Monday, June 6, 2011

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

ForgottenForgotten by Cat Patrick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads: Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.


Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.

My take: I loved Drew Barrymore in "50 First Dates." I thought it was cute, clever and an interesting conflict to overcome - living the same day over and over again.

London Lane has a different conflict. She remembers the future. Every day she writes herself notes before she goes to sleep. Her brain resets itself ever morning at 4:33 a.m. Her mother and best friend, Jamie, are the only people privy to this odd phenomenon. She remembers her locker combination at school because she opens it tomorrow. She knows where her classrooms are because she goes to them tomorrow. So far, her secret has been safe since Jamie has her back at school and her mom helps at home.

Two odd things occur simultaneously; she meets Luke Henry but can't remember him in her future. Yet he keeps showing up day after day in her life with increasing importance to her. She also remembers a funeral for a child. Her future child? She doesn't know. Also, she alienates Jamie for not condoning an affair with a teacher.

As the story progresses, the reader learns the burden of knowing tomorrow and years to come while others close to her are burdened by regrets, guilt, and what-ifs. Even London learns the meaning of forgiveness. Secrets are revealed and the cause of her malady is made clear - at least the circumstances and timing. Everybody keeps secrets to safeguard each other. London struggles with the concept of changing the future. Can she?

This is the sweetest love story I have read in a long time. Dialogue is clever and fresh. Relationships between London and Luke, London and her best friend, and London and her mother then father are beautifully depicted. The process of healing old hurts is included. I loved the constancy of friendship and motherly love. I really enjoyed this book and the author's voice.

Language - Rated G
Dialogue - Rated PG - PG-13
Sex - PG
Violence - PG (Dodgeball)

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