What a fantastic solo debut for Alyson Derrick!

Forget me not is a raw and beautiful story about two young queer people who secretly fall in love in a very conservative town surrounded by family and friends who would seek to keep them from finding themselves and each other.

It was heartbreaking but also magical watching these two find, fight and fall for each other again, despite the insurmountable challenges they faced.

At times I did find this book moved a bit slowly, so be patient! It is absolutely worth it - I will think about Nora, Stevie and their love for years to come.

Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick cracked my heart open and then healed it like it was no big deal. With a premise like this one, I anticipated many tear-filled moments while reading, and boy, was I not wrong. Believe me when I say I sobbed my way through this novel.

Before starting this book, I had mixed opinions on the amnesia trope, but I feel like Derrick used it very thoughtfully in Forget Me Not. It was so difficult to read from Stevie’s perspective knowing there were two years of memories she was missing. But this book wasn’t all about loss; having that ‘blank slate’ helped Stevie to see things she had grown accustomed to in a new light, which led to some very powerful reveals. I really appreciated seeing her go through the growing pains of discovering herself – falling in love with Nora – all over again.

I’m a romantic at heart, so the thought of choosing your partner over and over again, even if you don’t remember them, really tugged at my heartstrings.

What made Forget Me Not stand out so distinctly for me was that it managed the perfect balance of wholesomeness and realistic conflict (even despite the soap opera-level premise). Stevie and Nora live in a small town with many “small-town values”. Derrick didn’t shy away from addressing this. But she also doesn’t leave her readers without hope. This balanced nuisance helped ground this story and made it all the more moving.

Usually the amnesia trope is not my thing but Alyson Derrick does a phenomenal job with this story.. Stevie and Nora have kept their relationship a secret and had planned to leave their small town. Sadly, an accident causes Stevie to lose her memory and the story begins. I was skeptical how the big reveal would play out but it was great with little nuggets left throughout the book.

I sobbed at the ending of this book. I think every LGBTQ+ character deserves an ending like this one. It was full of acceptance and love and just made me cry.

Not interested in this title anymore. I tried to pick this up twice already and haven’t been able to get past the first chapter. It’s mostly a me problem. I have stepped away from young adult recently and have been more interested in literary fiction titles lately. Thank you for the opportunity to find this. I’m just reading very selective young adult titles at the moment. The concept seems like a promising book though.

I really enjoyed Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick. To be honest, I was nervous my heart was going to get stomped on but it was actually not overly angsty after all. (Although, let's be honest, I did cry at the end - but for reasons I was not expecting.) The character work for the main characters was excellent and their chemistry was perfect, a bit less so for some of the secondary characters but they did all feel real and some had more depth than others. It also had a great sense of place - especially considering that sort of small sort-of agricultural town is not something that I have any experience with. To be honest, I did have to suspend my disbelief a tiny bit around the amnesia timeline but it worked. In reading some other reviews, I think that this book might hit harder for younger people and/or queer folks who grew up in a small towns.

Overall, I recommend this book - it was beautiful, flowed smoothly and had great pacing, with endearing characters with a lot of heart. I listened to the audio and narrator Natalie Naudus is one of my faves and did a great job with it - she really hits the emotional parts just right!

I received a free copy of Forget Me Not from Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Wow.

The hype over this book is 100% worth it. I promise. Forget Me Not will tease you, break your heart, and rebuild every little piece of it. This was a glorious, epic “second-chance” love story. Stevie has an accident and loses her memory of the last two years, including her girlfriend Nora—and the fact that she’s queer at all. Over the course of the novel, Nora attempts to bring Stevie back into their swoon-worthy romance while not overwhelming her with their impending trip away from their small town.

I love every moment of this novel. It had so many strong points. If you want to read a queer romance that will make you feel every emotion, pick up Forget Me Not.

Okay, the stomach drop the anxiety there finally being a happy ending. All of it was BEAUTIFUL. AMAZING

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. A beautiful story, truly lovely writing style and captivating and engaging characters.

Forget Me Not, written by Alyson Derrick, is a touching and unforgettable novel that delves into the complexities of love, loss, and the power of memories. This heartwarming story takes readers on an emotional journey, exploring themes of forgiveness, self-discovery, and the profound connections that can endure despite the passage of time.

The plot of Forget Me Not is a delicate balance of past and present, as the protagonist navigates the intertwined threads of her memories and the possibilities of a new beginning. The pacing is well-managed, gradually unraveling the layers of the story and keeping readers engaged. The narrative alternates between poignant and uplifting moments, crafting a compelling and satisfying arc.

I wasn't sure how I would like this book with the amnesia trope. I think this book was well done and well written. I definitely recommend this book. The writing style was great.

This was SO beautiful and so emotional, I couldn’t put it down. I felt so much for these characters and the difficult situation they were in and I was rooting for them so much!!

Wow words cannot describe how heartbreaking, raw and beautiful this book was. It was painful in the BEST way.
Forget Me Not is the story of two girls, secretly in love and living in a conservative town. They have plans to run away together, but a tragic accident befalls one of them. When she wakes, she can't remember the last two years of her life, including her girlfriend. So her girlfriend sets about making her fall in love with her all over again.
Stevie and Nora's love story is beautiful and heart wrenching. I can't imagine loving someone but have them not remember you. Both Stevie and Nora are very closeted due to the racist and homophobic small town they live in. Stevie's dad is a Fox News watching conservative, and her mom....well I'll let the book tell that part. Nora's mother is just downright horrible, and doesn't love Nora the way a mother should. Stevie’s experience with racism, especially the more covert kind, was terrible. From her fake friends who said backhanded racist remarks to the assault that her and Nick experienced at the truck night, It was a heartbreaking glimpse into what being a minority in small town America is like (or small town Canada, for that matter. Canada is just as bad.)
The book was heartbreakingly realistic. The hiding all evidence of queerness/queer relationships, the lying, the stolen moments together I've lived all of that and found myself at several points having to put the book down because of all the trauma it was bringing up.
Stevie and Nora had insane chemistry, and watching Stevie fall in love again and relearn her queerness made my heart so happy. I especially loved the letters that Nora wrote that gave us just a little insight into how she felt during the story.
The ending really got me though. It was bittersweet, and for me, more bitter than sweet. Bitter because I really thought that Stevie's parents weren't going to be accepting, and as terrible as it sounds, I didn't want them to accept her. I wanted to see a character who, like me, has to learn to live without family and be okay with it, and come out stronger. So when her parents showed up at the last minute and everything was fine, it broke me a little bit. Why do these happy endings only happen in fiction?
All in all this was a beautiful novel and I highly recommend everyone read it! 5/5 stars

Stevie and Nora have been secretly dating for the past two years. They are planning a life together after high school, far away from their town and families that wouldn’t accept their love. But then Stevie has a tragic accident and loses all her memories of Nora and what they had. Will Stevie be able to remember the past two years and find her way back to Nora?


This book was like a second chance in love. Even though they didn’t need to be reminded at the moment what they had. Stevie had to figure out, all over again, what she was feeling and fall for Nora head over heels again.


I had forgotten how it felt when I first fell in love. It's almost like I had amnesia for the past years, too. This book made me remember the feeling of falling. I miss it, and I want it back. Maybe I can if I try hard enough. I’m sure that spark, that excitement, is still there. I just have to reignite it. 


I read several reviews about this book and was anticipating a big cry. I didn’t have the big one, but I shed a little tear at the end. It was a different kind of coming-out love story, and I truly enjoyed it.

Book Review: Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick

What if a terrible accident led to the complete memory loss of the last two years of your life?

This is exactly what happens to 18-year old Stevie Green when a head injury causes her to suffer from amnesia post-recovery. She forgets that her family and friend relationships were strained; she forgets which colleges she applied to; and she forgets that she was once in love with a girl named Nora.

As Stevie desperately tries to remember the last two years of her life, and fill in the missing holes, she realizes that some of her closest friends and family members have been withholding the truth.

Forget Me Not was a beautiful YA story about finding your way back to the ones you love and mending broken relationships. This story had LGBTQ and Asian representation.

This may not be a book that I will forever remember (no irony intended) but it was a quick and enjoyable read that I do recommend!

Forget Me Not released on April 4, 2023 and is now available in bookstores and online!

⚠️ Potential trigger warnings: traumatic brain injury, amnesia, racism, homophobia, strained family relationships (may not be an exhaustive list)

🙏 Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for the gifted electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fabulous. One of my faves of the year so far.

I adored this story so much. How Nora never gave up on Stevie, that Stevie was able to find her true self again, and that they trusted themselves and each other enough to fall back into their love.

It was so hard to watch Stevie being manipulated into what others wanted from her. And also that so many people didn’t tell her the truth of her life before the accident. But I was glad to see her stand up for herself and remove those toxic people from her life.

And the end? I had tears. It was so bittersweet to see that Stevie had that support system there but they weren’t brave or strong enough to let their true feelings known before that moment.

If you want a YA sapphic romance with love overcoming obstacles while growing up and finding yourself, definitely pick this one up.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5
This book was so good. In the first few chapters of the book, I felt myself starting to get bored but the feeling immediately stopped as soon as the main event happened. I felt deeply connected with the characters and was happy to see them grow. I felt that the characters were deeply lovable. I cried at the end and felt extremely satisfied with the plot's resolution.

Derrick is an American author. While she co-wrote the successful YA romance "She gets the Girl" with her wife Rachel Lippincott, this is her debut solo novel. It is another LGBTQ2+ YA romance, this time about an 18-year-old girl, Stevie, who loses two years of her memory after a bad fall and forgets about her secret relationship of two years with Nora. Set in a town that is both very conservative and religious where being openly gay is not readily accepted, the book follows the girls as they try to adjust to there new lives and work their way back to each other. This is a sweet love story (with very little 'spice')that is told with some humour. It is a great recommendation for teens and adults alike. I really enjoyed it.

4.75/5⭐️

Can I just say that this was ADORABLE??? This was the movie “The Vow” but make it gay, and make them girls who just graduated high school and have planned their whole life together just to have it snatched away from them because of an accident. I honestly loved this so much! I also love how Stevie was half Korean cause I find it so much easier to relate to characters when I know they’d look like me. Anyways, Stevie and Nora are the cutest and I loved this!

Heartbreakingly beautiful story about losing someone and finding your way back to them. Stunning debut from Alyson Derrick. This story of Stevie and Nora is, complex, raw and honest. The writing of the main characters pulls the reader in immediately and creates that emotional connection between reader and character. Forget Me Not is an emotional rollercoaster that felt so relatable and realistic. Love a coming of age sapphic novel.