Stevie and Nora are secret lovers in a conservative Pennsylvania town, planning to move to California after graduation to live openly. Everything changes when Stevie suffers a severe fall that causes retrograde amnesia, erasing the last two years of her life. She forgets her romance with Nora and her plans to leave home, reverting to a version of herself who still seeks her mother’s approval. Faced with the reality that Stevie has no memory of their hidden relationship, Nora must decide whether to help Stevie remember or let her go.
Teenage readers and fans of contemporary romance choose this story for its focus on identity and the difficulty of reclaiming a queer self after trauma. The book addresses how memory loss affects interpersonal dynamics and the weight of parental expectations in small-town environments. Readers finish the book with a perspective on whether love can exist independently of shared history and how personal growth persists even when the mind fails. It offers a look at the fragility of shared secrets in the face of medical crisis.
Insights from Forget Me Not
“Two years of my life are gone. Just like that.”
Stevie wakes up and forgets the last two years. It's scary how easily a whole life can just vanish from your head.
“I am a ghost in her world now.”
Nora has to watch the person she loves look at her like a stranger. It made me wonder if love stays in your body even when your brain lets go.
“We were going to leave. We were going to be free.”
They had this secret plan to escape their small town. It shows how much you'll risk just to be yourself with someone else.
“She’s building a version of me that never existed.”
Stevie’s mom uses the amnesia to try and rewrite her daughter. Parents can be so dangerous when they think they know what’s best for you.
- Published
- 2023
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- ISBN
- 9781665902373
- Language
- EN
