Review: Forgotten - Cat Patrick

Here's the thing about me: I can see the future in flashes, like memories. But my past is a blank.

I remember what I'll wear tomorrow, and an argument that won't happen until this afternoon. But I don't know what I ate for dinner last night. I get by with the help of notes, my mom and my best friend Jamie, and the system works . . .

Until now. Everything's falling apart.
Jamie's going off the rails.
My mum is lying to me.
And I can't see the boy I adore in my future.

But today, I love him.  And I never want to forget how much . . .

Visit Cat Patrick's website for more information.

Review:
In most ways London is a normal teenager, if you overlook the problem with her memory that is. You see London can remember everything about the future and knows exactly what will happen tomorrow but she remembers nothing of her past. Each night when she goes to bed she knows that by the time she wakes up it will be as if the previous day never happened. The only way she can keep track of her life is by writing notes to herself detailing important events that she can read in the morning when she wakes up.

I don't think I'm capable of writing a review that can do Forgotten justice. Cat Patrick's debut novel is beautifully written and had me captivated from the first page, I literally didn't move until I'd finished reading it. The phone went unanswered and my bladder had to wait because there was no way I was putting the book down even for a minute. Forgotten is just something so unique and it really captured my imagination.

I loved the premise of the story, it was fascinating to think about how strange life would be if your memories were only of things that haven't happened yet. The author has put a lot of thought into how this would work even down to London's confusion about where her classes are on the last day of school - the rest of the year she can use her memories of where she will be sitting tomorrow or next week to guide her to the right class today but at the end of the school year all her memories are of new classes that haven't started yet. It is those kind of little details that make an impossible idea seem plausible and I didn't find myself doubting the way London's mind worked even though it is such an off the wall concept.

London is a great character, she deals with her situation surprisingly well and really grows as the story continues. I have to say that Luke is the character that stole the show for me though, he was so incredibly sweet and supportive of London. Most boys would find it frustrating to date someone who is constantly forgetting them but he shows a lot of patience and their romance was adorable. It was nice to see such a mature couple in a YA book and I'd really like to see more relationships like theirs.

There are also some great mysteries and surprising twists throughout the story. I'm not going to say any more and give you spoilers so you'll just have to read the book to find out what they are. I can't recommend Forgotten highly enough, it is one of my favourite 2011 debuts and I'm excited to read more from Cat Patrick in the future. If you're looking for something completely different you can't go far wrong with this one!

Source: Purchased

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