Remember to Forget, Revised and Expanded

This book is from Blink and as you may know, I'm not a fan of the publishing company. I went into this book with low expectations yet hoping it would be good because it intrigued me. The author is a seventeen year old student and has become popular with Remember to Forget. I wanted to read this and see what it's like to read a fellow teen writer's work.

The writing style is fantastic, realistic and get's you into the characters very well. There is darkness in Levi's life and you feel it - it feels very real and human. There is some romance between Delilah and Levi as you would expect simply from reading the back cover, but the kisses are quick and nothing that sensual like in a few of the the Blink Publisher's books.

It was a sweet read, one of overcoming depression and loss but not forgetting the memories of the ones that have gone on before. It's remembering to forget enough to move on and have a new life and there is nothing wrong with that.

Still I had qualms with the book - it was by no means perfect. P*ss and cr*p was used once or twice which isn't terrible terrible or anything, but there was also teen partying that I felt the characters had nothing wrong with.

God was mentioned never that I can recall and no one went to church or mentioned redemption. Having felt on the verge of cutting and all that I know that full redemption from depression could only come through Christ, and I would like to have heard a mention at least that Levi was attending church a few times.

The read was altogether clean, the story touching in many scenes but it lacked the one thing that saves us from our worst short-comings - the Love of the Father.

Thanks to Blink and BookLOOK for this free read in exchange for doing a review. I'm grateful to get free books once a month!

This is so, so, so not my normal type of story. I mean, hello, sad! Tragic is in the first line of the description. Yet something drew me to this book, and beckoned me to read it.

And I am so glad I did. Remember to Forget was incredible! This story is the definition of the feels. This book will give you all the feels. Remember to Forget is THE FEELS. Heartbreaking emotion collides with eternal hope and then meets up hysterical one-liners. I couldn't love this book more. Bravo Ashley Royer!

Levi is broken. His family and friends are at a loss. So they move Levi across the world, and where he meets a special girl who refuses to give up on him, who reminds him of all that he had lost, who is wonderfully different, who helps him see the light in the world again. The heartache is beautifully balanced with yearning, love, and hope. I love how this small group of friends became a support for Levi, and then you get to see Levi reach out to someone else who's hurting. Very touching. Levi started off being an angry twit, before he starts to heal. His character was well developed.

It should also be noted that while Blink is a Christian publishing company, their awesome books are not intended to be overtly Christian, and instead be more like mainstream fiction. There might be situations or less polite words that shock the conservative reader in this story. However, it is real life and genuine, and Christ-like undertones drive the characters forward.

I received a copy of Remember to Forget by Ashley Royer from Blink via BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

Remember to Forget is not just a great book for a first time author, it's a great book period! Ashley has done a wonderful job representing adults and peers dealing with someone going through an array of emotions brought on by a traumatic event. It is a compelling story line that draws you in and holds on. There is no wonder Ashley has gained so much recognition from multiple publications. I strongly recommend Remember to Forget for its emotional intensity and the lesson to be learned when you stand by someone when the easy thing to do would be to walk away,

This book ended up being quite a bit different from what I was anticipating. Im not even really sure what I was expecting, beyond maybe a book about self discovery. What I found was a little of that, a bit of romance, and a dose of rediscovery. I enjoyed seeing the characters come to life from among the pages and I kept turning them well into the night more than once.

After losing his girlfriend, Levi Harrison decides to stop talking and draws into himself to the point his mother decides to send him to Maine to get away from all of the memories lurking behind every bend in his home in Australia. He has clinical depression and a host of other things that make him volatile to be around. I found Levi to be a surprisingly compelling character, for not being the nicest person around. My heart broke for him and everything that he was going through. The author did an excellent job of letting me experience some of his emotions, without causing them to be overwhelming. The topic of depression is a dark one, as is grief. Combining them both in this story made it a hard read at times, though one I found very thought provoking. I would definitely recommend this book to young adults who are either struggling with depression or know someone who is. It presents an unvarnished view of this distressing topic, while also offering hope that things can become better.

Ms. Royer chose a unique writing style that Im seeing become increasingly more popular. She presents the story from alternating first-person points of view. In this case, I got to read from Levis perspective, as well as Delilahs, which I enjoyed. I liked getting to see Levi through another characters eyes and understanding his situation from another vantage point. Im finding this style draws me further into the characters emotions and lives, so I do enjoy it when its done well, as it is here. I did have to pay close attention to the opening of each chapter though, to keep track of which characters head I was going to be in. Along with the unique perspectives, the author also does a great job with the details and descriptions, bringing the story to life and keeping me engaged. I never found it lagging or losing my attention, and it kept me thinking about it even while I was supposed to be doing something else. My only negative comment here is that I didnt care for the Delia-Delilah names. I found myself often getting them confused. I understood the purpose was to compare the characters, but I wouldve really appreciated names that differed a bit more, to help my poor brain keep them straight.

From a Christian perspective, I was a little disappointed that this book isnt Christian-based. Levi doesnt find his hope in God. In fact, religion is never mentioned, except maybe in a passing thought of why God let him lose someone so important. Instead, Levi finds hope in relationships and happiness in finding new friends. While not necessarily a bad thing, it left me with an impression of skewed priorities. This didnt deter me from reading it, or even enjoying it, but I did find myself missing the Christian viewpoint.

I would like to note that this isnt a light summer read, or just a book to pass some time. It broke my heart a little bit and I found it to be difficult reading at times. If youre looking for a quirky, easy read, then I wouldnt recommend this book to you. I would also advise that this might not be a book for younger teens, with some of the heavy topics it focuses on. Though that is definitely a judgment call for each individual to make.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book through the publisher for my honest review, which I have given. I was not required to write a positive review and have not been compensated for it in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Remember to Forget by Ashley Royer is published by Thomas Nelson. As a reviewer, being the same age as the author, I say kudos to her and her success. While I could tell that she wasn't as "polished", if you will, as professional writers, I thought that she did a good job, and many teenage girls will enjoy this story. This was originally written as a fan fiction for a band called 5 Seconds of Summer (which I will admit that I'm not familiar with their songs, but was still able to enjoy the story).



Levi recently lost his girlfriend and is not only grieving, but is suffering emotionally and mentally. His mom sends him from his Australian home to his dad's house in Maine. It is there that he begins to heal as he meets a girl who reminds him of the one whom he lost.



Delilah's curiosity is piqued by the new boy in town, but is put off by his rude ways (as was I). As she slowly gets to know him, she begins to feel sympathy for him and a desire to get to know him better.



As a young adult novel, I thought this was fairly good. I read it while recovering in bed from a surgery, so it's not like I had much better to do, otherwise I may have lost interest earlier. I did think it was a sweet story and it helped to pass the time. I found a handful of typos, but I believe I received an advanced copy, so they may have been changed by the time a copy is purchased.



Thank you so much to Thomas Nelson and their Book Look bloggers program for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own and were not required to be positive.