each other, against odds and obstacles, again and again.
What would you do if you forgot the love of your life ever even existed?
Stevie and Nora had a love. A secret, epic, once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. They also had a plan: to leave their small, ultra-conservative town and families behind after graduation and move to California, where they could finally stop hiding that love.
But then Stevie has a terrible fall. And when she comes to, she can remember nothing of the last two years—not California, not coming to terms with her sexuality, not even Nora. Suddenly, Stevie finds herself in a life she doesn’t quite understand, one where she’s estranged from her parents, drifting away from her friends, lying about the hours she works, dating a boy she can’t remember crushing on, and headed towards a future that isn’t at all what her fifteen-year-old self would have envisioned.
And Nora finds herself…forgotten. Can the two beat the odds a second time and find their way back together when “together” itself is just a lost memory?
Review: I thought this was such a beautiful book about love and how eternal it is. The book is about our MC who is in a secret relationship with Nora. They have such a great connection and are destined for more than their small homophobic racist town allows and they plan to seize it, until our MC falls and sustains a brain injury that wipes her memory of the last two years, which includes every bit of Nora. The book focuses on our MC and their journey to reclaim their memories and Nora’s efforts to help her remember their relationship. The book made me cry and is one of those I’m not going to forget anytime soon. The book did well with pulling every heartstring I had and, even though the end was predictable, it was the journey that had me coming back to furiously read more and more of the book. The book also did well with making relatable but flawed characters and the world building was immaculate.
The only issue I had with the book is that I felt like it was a bit predictable and we’ll never get real confirmation about Stevie’s memories, but I think that’s what gives the book a special appeal: the realism that while nothing may never be the same after an awful event, you can still find your way back to your old life in your own way.
Verdict: I highly recommend this book!
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