Review: Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally

Things I Can't Forget

(Hundred Oaks # 3)

By: Miranda Kenneally

Pub. Date: March 1, 2013

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages: 304

Source: Netgalley

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 a 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…

I usually stay far away from stories where religion itself is a character. But I am a huge fan of Miranda Kenneally other novels, Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker and decided to read Things I Can't Forget despite my reservations. I did not enjoy this one as much as the other ones though, mainly because I had HUGE issues with the main character, Kate. I could not stand her. Her best friend said it perfectly, "you are a judgmental bitch!" Kate was just way to judgmental for me. You can be religious without being a bitch. When she helped her friend get an abortion, she stepped outside her belief system. She put her beliefs aside for her friend, which I command her for. But the fact that she kept bringing it up bothered me. Her need to always pray also bothered me. It was just too much religion thrown my way, and it took away from the rest of the story.

Besides the fact that Kate was religious, I also thought she was a horrible friend. A Christian should help those in need, and when she finds out her other friend is being abused by his father, she does nothing to help him, because she could get in trouble. What she does do is lecture him though, because that is apparently what he needs. Ugh, I'm sorry. I'll stop talking about Kate.

I did enjoy seeing Parker again. She had her own problems last year, and you can see that she still has trouble trusting people. But I liked how she and Kate became friends. I also liked Kate's love interest, Matt. He was a sweet guy. The perfect blend of being able to have strong beliefs, while never judging others for theirs.

Maybe we were supposed to hate Kate as first. A good story makes you feel, but a great story really stirs up your emotions, like this one did! Kate grew up a lot during her summer at Cumberland Creek, and she definitely changed for the better! I am excited to read Kenneally's next Hundred Oaks book, Racing Savannah.