Forget You by Jennifer Echols

Forget You by Jennifer Echols
"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."- summary from Amazon

OK, so I love Jennifer Echols. I have read all her books and have loved them all. I've met her in person too and she jumped up and down, yelling my name, trying to get my attention, as if I wasn't there to come see her! Anyway, what I'm trying to say here is that I love this book too. There's just no getting around it.

However, I didn't love this book as much as Going Too Far. While I did enjoy the characters, I just didn't feel as connected to the characters and was occasionally a bit annoyed with Zoey. Maybe that's supposed to be the point, but I don't know. I thought the plot was interesting with her trying to figure out what happened that night but at the same time, I was like "OMG WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK SOMEONE?!?!" Of course, we'd have a much shorter book (if one at all) and there was a reason as to why she didn't outright ask, which I kind of understood but kind of didn't.

Let me say here and now that I did not like the dads in this book. Not one bit. I wanted to punch both of them, which is my natural response to when someone is doing something evil/mean to the main character. I don't think I'd ever do it in real life, but I just wish once it would happen in a book (and I'm sure it has- maybe I'm just not reading the right ones?) rather than the characters talking things out or whatever. That's no fun!

One thing Echols knows how to do REALLY well is the steamy, romantic parts, and there are some swoon-worthy scenes in here between Doug and Zoey. I. LOVED. IT. Also, Echols does something I don't think I've seen much of, if at all, in a YA book- masturbation. It's only implied twice (and maybe one other time if you count that- won't go into details) but even the implication of it is something that's hardly seen. Very ballsy of you, Echols, and that's why I love you (well, among other reasons too).

The book is also filled with sarcastic humor which I loved because that is my main form of communication. Overall, it's a good book that I did enjoy but wasn't as impressed with as her previous MTV novel.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.