Forget You Review

Forget you by Jennifer Echols is the third book that I have read by this author, and by now I definitely have a ranking of which ones I prefer:

1. Going Too Far
2. Such a Rush
3. Forget You

So, I was not exactly impressed by this book, but it wasn't horrible. 2.5 out of 5 stars. 

Zoey's world is turned upside down when her self-absorbed father gets her twenty-four year-old employee pregnant and her mother attempts suicide, placing her in a mental institution. Having to keep up appearances for her parents' reputations, she pretends everything is fine. Again, her world is shaken up when she wakes up after she's been involved in a car crash with Doug, previously on bad terms, being too intimate with her. She already has her boyfriend Brandon!

What brought this book down are two things: Zoey's annoying trait of showing weakness and the lack of interesting plot when compared to Echols' previous works.

Zoey doesn't remember everything that happened during and shortly after the accident. In addition to the strange string of events (i.e. Doug being all kind and intimate with her). So what does she do to try to figure out what happen? She lies to everyone about not remembering, making excuses and pretending that she remembers, and goes to extents that make her look a little crazy. Her strong reluctance to show weakness and actually ask someone directly involved is beyond annoying! I just wanted to scream at her and tell her to just go ask Doug what happened and that would be it! Just go straight to the source to eliminate all of this insanity! However, if she did do that, about 90% of the book would of been done away with.

Another annoying flaw of Zoey is her misconceptions about other people. Plainly a bad judgement of character. This is most prominent in her perception of her relationship with her "boyfriend" Brandon. It's simply infuriating. She just refuses to acknowledge the reality of their relationship and goes further by lying to herself about it and to others.

Echols' other books are very good, especially Going Too Far, yet this is definitely not up to par. It lacks excitement and originality that they had. It just felt like another mediocre book, really. I expected a lot more from Jennifer Echols, contributing to my negative review because of my disappointment. All I can really say is that she tried. Some other books kind of similar to this is: My Life Next Door (review here) and Anna and the French Kiss (review here). 

Alienated Review

Alienated by Melissa Landers is a spectacular novel that thoroughly entertained me. It is a enjoyable read, especially if you are looking for something a little different from the cliche teenage high school plot. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd rate it 3.75 out of 5. 

The title of this book has a double meaning when connecting it to the events in this book. Cara, is selected to be the hostess of the very first ever exchange student from L'eihr: Aelyx. Despite being almost completely genetically identical to humans, there are some few key differences and a whole lot of  cultural ones as well. Aelyx has secret plans that could threaten everything on Earth and key relations with his home plant. And let's not forget about the growing tension between him and Cara.

I liked that this was a duel perspective novel; it allowed us to truly understand the mentality and thought process behind the two main characters: Cara and Aelyx. In turn, you actually believe perhaps a little more than a singular perspective in the actual chemistry between the romantic interests.

The sci-fi element made it deviate from the traditional sort of high school drama book; in turn, it spiced it up by formulating different, yet complex conflicts within the plot. Maybe I'm just not too familiar with young adult sci-fi books, but I have to say there are not many with human and alien relations. And it's not some bizarre reptilian alien, or grey alien, however, that could be quite interesting too.... yeah, I'd probably read that >.< haha

Cara's parents and family relationships are not neglectful or just non-existent! Her parents are actually in her life and they have a good, healthy relationship! Although, to me, her mom seemed like a bit of a weak character (no, not because of the crying), while her dad was more of a proactive and useful character (even a couple of times humorous).

I absolutely adored how the author forces you to change your perspective on certain characters. It's really surprising! First you love them, then you are shocked and despise them, and then you love them again!

Some similar reads to this one would be The Color of Rain (link here) or Across the Universe (link here).