Forgotten (Forgotten)

by Cat Patrick

Sixteen-year-old London Lane forgets everything each night and must use notes to struggle through the day, even to recall her wonderful boyfriend, but she "remembers" future events and as her "flashforwards" become more disturbing she realizes she must learn more about the past lest it destroy her future.

• ISBN10: 0316094617
• ISBN13: 9780316094610
• Publish Date: 7 June 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown & Company
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[catiebug]

I really liked this book, but I'm a bit disappointed at the ending. I felt like there wasn't a huge climax, more just building on it and then that was it. Definitely a page turner though.

[Amber]

Such a good read! Very complex. The romance felt very rushed though, unfortunately. And while I like the way it ended, I wanted more closure!

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The premise for Forgotten definitely intrigued me, even if I was a bit confused by the blurb for a little while. London’s brain resets every day at 4.33am, and she forgets everything that happened the day before. However, she can see the future instead, as if they were memories.

The overall plot is fast paced, and while it did take a chapter or two to understand exactly what was going on with London’s brain, it was great to read about at Cat Patrick introduced us to this mysterious amnesia. The story is full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and they definitely made my jaw drop each time they arose.

London was a great protagonist. She had long ago come to terms with her unusual illness and it was nice to read about someone who was used to it, rather than a protagonist who was getting used to and discovering her ‘abilities’. London knew exactly how to keep her life as normal as possible, and she remained a strong character throughout the books. In my opinion, at some points she was a little too strong, and I would have liked to have seen a bit more emotion from her. She was also a little bit hypocritical, which annoyed me to begin with until she realised what she was doing.

London’s relationship with Luke, however, wasn’t so great. To begin with it felt very rushed due to London’s feelings for Luke developing very quickly. She said she was falling in love with him on their first date, and I didn’t like that despite the date being pretty much perfect! I would have preferred more build up.

Towards the end of the novel all the mysteries were solved and I liked the outcome of that. However, I did feel that the ending was rushed through, perhaps to keep up with the quick pace of the novel, and perhaps because the book is so short. I would have liked to have had more closure with a couple of parts of the plot, especially regarding a character we learnt of half way through the novel.

Forgotten is a compelling, fast paced read with twists galore. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.

[notajammiedodger]

Forgotten by Cat Patrick was a very interesting story. The concept of someone not being able to remember their past, but remember their future, was what originally drew me to this book. I'm still a little unsure about how I felt about this book. I didn't love it, but i definitely liked it. I felt like it had some things missing, but it was a very interesting story.

The characters seemed to not have very much depth, I felt that I didn't really know anything about London or Luke or Jamie. London was an interesting character to view this story from. Forgotten reminded me a bit of 50 First Dates, London writes herself notes to remember things about her past and her boyfriend. It was lots of fun to watch London meet and fall in love with Luke over and over again.
Jamie's character annoyed me a little (which is sad because my name is Jammie), I just felt as though if I were to be in her position that I would listen to London more. Even when London (knowing how some of her choices will turn out in her future) tries to warn Jamie against certain things that she know will hurt Jamie horribly, she just continues to ignore her which leads to a temporary chip in their friendship.

I felt a little strange about Jamie and London's friendship, it sort of seemed like it began a little more out of necessity than their genuine connection. With Jamie being portrayed as the "slut" among her class mate, and London being thought of as weird because of her seemingly very bad memory, neither of them really have anyone else to turn to.

I did enjoy this book. It wasn't fantastic, but it wasn't bad either. It was a very interesting concept to read about. And made for an interesting story.

This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)

[Jo]

With the intrigue of Memento and the romance of The Time-Traveller's Wife, Forgotten is the perfect YA novel. 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 of the rails. My mom 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 ...Forgotten is the story of a girl for whom yesterday is lost, today is an adventure, and tomorrow is a memory. An unforgettable read. From Amazon UK

I received a surprise ARC of Forgotten last week, and as soon as I read the press release, I pretty much squealed. It sounded so unique, so fresh, and so exciting! So as soon as I finished the book I was reading at the time, I picked this book. And I have just one word for you: wow!

Forgotten was so much better than I even imagined it was going to be. It was very reminiscent of the movie 50 First Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, with the notes that London leaves herself every night. But the difference is that she remembers the future - not see the future in flashes or glimpses, but "remembers" it, like we remember the past. She recognises people she sees today from remembering them being in her future - her mother, her best friend, etc. Which is why it's so odd that she doesn't remember this gorgeous boy who shows up one day at school, and how she has to write notes every night so she knows him the next day - even after weeks of knowing each other.

It's really beautiful seeing London try and keep a relationship going with Luke when she doesn't it's like meeting him for the very first time everyday. She doesn't tell Luke about her memory problem, like she doesn't tell most people. There are a very few people who do actually know, so trying to build a relationship from what is nothing each and everyday, by the help of her notes and what her mum tells her... it's difficult, but wonderful and beautiful to watch.

But it's not all lovely moments with her boyfriend. She has a re-occuring memory from the future of a funeral, but she doesn't know who it is. At first, it's only brief, little moments that she remembers, but then she remembers more details each time. Her mum is the only person she recognises from her day-to-day life, and she has no idea what's going on, but knows it's something big. That along with fighting with Jamie, her best friend, and lied to by her mum over her relationship with her dad, along with trying to live as normal a life as possible with her condition... life isn't really all that easy.

There isn't much more I can tell you about this book without spoiling it, but it is absolutely fantastic! Seriously, I cannot tell you how good it is! Unfortunately, it's just a stand alone novel, though I finished wanting more and more. This is one book you cannot miss out on, it's just amazing!

From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog.