Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

FORGET YOU by Jennifer Echols
Pub. Date: July 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
Format: Paperback, 292pp

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER? 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.

Echols’s GOING TOO FAR was one of my favorite reads last year and I knew instantly that she would be an author on my instant buy list. All I can say is that after reading FORGET YOU, she's also become one of my favorite authors in this genre. Her writing is impeccable and she knows how to draw readers into her character's world. We get to see these characters evolve on so many levels - they're real. What a thrill ride it was to read this novel!

I don't think Zoey could have imagined the direction her life would take after her parents' divorce, especially when it led to entangling her more into the life of the enigmatic Doug Fox (H-A-W-T). After all, these two can't stand each other. I ate the pages up as I delved into these character's lives as Zoey tried to piece her memories back together after her car accident. I was crazy about John from GOING TOO FAR, but Doug takes the cake. Echols has a way with developing complex characters that pull at your heartstrings. Zoey and Doug plucked at mine as I followed along to see where their journey would lead them.

Echols knocked it out the park in this unforgettable story about having the strength to overcome a tumultuous past and finding acceptance within you. Thank you Jennifer, for giving your readers another great novel to immerse ourselves into. I can't wait to read more books by this talented author. For the fans of GOING TOO FAR, you will not be disappointed! In fact, I believe you'll love Zoey’s and Doug's story just as equally if not more. These books have earned a special place on my bookshelf!

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars