ARC Review: Forget You - Jennifer Echols

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'd 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 Zoeyto 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.

Forget You is released in the UK on 20th July 2010

For more information visit Jennifer Echols' website

Review:
Life changes for Zoey when her Dad has an affair with his 24 year old assistant and gets her pregnant.  Since most of her friends from school work for her Dad's business everyone knows what has happened but it is something that Zoey would much rather have kept quiet.  When her Mum attempts to commit suicide Zoey is forced to move in with her Dad and his new fiance.  Worried about her Mum and the stress of trying to keep what happened a secret changes Zoey and makes her act in ways she never would have imagined.

When she has a car accident and looses her memory of a whole night she is determined to piece together what happened by herself - too embarrassed to confess that she can't remember.  She had planned to go parking with her boyfriend Brandon but doesn't understand why he suddenly seems to be avoiding her.  Then there is Doug, who usually spends his time teasing her at school but is now acting almost like she's his girlfriend.  What could have happened that night?  And how is Zoey going to find out without letting everyone know that she can't remember?

This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Echols but it definitely won't be the last.  I was really impressed with Forget You and it is one of my favorite young adult romances.  Although Zoey is a smart student she makes some stupid choices over the course of the book, however, I think with everything that was going on in her life at the time this is actually quite understandable.  I'm sure she's not the first teenager who does something that they later regret in the heat of the moment.  I actually liked this about her as it made her seem a more realistic character.

I absolutely loved Doug - I wish I'd known a boy like him when I was Zoey's age.  He comes across as your typical bad boy but in the end you discover there is so much more to him than that & it doesn't hurt that he is also incredibly sexy.  The chemistry between Doug & Zoey was great - I thought it was surprisingly steamy for a young adult book (but then I've not read a huge amount of YA contemporary romance to compare this to) but found it very enjoyable.  I have to mention that I could not stand Zoey's Dad - I really wanted to punch him several times throughout the story and if I had to pick one thing I didn't like about the story overall it would be that I'd have liked to see him get some of his own medicine!  That is a minor complaint though & if you're a fan of young adult romance I'd definitely recommend this book to you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Source: UK Book Tour organised by Dwayne from Girls Without A Bookshelf

Other Reviews:

Girls Without A Bookshelf
Trisha's Book Blog
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