Saturday 28 June 2014

If I Forget You by Michelle Davidson Argyle (New Adult, 10E/10E)

May 2014, MDA Books, 238 pages, Ebook, Review copy

Themes: going to university, living away from home, living with family, finding your place in life, being forgetful, making mistakes, blasts from the past, doing what's right for you,
 
Content: some drinking, some mature romance plus rape (not entirely off the page),

Summary from MDA books
Avery Hollister is a little more than absentminded. She has trouble remembering faces, names, and dates without her piles of lists and Post-it notes. When she heads off to college it takes her a week to realize the guy she’s crushing on is, in fact, three different guys.

With a faulty memory and three men who have no idea she’s mixed them up, Avery doesn’t know how to fix the mess she’s made. But she knows she has to try, even if it means losing a love not even she could forget.

Nayuleska's thoughts
*happy sigh* I love this book as much as I love The Breakaway duo by Michelle - which is heaps! Aside from the rape and a few scenes, I thoroughly enjoyed Avery's life. There wasn't as much mature content as all the other New Adult books that I've read, which made it a pleasant read. I speak truthfully that although I've only just finished it, I had to peek back at the book to know Avery's name. I related so well to Avery because I have memory issues, only mine are a side effect of taking ketamine on prescription for pain relief. I empathised every time Avery forgot someone's name, when she forgot what she was meant to be doing, and how almost impossible it can be to explain to people it isn't a case of forgetting something that you might remember hazily later, it's full on forgetting like it never happened.

I loved the relationship Avery developed with her aunt. She didn't always treat Chloe as best as she should, but Chloe was there in a huge way when life for Avery hit rock bottom, which had me crying lots. Avery learns that going to uni/college can really change your relationship with those you love, something that many readers can relate to. I didn't always approve of what she did, but I wanted Avery to overcome her personal challenges, which took tragedies and unpleasantness to move on from them.

The romance side of the book was believable, the rape was dealt with in a way that it wasn't quite all at once or in the moment, although it was examined in moderate detail.
  
Find out more on Michelle's website.

Suggested read
For another fun read from Michelle check out Catch (Young Adult, 10E/10E) link to follow soon
 

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