Miranda Kenneally

"A must read...I couldn't put it down." —Simone Elkeles on Catching Jordan From the bestselling author of Catching Jordan comes a new teen romance sure to appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen. SOME RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN. Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different... This summer she's a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He's the first guy she ever kissed, and he's gone from geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt...with her. Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn't that easy... Praise for Miranda Keaneally: "Fresh, fearless, and totally romantic."—Sarah Ockler, bestselling author of the Twenty Boy Summer "Catching Jordan is the romantic comedy I've been waiting for. I loved it!"—Jennifer Echols, author of Such a Rush "An incredibly well-written, beautiful story that balances romance, drama, and comedy perfectly."—Bookish, on Stealing Parker

Things I Can't Forget

Zahra

I have read Kenneally's previous two books and loved it, both have strong female protagonist who plays sport. I'm disappointed because this one doesn't. It's only hinted that Kate used to play soccer, nothing more. 

But i loved the friendship aspect in this. I absolutely loved the relationship shared between Kate and Emily, the ups and downs they go through.

The characters are real that i can picture them in real life. I felt hate, irritated, sympayhetic, and fond over Kate through reading this. It is amazing to see her stages of self-discovery and changes in being true to herself.

However, i think Kate is so annoying in most part of this book. I kept waiting for her to make the right decision but she didn't, only at the last bit of pages (finally!).

I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a light, summer-y, fast read with sweet romance and friendship issues.

Lovely setting (summer camps are so much fun!), lovely characters! My first 5 star rating for Miranda Kenneally.

Cindy Lee

Read more of my reviews at Secrets of Lost Words.

Rating: B

Things I Can't Forget was a great read. Its cute romance made me squeal and Kate's experiences made me feel for her. Kate is a Christian and I felt like her experience is what a lot of Christian kids go through today. Even though I'm not a Christian, most of my friends are and I feel like they need to find their way into the world with God on their side. Kate's experience provided the story of what she did. Kate really tried to find who she is and Things I Can't Forget is a great self-discovery story :3

Hannah

This book was bought on a whim. I was pressured to get out of Barnes and Noble and I grabbed the book, quickly scanned the back cover, and payed. 

Was I surprised! This book was amazing! I love camp set settings and romance between two people who knew each other from their childhood. *swoon* Childhood love reuniting!

I anticipated every page. I wanted to read it all the time! I got tears, warmth, anger, humor, and shivers from reading this book. 

I recommend you read this book if you're looking for something cute and fun. It's a great summer read!

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It's been awhile since I read a Miranda Kenneally book. The first book in her Hundred Oaks series, Catching Jordan, is one of my favorites YA contemporaries. I read the second book, Stealing Parker, and it really wasn't for me. I never made a conscious decision to not read further on in this series, but over time I moved on and never went back to read the next books. After getting approved for her upcoming book, Jesse's Girl, I decided it's high time to play catch up. I'm glad I did, too, because Things I Can't Forget was a great read and exactly what I needed when I read it. 

I'll admit, I was a little concerned going into this book that it would have too much religion for my own personal preference. I was wrong. I mean, there is quite a bit of religion – the book is set during a church summer camp and the main character is wrestling with her own faith and beliefs. I actually loved the part religion played in this book and the way it was handled. I think it has a great message about your faith being your own and how important it is to not thrust your beliefs and values upon others. 

Kate was a good heroine. I struggled with her a bit at times because of how judgmental she tended to be of others. I recognize she was struggling and trying to reconcile her beliefs with some of her new desires and things she had done, but I find that kind of behavior off-putting. The good news here is that Kate begins to see the error of her ways. I think she matured quite nicely with the help of her experiences at summer camp and the friends she made there. 

Of course, I can't say enough about how important one of her fellow campers, Matt, is to her growth during this story. Matt is adorable. He really is one of the highlights of this book for me. I loved his personality. He was quirky and fun. I adored the backstory between he and Kate. It was just cute. I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two get to know each other again. It was a sweet, first love-ish kind of romance that just made me smile. It also gave Kate some moments of pause as she tried to figure out where these new feelings fit into her faith and how to move forward. 

I don't read nearly as many YA books as I used to for a number of reasons, but I won't get into those here. What I will say is that this book was the perfect palate cleanser after too many new adult books in a row. It made me remember why I enjoy reading YA. I think Miranda does an amazing job accurately portraying the life of a teenager. It was realistic, which doesn't always mean pretty. But the struggles Kate went through are the same so many teens do. I'm not a super religious person, but I really did appreciated the part faith played in Things I Can't Forget. It even gave me some things to think about. 

I can tell you that, as I write this review, I have just finished Racing Savannah, the next book in this series, and have every intention of jumping into Breathe, Annie, Breath, as soon as I schedule this post. I didn't intend to spend my weekend bingeing on this series, but I regret absolutely nothing.

Things I Can't Forget

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