A Strange Lonely Girl Faces Danger in the Near Future

In her Seattle apartment, Linda Russel lives in fear of encountering people. She had a strange lonely childhood growing up practically without supervision on a twenty acre estate. She was allowed to run wild until one day she witnessed a terrible scene that sent her scrambling over the wall to get away from the horror.

Living in her apartment, she’s alone until she meets Anvi and her dog Nibbler. Anvi, but particularly Nibbler break through Linda’s shell and they become friends. Anvi introduces Linda to her Virtual Reality (VR) game which changes Linda’s life. She is immediately drawn to it.

Another nightmare happens. Linda’s childhood home burns down. She feels she must go and Anvi drives her. As she returns so do the memories of that time. Linda finds that in spite of the danger, she can no longer hide from the truth about her childhood.

I found the plot and setting for this book very original. The near future builds on the world as we know it, but everything is more advanced. I enjoyed the descriptions of the technology, particularly the VR games.

Linda is an interesting character, but I couldn’t warm up to her, perhaps because she is so withdrawn. I found the brash Anvi more likable. However, Nibbler was my favorite. I love stories where dogs have an important function.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

This near-future techno thriller that follows the broken life of a young woman raised in isolation depicts an almost feral child trying to come of age. Linda struggles to navigate a confusing and hostile world with no skills and no connections. Her past continually creeps up to strangle her development and it seems the world is always on the attack. With an insane mother and distant father, a missing twin and a dead therapist, she has no support system to help her. Could her new neighbor be the friend she never knew she needed, or another enemy at the gates?

Man, this book was at five stars for most of the ride. I started it with no intention of barreling through to the end, but I just couldn’t stop reading. The psychological thriller aspects were sold and the near-future setting was engrossing. The character interactions were nuanced and interesting and I just couldn’t get enough of the teaser elements!

But unfortunately my prediction about the biggest twist came true much too easily and the teasers were hollow. I’m glad I got to finish Linda’s journey with her, but I felt like there was something missing when it didn’t live up to the set up I got.

Still very smart and intriguing with lots of action. I enjoyed so many parts of this story.

I was invited by the publisher and Net Galley to read and review this book for free. These opinions are mine.

This is a somewhat bizarre book but intriguing all at the same time.

Linda is an untrusting soul and as we learn about what happened to her as a young child, you really can't blame her. Her mother is mentally unstable and she somehow leaves Linda alone to raise herself. Sadly, when Linda is found she is called #CloneGirl and as we know, people can be cruel on social media and the internet. She never really learned how to interact with people and it is obvious as she tends to hibernate as much as possible.

Enter Anvi, her new next door neighbor. Anvi may know who she is but is not out to get anything or exploit Linda. This is a blessing because Linda needs a friend. It doesn't hurt that Anvi has a dog that is fond of Linda. I think he calms her down.

The story unfolds in a rather haphazard way and for a long time I had no idea what happened to Linda or why she hid away from the world. I think it takes nearly half the book to get a better understanding of what really happened. But then, do we really know what happened because there are some crazy twists and turns revealed that will change what you formerly believed.

If you decide to pick up this book, do not be surprised if it takes some time to become invested in the story and the characters, but the ending is quite a surprise. The biggest lesson from this book - be nice to people, you don't always know the truth or what someone has endured and a little kindness goes a long way.

Although I do not care for science fiction, the psychological aspect offset the negative. I totally felt empathy for Linda. I was not expecting the surprise ending. This is a very entertaining book. I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and. This is my honest review

Full disclosure. I don't text, play video games or use social media or networking. If I did I might have liked this book. This just didn't work for me. I guess I sound like a grumpy old man yelling at kids to get off my lawn but I know my limitations. If you enjoy social networking and media give this book a try.

Linda Russell had no idea she was created to replace her dead sister. Her childhood was not ideal and she is about to find out even more disturbing information.

This book is set in Seattle in the near future, after the pandemic. It could be classified as somewhat of a sci-fi mystery. Honestly, I had trouble figuring out what genre it fits in and even have trouble describing it to others without a lengthy story.

It kept my interest in the beginning and I did hit a bit of a slump about halfway through, but then it picked up again.

It does have some disturbing elements concerning child abuse, cloning and mental illness. After having read Gregg Olsen's If You Tell true crime novel, this one hit me a bit more than it should have. It is fiction, but reminded me of some of the things in that true story. The fact they were both set in the PNW (where I live) made it even more of a connection for me.

I could not find a character I liked in this book, but I think that was the way the author intended it. I also found parts repetitive and uneventful. Because of that, I went back and forth on whether I liked this book or not. I kept reading just because I had to see what was going to happen - if there would be anything I wasn't expecting. I will say, it was predictable and the ending was not surprising at all. Again, not sure it was meant to be a mystery.

Overall, it was an okay book, but not sure it is one I would recommend.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for providing an copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was like if “In Time” crossed over to “Running Out of Time” (did y’all ever read that in Elementary school? Just me?) and sprinkle clones (but not #CloneGirl) in there. At first, I thought of “Girl A” where this is a survival story. But I realized Forget Me Not was much more complex with more thriller and mystery than any of those above referenced. I am really enjoying this futuristic sci-fi thriller genre lately, and this is one I am going to recommend.

Side note, there’s a lot of social media and how having it so accessible really isn’t the best thing in the world. There’s a part where Linda leaves her sheath, and she’s trying to access her bank account. She doesn’t know her username and password and can’t reset her password because she doesn’t know her email password because it’s all on her sheath. I wasn’t supposed to laugh, but I completely laughed because.. same. I really stepped back and realized how much I rely on automation for instant gratification.

I enjoyed the premise as it was something completely fresh and unique. I enjoyed the VR aspect as sometimes I did not understand if it was real or fake. Seeing Linda evolve from a manufactured being to an actual human was a nice subplot.

Here’s my issue. We have to stop making women with mental health issues the bad guys and making that a valid explanation for their atrocities. Lorelei is “unhinged” and “not well”. Arthur says he believes her mother’s bipolar disorder may have been “triggered something” by the death. I could have done without that.

Overall, I really enjoyed this different take on a subject. It was so refreshing to read a different type of story. Thank you Penguin and NetGalley for the copy. Forget Me Not is out now.

TW: Graphic story of a school shooting.

Thank you to both #NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for providing me with an advance copy of Alexandra Oliva’s Sci-Fi novel, Forget Me Not, in exchange for an honest review.

#ForgetMetNot has an oddly intriguing premise that never quite delivers. Set in a futuristic version of Seattle wherein Facebook has been unseated by the fictional tech giant, Social Hub, the novel follows a “quirky” 24-year-old woman named, Linda Russell, as she tries to acclimate to the “norms” of modern society.

Technically speaking, the story format is somewhat confusing. It is primarily told from Linda’s perspective, but sometimes briefly switches between her new friend, Anvi Hendrickson; email drafts written from her mother, Lorelei, to her father, Arthur; and italicized snippets of what seem to be a random subplot.

I happen to prefer novels that are written in third person and do not mind when an author cleverly intersperses other mediums throughout the text, but these features did not work as well with this particular story. For one, there is no basis to the random subplot. It could easily be omitted from the novel with the exception of one minor detail that could be introduced as part of another character’s storyline.

Second, this may not bother some readers, but I do not like when an author neglects to provide an initial foundation. While I understand that this is how some writers build mystery and suspense, Linda is just too complex of a character to not be given any clear information aside from a single sentence in chapter three and then not again until chapter five. In other words, the reader needs to reach chapter five before they can understand what is happening in the plot.

On the pro side of the technicalities, the author incorporates vivid imagery into many scenes and indicates her awareness of current events by tying them into the story. It is a shame that it takes almost the entire novel for something exciting to occur because the author certainly knows how to write.

As for the actual plot—if you are an avid reader of Sci-Fi novels or enjoy reading books with technological elements, there really is not as much as one would presume there would be after reading a description of the novel. There are definitely a few Sci-Fi/technology themes here (e.g., privacy issues, social media, VR/AR, genetic-based sciences, etc.), but they are not the main focus of the book. These themes are either a way to draw-in a broad spectrum of readers or the author bit off more than she could chew.

The story is truly about themes connected to childhood, including how the way a child is raised can impact the rest of their life, adoption and orphanage, abandonment issues, and patently bad parenting. It is also about how lack of communication between family members affects familial bonds, grief (specifically, the loss of a child), and how to overcome issues stemming from childhood that are then brought into adulthood.

I am intentionally ignoring the obvious elephant in the room since it is the main point of the story and is not revealed until after reading several chapters. I would rather not spoil it for those who like surprises or enjoy being entirely disoriented for at least fifty pages.

Ultimately, this is a strange novel and I think it will appeal to a certain type of reader, but it is probably not for everyone.

I, myself, have never ventured into the world of Virtual Reality(VR)...my claim to video game fame begins and ends with Pole Position but this novel took me into a completely new and somewhat frightening "world" of possibilities. "Clone Girl" is such a hurtful term - and in this novel the word is used hurtfully and many times incorrectly by the small minded people of the town of Cedar Lake. It is extremely hard just being a kid - growing up in a loving family - it has it ups and downs. But Linda, she stole my heart and because of the author's magnificent writing - I felt everything she felt as I read turning from page to page with such eagerness to find a conclusion for Linda's turmoil. Her fear, anxiety, feeling of being unwanted, confusion, simple joys, not being able to trust anyone in her life, and her need to be loved filled me with the exact same feelings while I read. Linda is a beautifully complex character who was designed by the author for readers to easily relate with while taking her journey through heartache to forgiveness. So many times, I wished I could just jump into the book and give her a hug. Add all of those feelings Linda had with the burgeoning world of "conscious technology" and "attempting the medically impossible" and it builds another dimension within this amazing novel. Forget Me Not - has so many interwoven meanings inside this novel...and if you read it carefully enough...you can find and feel them all. A definite MUST READ for thriller book lovers anywhere. I still think about Linda to this day - my heart has designated a space in my heart just for her. Yes, Alexandra Oliva's book is that AMAZING! 🤩 📖

Wow, I was wrapped up in Linda's story right from the start. I enjoyed all the aspects of this book but the pacing/dealing out of details was perfect, just enough to keep you on the edge of seat throughout.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book received in exchange for an honest review.

Forget Me Not centers around Linda Russell, a 20 something year old, who was left to raise herself in rural Washington. Once officially abandoned by her mother at twelve years old, she runs away and leaves the property. She soon learns that her sole purpose was only to replace another daughter who died in a tragic accident years before. The story unravels and Linda tries to uncover more truths about her past.

I really enjoyed reading from Linda's perspective; her fears about being in a crowded place, her wish to connect with her father on some level, and her cherished memories from her childhood. It was such a great change of pace seeing her character develop and open up to the world around her. I loved how fast paced the story was and it kept me engaged and reading much longer than I had expected to be. It was not an earth shattering read, but I did enjoy how the story unfolded and the resolution.

This was an entertaining thriller that was quite the puzzle. I enjoyed trying to find the pieces that fit! The book took place sometime in the future after the COVID-19 pandemic and the world was prospering with many technological innovations. Linda was found abandoned as a child after she witnessed a horrifying event. She lived on her own in the woods until she was found . She had to adjust to a new life and a new, often terrifying reality. She had to catch up with the world because so much was scary to her after being alone in the woods for so long. She is stalked by people on social media and hides to keep her past at bay. She has memories of her childhood that haunt her and she cannot seem to get past them. She makes friends with her new neighbor Anvi which is a huge step for her since she had been isolated and alone for so long. She hears about a fire at her old childhood home and decided to go and see if it gives her any answers to the questions she has about her past. Where is her twin sister? Why did her mother and father abandon her? What happened to her older sister Maddy ? As Linda unravels some of the secrets of her past something horrible happens. The answers may not be what she wants to hear and they are shocking. I found the book hard to put down, the story intense and the ending satisfying.

This was not what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it nonetheless! The style was a bit more literary than I was expecting, and thus a little slower pace-wise. Once I got used to it, I was into it.

The style was also more distant than I'm used to in my thrillers, but I thought it worked with the characters. I wish we'd seen a bit more of Linda's past--like when she's first brought into the regular world versus a few years later--and I thought the VR sequences slowed the flow of the story.

But overall this was very dark and very twisted and is a solid near-future thriller.

Set in the not-too-far distant future, this book references the current pandemic, a severe uptick in public-place violence and a further immersion of technology - alongside comments about race, physical appearance and the ethics of medical technology. It brings to life a future that feels possible and while these alone all make for discussion-starters, they are really more woven into the background of a rather odd and tragic family drama. Linda, now a young woman living on her own in Seattle, was half-feral when she made it off the property where she was born. Now known as #CloneGirl, she is nearly as isolated and alone as she was a child, despite the change in locale. But a new neighbor (with a friendly dog!), and a fire on her property so tied to her identity sets into motion events that lead Linda to learn more about the truth of her past and who she really is.

It's a unique read, that's for sure! I wasn't really sure what to expect from this one. And I appreciated the very plausible setting - and was greatly glad for Nibbler (isn't every book improved by a great dog?!). But the fire plot line felt a bit clunky and though I appreciated the emails to help provide insight into Linda's mother, I would've liked something similar for her father. It's an interesting and fast-paced read, but I didn't feel terribly connected to any of the characters and the inclusion of all the virtual reality and games and simulators made me feel a bit manipulated as a reader into distrusting a lot of the narration. By the end, I didn't really feel that way, but it in the midst of reading, it did detract a bit from the fun.

Is it real or computer generated?
Sometimes the story is a bit confusing and it takes a while to see all the pieces slowly falling into place. You meet Linda the main character some years in the future. Linda has a hard time adapting to her current living condition in a city environment and trying not to establish contact with anybody. When finally she meets a neighbor she doesn’t know if she can trust her but makes allowances wanting to take comfort with the presence of the dog. The story is happening in the near future so we encounter some enhanced technology. Wearable sleeves that replaces or smart phones, state of the art reality games that makes you feel you are inside the game allowing interaction, changing and building items like a replica of your own house. Linda manages to lose herself for hours within the game giving her a sense of control over her life. Sometimes you will wonder what is real and what is not and I can tell you that you are going to continue reading because you want to find out. Just think about a child been used of taking care of herself with no contact to anybody except a non-caring mother suddenly finds herself with a father in the modern world. Becoming an adult and living in a busy city would be very hard. Will she survive or is she only part of a computer generated world. Get the book and enjoy.

This book grabs the reader’s attention from the first sentence, which begins, “A woman whose name shouldn’t be Linda...” Why shouldn’t her name be Linda? We will find out soon enough. Oliva skillfully introduces Linda and the other characters bit by bit, letting the reader into each character’s view of the world.
She does the same with the setting, using observations like a gas-powered car being an unusual sight to let the reader know that the story is set in the future. It’s an absolutely believable view of a future that many readers in 2021 could imagine living to see.
The pacing feels just right, with minor cliffhangers at the end of each chapter that make the reader want to turn the page to find out what happens next. There are a few surprise twists, one of which I partially saw coming but that didn’t turn out exactly how I thought it would.
The book also touches on societal issues like racial prejudice and the role of social media but does so in a way that weaves naturally into the plot and reflects each character’s personality and experience. Overall, it’s a gripping story with vivid, realistic characters that the reader can root for even though they are flawed and make mistakes.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3869294516

Linda Russell and her twin were birthed to replace their dead sister by a now missing mother with serious psychological issues. Barely making it through everyday life, Linda traverses her world with mental pep talks and doing her best to avoid human interaction. She wonders at the loss of her twin and the whereabouts of their mother all while hiding from a world that says she shouldn’t exist. Then one day Anvi and Nibbler move in and the possibility of a real friend starts to break down the walls of safety Linda has built. Until her childhood home goes up in flames and Linda is thrust into the social media spotlight again for her abused past.

What started as a slow climb to the apex turned into a fast-paced page turner by the end. Linda is an unreliable narrator with an unbelievable and sad backstory. The first half brings you into her psyche and her untrusting nature. Slowly unraveling her past and dislodging snippets of her upbringing with her sister and relationship with her mother. Set in the not so distant future where social media, technology and virtual reality are taking off into new avenues. This was truly a mind-bending psychological thrill ride. Keep in mind this is a slow builder, so be prepared to cozy in.

