Review: ‘Forget Me Not’ by Stacey Nash

Since her mother vanished nine years ago, Anamae and her father have shared a quiet life. But when Anamae discovers a brooch identical to her mother’s favorite pendant, she unknowingly invites a slew of trouble into their world. When the brooch and the pendant are worn together they’re no longer pretty pieces of jewelry — they’re part of a highly developed technology capable of cloaking the human form. Triggering the jewelry’s power attracts the attention of a secret society determined to confiscate the device — and silence everyone who is aware of its existence. Anamae knows too much, and now she’s Enemy Number One.

She’s forced to leave her father behind when she’s taken in by a group determined to keep her safe. Here Anamae searches for answers about this hidden world. With her father kidnapped and her own life on the line, Anamae must decide if saving her dad is worth risking her new friends’ lives. No matter what she does, somebody is going to get hurt.

I was given an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. In the interests of full disclosure, though, I confess I requested the ARC because I’ve read one of Stacey’s other, unpublished manuscripts and really love her writing. Also, as I’m sure you’ve figured out from my participation in the blog tour, I’m a bit of a fan. 😉

But trust me when I say “Forget Me Not” didn’t disappoint. I intend to buy a paperback copy once it becomes available, which is a sign of how much I loved it.

Most of the young adult fiction I read is urban fantasy, so the science-fiction angle was somewhat new to me – but, like all good sci-fi (and fiction in general), this book was character-driven. I didn’t feel like I needed a physics degree to know what was going on, which is the main thing that puts me off sci-fi reads.

“Forget Me Not” is set somewhere in Big City America — it’s never stated conclusively (or if it is I missed it), but it’s somewhere with a president. At first I assumed because Stacey is an Aussie author that it might be set here but, given the scale of events in the story, it makes sense that it be set in the global powerhouse that is the US. (Sorry, Australia, but it’s true. I still love you, though.)

The romance between Mae and Jax is well-developed and, even though I’m firmly Team Will (Mae’s best friend), by the end I thought Mae and Jax were a cute and above all realistic couple. Unfortunately for Team Will, the poor guy never had a hope — he’s so firmly in the friendzone that Mae can’t see his attraction to her, not even when it’s spelled out in so many words by a third party.

Despite the romance subplot, the story is action- and character-driven, whisking you along. I did see the plot twist coming, but only by about a chapter, so I didn’t get frustrated that Mae and the others didn’t see it coming. (It always annoys me when I as a reader figure something out ages before the characters do. I’m all, COME ON! IT’S RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF YOU!)

The only tiny niggle I had with “Forget Me Not” was that, after Mae and Will flee the baddies and take refuge with the resistance, she spends a lot of time worrying about her dad, but almost no attention is given to Will’s family — seemingly including by him. It may just be that, because the story is from her perspective and Will is determined to be stoic, he never talks to her much about his worries — but I felt like his parents and sister were kinda forgotten. But this is only a minor observation and didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book.

I highly recommend “Forget Me Not” for people who love story-driven YA. Five stars!