Tuesday 21 June 2011

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Pages - 277
Published by Egmont in June 2011
Book kindly sent by publisher in return for an honest review.

Aren't Fridays supposed to be good?
This one started badly. 
The note on my nightstand didn't tell me anything useful. My eyelids wanted to stay closed; my favourite jeans were in the hamper, and there was no milk in the fridge.
Worst of all, my cell phone was dead: the shiny, candy red one that I'' have until it falls into the gutter; the one that has the calendar and reminder bells and is essentially my portable, socially acceptable security blanket.


Every night when London Lane falls her to sleep, her memory resets itself at 4.33am and she wakes up in the morning with no knowledge as to anything that has happened in her past. Her mind is a complete blank and she has to read through lots and lots of notes to discover more about her past life.

However London does have some memory. She can remember events from the future. Her mind is full of the things that will happen, rather than the events that have happened.

Her life seems to be falling apart as she watches her friend Jamie going off the rails; she discovers her mum has been lying to her all her life and she can't work out why her new boyfriend doesn't appear in her future at all.

I have to say the premise of this book had me hooked from the beginning. I was intrigued how someone could remember nothing of their past but all of their future. It was brilliantly written, especially the way that you discovered things about London's past at the same time as she did. You find yourself gasping a little as she found out truths that had been hidden from her.

I loved London. I thought she dealt with her unusual situation extremely well, although personally I felt exhausted for her. Imagine each day having to read up on your life to figure out what was going on in your past. As well as being aware of future events that had no way of controlling. I couldn't imagine how anyone would cope with this kind of stress, let alone a teenage girl.

I found the plot kept me on the edge of the seat, but the ending left me wanting another solution. I thought I had the ending all plotted out in my head and Cat Patrick pulled the rug from under me and took me down  another route. There were elements to the story which were left me wanting more, which made me believe a second book had been planned  to answer all the stray plot lines. However, I have just investigated the possibility of a second book and discovered that one isn't planned. Oh no, I need answers!

This book is an engaging plot, full of originality and emotion. I think Cat Patrick has produced a brilliant debut novel and I look forward to see what other unusual plot lines she has hiding up her sleeve.

12 comments:

  1. Oh I thought it sounded familiar. I have seen the US cover around :D

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  2. OOH it sounds good! New title for me Vivienne! :)

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  3. Ooh it sounds really complicated ... but am in a a "duh" frame of mind at the moment so that is probably why!

    Love the cover art.

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  4. Couldn't agree more! I loved this book so much, it was fantastic!

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  5. I love when a book takes you on unexpected twists! I'll have to look for this one.

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  6. Not heard of this one, but looks great and love the review. Will check this out. Thanks x

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  7. I've wanted this ever since I saw the cover.

    ...*wonders if she sneakily visit the Kindle store without hubby noticing another £3.99 spent on books*...

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  8. Sounds interesting! The bit about her memory resetting each day reminds me of the film 50 First Dates (thats one of my favs).

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  9. Ooooh, this sounds so good! I think I may need this book. What a cool cover as well.

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  10. Love the cover and loved what you said about the book. It definitely sounds like something I would enjoy reading.

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  11. Now, I really want to read this! London sounds like an intriguing girl.

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