Forgotten Review

Title: Forgotten

Author: Cat Patrick

Release Date: 6^th June 2011

Publisher: Egmont Books

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 off 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…

London can remember things that will happen in her future. The only problem is, she can’t remember what happened in her past. Writing notes to herself every night is the only way London can get through life. Can London change the future when she already knows what will happen? What is stopping her from remembering the past?

This story is written as a first person narrative so I began to empathise with the main character, London, straight away. She is a teenage girl suffering from some sort of amnesia but this doesn’t stop her being able to see what will happen in her future. London’s life is one up-hill struggle as she tries to function day to day, leaving notes for herself about what happened in the days previously.

She meets a charming boy, Luke, who she is instantly attracted to and they soon become an item. On their first date, however, they run into trouble when they fall asleep and London awakes to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings with a boy she can’t remember meeting before. I could really feel London’s confusion and frustration.

London and her best friend, Jamie, fall out when London learns something traumatic about Jamie’s future. Sometimes, London’s gift means she wants to interfere to stop people making bad decisions but usually this doesn’t end well. Although it does raise interesting questions about whether London can change the future.

There are, without a doubt, many surprises within this tale and all of them are unexpected. Without revealing too much, Luke may not be who he seems and London may remember more about the past than she knows. London begins to lie to herself in her notes and that only creates more problems for the future. Things London can remember from the future and the past have to be pieced together in order for her and the reader to understand what has happened.

My favourite character was Luke, who London is clearly besotted with. He tries to help London understand her past but is also there to help her have fun. It’s really interesting how London deals with meeting him anew everyday!

Cat Patrick has produced a brilliant, easy to read, page turner. London’s character is easily accessible and encourages you to read on. While her condition clearly causes problems for her, sometimes the outcomes are humorous and her special gift gives her an advantage at the end of the book. Although there are still many gaps in London’s past, the novel leaves the reader hopeful about her future, with a warm fuzzy feeling inside!

4/5 A really easy read with plenty of twists and turns.