Book Review: The Forgetting by Nicole Maggi

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The Forgetting
Author: Nicole Maggi
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mystery | Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 3rd 2015
Review Source: Sourcebooks Fire | Netgalley

Georgie's new heart saved her life...but now she's losing her mind.

Georgie Kendrick wakes up after a heart transplant, but the organ beating in her chest doesn't seem to be in tune with the rest of her body. Why does she have a sudden urge for strawberries when she's been allergic for years? Why can't she remember last Christmas?

Driven to find her donor, Georgie discovers her heart belonged to a girl her own age who fell out of the foster care system and into a rough life on the streets. Everyone thinks she committed suicide, but Georgie is compelled to find the truth - before she loses herself completely.

At first glance, The Forgetting sounded very interesting. The heart in Georgie’s body is still beating for someone else—it’s previous owner. That got me curious straight away. It’s an interesting concept begging to be explored.

After a sudden heart failure Georgie needs a heart transplant. The worst part is it doesn’t fit into Georgie’s plans. It’s only a couple months until her Julliard interview and she certainly doesn’t have the time to waste. Then, things get worse. Ever since she woke up from the surgery she’s felt...off. Her heart doesn’t seem to be beating in tune with the rest of her body, she’s remembering things which never happened to her and losing memories which did happen. She needs to find out what’s going on, and in order to do that, she’s going to follow the life of the girl who’s heart she’s got; the girl who committed suicide.

It took me a while to get into The Forgetting. I didn’t understand The Catch (AKA the strange “catch” in between her breathing. The abnormality inside her). It felt a little paranormal—ghostly—but not really, and that confused me slightly. I’m used to books being 100% normal or completely paranormal, not ghostly dipping in the normal world. This wasn't a problem for me, just an observation.

Other than that the story progressed lovely. Georgie started off as a privileged kid, though not a brat, but she never really had to struggle for anything. Apparently a near death experience can change a person, because Georgie completely transformed. After the transplant when she’s hell bent on finding the person who donated their heart, she finds Nate when her curiosity led her the building of her previous heart owner's death site. Nate is a guy who volunteers at a centre which helps trafficked kids. From there their worlds intertwine and nothing will be the same for either of them.

There were some things I wish had more attention in the book. Like FAIR Girls, the trafficking safe place. We're introduced to some characters at the centre and I regret that we don't have a conclusion for them. I want to know more about them. They're messed up lost characters and I'd love to hear their stories.

The best thing about this story, however, is that it's informative with the information it shares. The trafficked girls, the prostitution, it's eye opening for the reader. My knowledge with both subjects was bare minimum before reading. After reading The Forgetting I came away with some information, enough information about both topics for it to be eye opening to any reader.