I love a good gaming aspect set in my novels and while I can see the reasoning for the virtual scenes in this book, I do think they weren’t fully necessary for the overall plot. However, the escapism and underlying trolling aspects of social media were played into well. A deep dive into the more vicious side of social media, fanatics and lack of privacy that exists in this futuristic world.

The psychological side is what hooked me the most. The author’s writing spoke to the heartbreak of losing a child and the affects it had on each of the individuals in this novel. The progressiveness of mental illness and the weight of regrets and self-blame. There is so much in this book that I could not fit it all into my review. I enjoyed my time with this read and recommend this to readers who enjoy a psychological thriller mixed with virtual reality aspects. It took around halfway before it started to really kick off and start connecting the dots but when it does, you’ll be flipping pages as quickly as I did.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this gifted digital arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

You know those books you read where you smack your hand against your thigh and a bit too loudly proclaim "I knew it!" to a (hopefully) empty room? I had one of those moments near the end of this book. But instead of making me feel it was a deficiency in the writing, I loved the twist (and that is all I am going to say about it) and was really excited to see it. The book has a slow start with only minor pieces to the puzzle being revealed to the reader. I could have used a quicker introduction to the overall basis of the story, but enjoyed getting to know Linda and really enjoyed the development of the supporting character, Anvi, but I think more could have been done to flesh out Arthur. The story slowly brings the reader to a point of no return where you have to finish the book before considering moving on to something else. I like books like that!

I received a galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

<i>Forget Me Not</i> is a thriller with a very heavy near-future science fiction basis. The tension begins right from the start, based on sheer social anxiety as we experience the discomfort Linda endures in her life in Seattle. The details of why this is emerge gradually, sometimes too gradually: Linda is now in her 20s, and as a child was abandoned by her mother to live wild on an isolated forest estate for a decade. She is a subject of derision on social media, dubbed "Clone Girl," though she wasn't really a clone--but she was conceived to replace the 'perfect' child her parents lost to a tragic accident. Linda could never live up to those expectations.

The worldbuilding is deep and intriguing. Social media and virtual reality play major roles in the plot, and there's an eerie plausibility to the development of tech. The people, though, are what really make the book work. Even as action escalates through the book, human psychology is where the drama truly lies--in Linda's struggles to adapt, in her wealthy father's haphazard efforts to help her, in Linda's new friendship with her neighbor, and most of all, in the wrecked mind of Linda's mother. It probably goes without saying, but this isn't a book for anyone who is triggered by child abuse or abusive families.

Without getting into spoilers, though, I will say that the overall arc of the book is a positive one. Linda is a character to relate to and cheer for, and I enjoyed being part of her journey, tense and scary as it was at times.

Imagine being born strictly to replace a beloved child who was tragically lost...and when that didn't work out as desired, being left pretty much alone to grow up wild and free on a walled estate.

Ten years ago, Linda escaped the rural compound where she'd been kept and appeared in town, filthy and dressed in rags, stepping into what would become a social media frenzy she was ill-equipped to handle--made worse by the fact that she is the only living daughter of Arthur Niequist, famous computer scientist and wealthy philanthropist.

Now at 24, she is trying to learn how to live on her own in the world while all her instincts scream for her to remain isolated. Can she safely take a walk, go grocery shopping, maybe even make a friend, without being recognized and hounded? There are so many pieces of the puzzle of her life that remain unanswered. Why? Why? Why? And now it is reported that her former home has been set ablaze...accident or arson?

The story is set in the Seattle, Washington area, in the near-future where the pandemic is in the the rear-view mirror and technology seems to have advanced just a bit: self-driving cars and virtual reality games are common and an arm-worn device called a 'sleeve' has replaced smart phones to help run every aspect of life. It also allows Arthur to keep track of his daughter's every move.

The details of Linda's childhood are slowly revealed as she tries to sort through and make sense of her memories. Interspered are drafts of emails written by her missing mother, Lorelei, to her husband, Arthur. Were they ever sent?

Another mysterious thread weaves through the story and its purpose isn't revealed until the end of the book. I'm not sure whether that thread strengthens the plot or is merely a head-scratcher.

I enjoyed my first taste of Alexandra Oliva's writing: Linda is a damaged but likable protagonist and the setting is well described. I am now eager to read her first novel, The Last One. I was offered an arc widget by the publisher via netGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the opportunity!