Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols

in a sentence or so: Zoey's got a lot going on before she gets into a car wreck and can't remember a full 12 hours leading up to the accident. while trying to keep her crumbling life together, she's attempting to put together the pieces of that night and figure out why it is she can't stop thinking about the brooding loner Doug - instead of her handsome beefcake boyfriend Brandon.

Zoey's life is full of drama. her dad knocked up his 24 year old mistress and left her mom. her mom soon after tried to commit suicide. and as if it's not enough for Zoey's home life to be in complete shambles, Doug - the angsty, angry, and admittedly gorgeous boy that's also on the swim team - is working the night her mother is taken to the ER. between trying to keep Doug quiet about the whole ordeal and navigating the waters of being the perfect girlfriend to Brandon, Zoey's got a lot on her mind.

determined to figure out the details of the night without letting anyone know she has amnesia, as well as keep the fact that her mother is in a mental hospital under wraps, Zoey puts on a brave face and keeps moving forward. after all, she's the captain of the swim team and they need her. and if she doesn't look out for herself, who will?

something i loved about this book was that all of the characters were flawed. some in a major way, like her dad who was a total dickface the entire novel. some in a minor way, like Zoey herself and her need to look and act perfect, no matter what. those complexities of characters makes them easy to connect to and the story that much more real for the reader.

while this book is definitely romantic, i would argue it's more about relationships and expectations of yourself and others. that might be the dorkiest thing i've written in a review...ever...but it's true! to simplify this book would not do it justice.

is this book going to change your life? probably not. but is this a typical contemporary romance? not at all. Echols creates some heartfelt characters, difficult decisions, and realistic teenage experiences and presents it in an addictive and easily devoured book.

fave quote: "No one would suspect the girlfriend of the star of the football team was falling for the boy who went to juvie. And the boy who went to juvie wasn't returning the favor." (pg 159)

fix er up: okay really, Zoey didn't realize the truth behind her relationship with Brandon? that is the only thing i find to be a bit far fetched in this read. well...maybe not far fetched as much as naive and borderline pathetic.

title: Forget You
author: Jennifer Echols
genre: Romance, Contemporary, Drama, Family 
publishing info: Simon & Schuster, 2010

[ftc notice: i borrowed a copy of this book from Ginger at GReads! so i obviously didn't receive any compensation for this review. thanks, yo!]