Review: As I Wake - Elizabeth Scott

• Reading level:
 Ages 14 and up

• Hardcover:
 224 pages

• Publisher:
 Dutton Juvenile (September 15, 2011)

Ava is welcomed home from the hospital by a doting mother, lively friends, and a crush finally beginning to show interest. There's only one problem: Ava can't remember any of them - and can't shake the eerie feeling that she's not who they say she is.
Ava struggles to break through her amnesiac haze as she goes through the motions of high-school life, but the memories that surface take place in a very different world, where Ava and familiar-faced friends are under constant scrutiny and no one can be trusted. Ava doesn't know what to make of these visions, or of the boy who is at the center of them all, until he reappears in her life and offers answers . . . but only in exchange for her trust.

 My Thoughts...

I have never read anything by Elizabeth Scott, and usually I'm looking for books with paranormal creatures in them, but this was very very good. I spent a good part of this book very confused, but I feel that it was ok since Ava our main character was confused as well. She wakes up and doesn't know who or where she is, she remembers nothing. As the story continues Ava starts to remember things but they aren't of the place that she is now. She is either dreaming or remembering an alternate life. This was a compelling read, it kept me turning the pages to see if Ava remembered anything new. Ava while seeming to spend a great deal of the book confused was very likable and very easy to feel for. I really enjoyed uncovering Ava's past and watching her try to navigate the present. I give this one 4 stars and urge everyone to go pick it up!

Review: Forgotten - Kat Patrick

• Reading level:
 Young Adult

• Hardcover:
 304 pages

• Publisher:
 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (June 7, 2011)

Each night when 16 year-old London Lane goes to sleep, her whole world disappears. In the morning, all that's left is a note telling her about a day she can't remember. The whole scenario doesn't exactly make high school or dating that hot guy whose name she can't seem to recall any easier. But when London starts experiencing disturbing visions she can't make sense of, she realizes it's time to learn a little more about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.
Part psychological drama, part romance, and part mystery, this thought-provoking novel will inspire readers to consider the what-if's in their own lives and recognize the power they have to control their destinies.

My Thoughts...

Let me start by saying, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I know what I got and it was fantastic. I have heard great things about this book but was wary, I hated the movie Momento and this premise was very similar, yet so entirely different. London Lane is a normal high school girl with a weird memory disorder, I will call it for lack of a better term.  Yes, I know I said she is normal, but that she has a memory disorder, how can both these things be true you ask? Well it is simple she wants to get through school, do good, be happy with her BFF and her boyfriend, but London can only remember the future. Every morning her memory of the day before disappears. I loved the see the future thing. Basically if you have a place in her future she will remember you, like her mom, and bff, but if you don't then you will be a stranger to her every day. London left herself notes every night so in the morning she know what was going on that day. I thought her notes were pretty cool, but I'm not sure I could live that way. It amazed me how strong London seemed to be.  She seemed ok with her condition for the most part and found a way to make her life work.  Luke stole my heart, he was pretty stinking cool.  Jackie at times made me love her, and at others infuriated me. I don't want to get much more involved in the story for fear of spoiling something for you guys.  I'm giving this one 5 stars for being original and fresh with great characters and a very compelling story. If you haven't read this yet then go do so quickly!