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.
Review: I've only read one other book by Jennifer Echols, Going Too Far, but I must admit I liked it more than this one. The story itself was a good one, and I was intrigued throughout the book. I read it all in one sitting trying to figure out what had happened to Zoey. So it wasn't the story that I disliked, it was the characters.
I felt bad for Zoey because she couldn't even tell her closest friends what happened, and with something as traumatic as her mom trying to kill herself I know it must have been hard on her. On the other hand, Zoey annoyed me throughout the book. If she was friends with Brandon and knew what he was like with girls then why does she think that after hooking up and being together for a week they're "in love"? And her constant back and forth feelings for Doug got a bit tiresome. Speaking of Doug, I liked him. He seemed a little flat as a character, but I liked him. I wish that Zoey's parents had been in the book more though. Sure she thought about them a lot, but they weren't physically there with her, and I think that would have helped show her situation better to readers. But then again, maybe her absent parents shed some light on what her situation was like.
The story itself was great. I liked the idea of a Zoey trying to regain her memory and piece everything together. I was not really that surprised at what had happened the night that Zoey couldn't remember. However, what surprised me was finding out from Brandon how everything came about happening. *Spoiler alert, highlight to read.* I still don't understand how Zoey ended up hooking up with Doug and telling him she loved him if she was under the impression that he hated her. *End of spoiler.*
So overall this was another great story by Jennifer Echols. It had a great plot that was paced wonderfully. It wasn't to fast or slow and was a pretty easy book to read. The characters weren't my favorite and may have taken away from the book, but I still recommend this book.
Source: My personal library (e-book)
Published: July 20, 2010 by MTV
1 comment:
I couldn't finish this one because of the characters. I loved the idea for the book, but Zoe was way too repetitive and annoying for me. I loved Going Too Far though.
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