Thursday, May 29, 2014

[Review: (Don't You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn]

(Don't You) Forget About Me 
Author: Kate Karyus Quinn
Series: None
Pages: 336
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Thriller
Date Published: June 10th, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Format Read: eARC provided by publisher (via Edelweiss) for honest review

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary:

Welcome to Gardnerville.

A place where no one gets sick. And no one ever dies.

Except...
There’s a price to pay for paradise. Every fourth year, the strange power that fuels the town exacts its payment by infecting teens with deadly urges. In a normal year in Gardnerville, teens might stop talking to their best friends. In a fourth year, they’d kill them.

Four years ago, Skylar’s sister, Piper, was locked away after leading sixteen of her classmates to a watery grave. Since then, Skylar has lived in a numb haze, struggling to forget her past and dull the pain of losing her sister. But the secrets and memories Piper left behind keep taunting Skylar—whispering that the only way to get her sister back is to stop Gardnerville’s murderous cycle once and for all.
-Goodreads
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Thoughts:

An Open Letter To (Don't You) Forget About Me,

Wow, you were a ride, weren't you? You pretty much took all my thoughts and shook them around and gave me creepy feelings. That being said I did figure out your main plot twist half way through. I wish that wouldn't have been the case, but you still had so many details that I wanted to keep reading, even if I knew I was right. You're on big mind-f*ck! You have a lot to say about people and what they will do to survive. But you give us this age old story line in such a strange new way that it seems like a new idea. You book, are a weird one and I like that about you.

-The White Unicorn

This is one of those books that is almost impossible to review. It's so layered, but if you pay too much attention to detail or point things out in a review, you might spill the beans everywhere. That would be no good on my part, but seriously, it's so hard not to write a review full of spoilers. So this will most likely be one of the shortest reviews I've ever written. This book is a jumble of things. It's full of characters with secrets and drug problems. People who don't remember what happens to them, people who have magical powers, people who can make other people do whatever they want.

Skylar is hooked on pills that make you forget things, but it's a forth year and people start dropping like flies. Memories start to pop threw the haze in her mind and she starts a journey to find out where her sister Piper is. She knows that she needs to rescue her, but she can't remember all the details after her sister led a bunch of kids to their death. I can't really say much else about her, but I can tell you that she intrigued me on a whole lot of levels.

One thing I can talk about openly is Quinn's power to weave a truly twisty story. Everything happens for a reason. Even the smallest details have a purpose in the overall story. It's masterful, it's crazy and it's mind blowing. Yes, even though I figured out the main twist early on, I was still confused about how Quinn would get us there. She's not afraid to create a world that spins and twirls and loops back on itself. She'll make you dizzy and then she'll give you the ending you've wanted all along.

I loved that Quinn also used old mixed tapes for the 80s as one of her biggest plot tools. As a fan of music is was fun to see the 80s song titles that doubled as chapter titles throughout the book. She also references tons of classic movies and when all is said and done, this book is basically just a really disturbing retelling of The Pied Piper. 

So, even though that's all I can tell you, know that you should read this book if you want to read something extremely unique and oddly magical!

Rating:
4 Unicorns = Close to perfect!   

2 comments:

Natalie @Natflix&Books said...

The first thing I thought of when I read this synopsis a few months back was of the Pied Piper. I plan on starting this one soon, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. It sounds fun and unique. Yay!

Nicole said...

This does sound extremely unique, if a little crazy :) But I do love stories that are expertly crafted.