Review: Forget You

Forget You

By Jennifer Echols

Publication date: July 20, 2010

Synopsis:

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. 

My review:

I liked Going Too Far so I was certain that I would enjoy Forget You. Unfortunately unlike Meg, the main character from Going Too Far, I thought Zoey was very annoying much of the time. She kept insisting that Brandon was her boyfriend when he very obviously didn't feel that way about her and then she alternately made out with Dough and pushed him away. I did have some sympathy for her because she had to deal with the trauma of her mother's suicide attempt and her dad's indifference. I just struggled to relate to her because of her treatment of Doug and her unwillingness to see the truth about Brandon.

Both characters are flawed-Zoey is a control freak and she is blind when it comes to her relationships with boys and Doug has a temper problem but they have something in common in their difficult family lives. The relationship between Doug and Zoey is a complicated tangle. At the beginning of the book it really does seem as though Doug loathes Zoey and she isn't exactly fond of him yet later on it appears that he loves her. Their connection happens very quickly but is explained by a misunderstanding and Doug having had feelings for her for years. What I found harder to believe is Zoey suddenly liking him. With Brandon, it was obvious that Zoey hooked up with him because she was upset over her family problems but with Doug it was never really clear why she decided to like him. It seemed more like physical attraction only on her part.

Although Forget You had a similar formula to Going Too Far I thought that it failed to measure up because of the main character. I did want Zoey to get her happy ending but Forget You just wasn't as good as it could have been. I think the book would have been much better if it was longer (or at least if the story spanned a longer period of time) and there was room for more character development. Even though their relationship happened quickly, one thing I did like was the chemistry between Doug and Zoey. For those who like their YA romance with plenty of zing, Forget You delivers.

Readalikes: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols, Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles