Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva (2021)
-eARC Review-
Fiction | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Blurb:
She was born for all the wrong reasons. But her search for the truth reveals answers she wishes she could forget in this suspenseful and deeply moving novel from the author of The Last One.
What if your past wasn’t what you thought?
As a child, Linda Russell was left to raise herself in a 20-acre walled-off property in rural Washington. The woods were her home, and for twelve years she lived oblivious to a stark and terrible truth: Her mother had birthed her only to replace another daughter who died in a tragic accident years before.
And then one day Linda witnesses something she wasn’t meant to see. Terrified and alone, she climbs the wall and abandons her home, but her escape becomes a different kind of trap when she is thrust into the modern world—a world for which she is not only entirely unprepared, but which is unprepared to accept her.
And you couldn’t see a future for yourself?
Years later, Linda is living in Seattle and immersed in technology intended to connect, but she has never felt more alone. Social media continually brings her past back to haunt her, and she is hounded by the society she is now forced to inhabit. But when Linda meets a fascinating new neighbor who introduces her to the potential and escapism of virtual reality, she begins to allow herself to hope for more.
What would it take to reclaim your life?
Then an unexplained fire at her infamous childhood home prompts Linda to return to the property for the first time since she was a girl, unleashing a chain of events that will not only endanger her life but challenge her understanding of family, memory, and the world itself.
Goodreads | Amazon
pooled ink Review:
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy to review!
I really enjoyed Oliva’s debut novel, The Last One, and was eager to see what she’d written next! Admittedly Forget Me Not struggled to capture or hold my attention making it a bit ironically, um, forgettable. But not entirely! I still hold that Oliva has a knack for crafting up intriguing sci-fi thriller plot lines that will addle your thoughts with its twists and mystery, but for me this one just wasn’t quite as strong a tale…or it could absolutely be the fact that I read it while sick in bed and my brain simply wasn’t up to the task of keeping up with Oliva’s brilliance. I will definitely continue to recommend The Last One and I do believe if you enjoyed that book then you will likely enjoy this one as well.
Forget Me Not is a genre-blending tome of intrigue, mystery, action, and thrills set in the far future where technology rules yet secrets still hold. Any slowness of pace is to be cherished because once the plot kicks off things only twist and turn faster and faster as each memory is unearthed, each secret rips free, and you witness wide-eyed the story of Linda who is not Linda nor quite anything she seemed.
Cheers.
Meet Alexandra Oliva!
Alexandra Oliva grew up in a small town deep in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. A first-generation college graduate, she has a BA from Yale University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, son, and their brindled pup, Codex.
More from Alexandra Oliva…
THE LAST ONE
Alexandra Oliva
2016
Goodreads | Amazon | My Review
MINI BLURB:
“It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance…Sophisticated and provocative, The Last One is a novel that forces us to confront the role that media plays in our perception of what is real: how readily we cast our judgments, how easily we are manipulated.”
“The Last One is a nail-biting, eye-squinting, body-rocking psychological thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat from page one. With no care to waste on sparing feelings the story snaps you to attention and drags you along writhing with suspense. Grab a copy of this book, schedule a thunderstorm, and read like a bullet in the night. Utterly thrilling, intense, and scintillating this book is not one to underestimate.”
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