Review: ‘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.

(Amazon product description)

I started off really liking this book.  Zoey’s head injury has caused her to forget the night before, but because her jerk of a father, she has to pretend like nothing is wrong.  When Brandon and Doug start acting strangely the next day, she sets out to piece together the truth of what happened before her accident.  Cool plot.  However, Zoey take a little too long to catch on to the clues.  I mean, she knows from the beginning that Brandon is a total player.  Why she thinks she is his exclusive girlfriend is beyond me.  Her naivety irritated me at times.  That being said, I liked Zoey.  She was sweet, a tad innocent, and a good person.     

The love triangle between Zoey, Brandon and Doug really isn’t a triangle, because at no point does the reader think there is any kind of chance for Zoey with Brandon.  The guy is a total meat head.  Doug, on the other hand, is hotter than hell!  He’s slightly brooding and dark, but in a sexy way, not annoying.  The chemistry between him and Zoey is perfect. 

Like a lot of young adult books published by MTV, there are some sexual situations in the book.  Obviously, they are not graphic, but some parents might prefer younger teens not read this.  Older or more mature teens should have no problem with the content. 

Overall, I give Forget You...

Plot - 4 bookmarks

Character development - 4 bookmarks

Love story - 4 1/2 bookmarks

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Emily Kassie (Zoey), Evan Alex Cole (Doug), Ed Speeler (Brandon)