Quirk Review: Forgotten by Cat Patrick

From Goodreads:

Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come.

When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

PREFACE:
I heard about Cat Patrick's debut Forgotten last year and wanted to read it because it sounded so cool. I also wondered how a novel with such a premise could be pulled off. I ended up winning the book in a giveaway, so I got a chance to read it not long after it had been released. For some reason (probably lazy-blogger syndrome) I never reviewed it. Recently I re-read this book, and with Patrick's Revived coming out soon, I thought I should share my thoughts on Forgotten.

And despite the title, this is not a forgettable book.

WRITING:

Patrick's writing pulls you in so easily. Despite the strange concept of the novel, the writing is realistic and tight. Because of her condition, London, the protagonist, leaves herself notes all the time, so that was an interesting difference that despite breaking up the paragraphs on occasion also stayed with the flow of the story, letting us see more directly into London's struggle and mind.

Because London basically wakes up without her memories of the days, weeks, and years before, I was prepared for a lot of repetition, but Patrick does well in making every day as fresh for the reader as it is for London, even when some events occur that have happened before. It was almost like these little in jokes because you could spot them and remember how London reacted the previous time and see how her response had changed (or not changed) on this new day.

SETTING:

The setting in Forgotten is one of those that doesn't really matter. There were some scenes that were memorable, but most of them took place in places that any reader can imagine because they have one of their own - a field outside of town, a grocery store, the local high school. But my favorite place in the novel was London's bedroom. Imagining how she had everything set up, with her notes, her clothes, and pictures to help her remember things just made that space feel very real and inviting.

CHARACTERS:

My first read through Forgotten, I absolutely loved London. I thought she was smart, clever, and extremely normal even with her strange ability and hindrance. On my second read though, I noticed that there was this kind of self-absorption she had. It didn't make me like her any less because I realized how true to character it was. If every day you have to work to remember your life and have to concentrate on making yourself seem normal, you are going to be only thinking of yourself most of the time. I think London does grow out of this some later in the story, but I was kind of glad to pick up on that part of her when I hadn't before.
 

The love interest, Luke, is one of my favorites. He is a weird artist guy who's not really that weird, loves his family and loves London. Their relationship is so cute and I loved them together. Luke, despite having a slight stubborn streak, was just a good guy with a good heart that I was glad to see in the novel.

London's friend Jamie was a good contrast to London. Though I thought of London as a fairly normal teen, Jamie too seemed that way, though following a different path, if you will. She has a slight wild streak and wants life to be a surprise, so her friendship with London gets rocky at times. But despite their fall outs, they really are best friends and that was also nice to see.

Another character that needs a mention is London's mom. I really liked her and thought she was kind of a trooper for how she coped with London's condition. She wasn't perfect, but she was definitely loving and that showed in every scene she had.

DOWNSIDE:

My one downside is that the end felt a little quick. It didn't feel rushed exactly, just that everything gets tied up without the reader getting to see the full repercussions of the resolution. We know what will happen but we don't get to see it.
 

COOL STUFF:

I loved the twisty-turny nature of this book. Not only do you have London's memories, or lack there of, but there are also things happening and London trying to change what she sees in the future. Those moments of how she works out how to fix something without getting caught or causing more trouble were awesome.

This story also had a buildup quality to it. It starts out as being about London and her condition and the peaks and valleys of said condition. But as the story progresses and London learns to use her condition instead of just dealing with it, a mystery rises to the surface and that kept me reading (not to mention the romance!) so it really felt like a layered story and less linear than I had thought it would be.

The last thing I liked about Forgotten was that it was a quick and easy read. Patrick didn't drag it out unnecessarily and I felt satisfied with the length and pace of the story. Also, it was worth a reread because I found myself thinking about it from time to time. It is just a cool story and easy to like.

VERDICT:

Forgotten is a book I was glad to read and reread. It has characters you can identify with and root for while weaving a story around a concept that is strange and intriguing. This novel has something for everyone whether you like paranormals, contemporaries, or mysteries. It is a quick read with straightforward prose that anyone can get into and enjoy.