Forgotten [Paperback]

Forgotten is the third book by author Catherine McKenzie. I've read the first two - Spin and Arranged, but I have to say, this latest book is my favourite. (so far!)

I always stop and look at a cover before reading and wonder - what does the picture have to say about the story? Where could this woman be going?

Well, Emma Tupper goes on more than one journey. When her mother dies, she leaves Emma a ticket for a journey she wished she could have taken herself - a month in Africa.

"Her death was a fractional thing. One moment she was still and pale, but alive. The next she was gone. It seemed like almost nothing had happened, but that almost nothing changed everything for me."

Emma is a lawyer and has been working towards partnership for many years. When her firm strongly discourages her taking a month long absence, she surprises herself by going anyway. The trip starts out well, but within a few days, Emma is seriously ill. The safari leader leaves her with volunteers in a remote village with a promise to send a doctor. But then an earthquake decimates the country. Emma recovers, but there is still no way for her to contact anyone from her remote village. Six months later, she is finally able to return, ready to step into her life again. But, that life is no more - the key to her apartment doesn't work, there's a strange man living there, she can't reach any of her friends by phone, someone else has her job...and more. When Emma googles herself, she discovers the truth - she's been declared dead.

McKenzie has concocted a great premise that just opens up so many avenues. As one supporting character advises Emma - to "treat what happened to me like an opportunity to change the things in my life I didn't like."

Emma was an eminently likable character. Her best friend Stephanie was loads of fun - I'm quite taken with her bookstore/match making concept! All the classic elements of a great chick lit read are here - love interests (then and now), b****y co-workers, a great supporting cast with both humourous and wise characters, missed cues and found opportunities. But in addition to all that, there is that underlying question - what's important and what would you change? Lots of food for thought there.

McKenzie's prose flow easily, deliciously enveloping me in Emma's tale for hours at a time. If you're looking for the best books to stock your beach bag with this year, make sure you include Forgotten. It's one you won't forget. (sorry - couldn't resist!)

Forgottenis a novel about starting over amidst unusual circumstances and illustrates that the impetus for change can come in many ways regardless of whether you want it or are ready for it. Emma's life is altered forever when she returns home from what was supposed to be a three week trip to Africa - her mother's last wish before her untimely death - but due to a natural disaster, she unexpectedly ends up remaining for six months. Returning home, Emma discovers everything she had was gone - her apartment, all her belongings, her bank account, even her boyfriend has moved on. Labeled missing and presumed dead, Emma finds that nothing normal remains of her perfect and orderly life. Watching Emma fight and then ultimately accept and adapt to her unexpected circumstances leads to a unique, fast paced and absorbing read.

In typical McKenzie style, the premise of Forgotten is just as unique and original as the storylines of her previous two novels and is one I found incredibly intriguing. To suddenly show up after several months expecting your life to go on as usual when it's anything but because you've been declared to be missing and presumed dead was fascinating. How would I react if that was me? Would I expect everyone and everything to fall back into place, even if I wasn't aware -as Emma was - that this assumption had occurred? Who could I go stay with? How would I be received? What if I wasn't fortunate as I am to have friends and family that would take me in? What then? These were just a few questions inspired by reading Forgotten. It really made me think. And I like that.

McKenzie's main characters usually grow on me over the course of her novels as I initially seem to have a hard time warming up to them. I find they are usually more detached and a bit cooler than other leading ladies I have cheered for in women's fiction, but this doesn't mean they are not worth rooting for. They all discover themselves over the course of her novels and Forgotten was no exception, although I found I didn't enjoy Emma's character quite as much. She came across as more rigid and dry to me and I didn't find her internal dialogue and observations nearly as funny as McKenzie's previous two main characters. I also thought her expectation that everything and everyone would just accept her back into their lives when she stayed away for so long without contact was a little too self-centered, but I suspect my own priorities might have been different. Even though I knew Emma was going through a rough time questioning her life after her mother's passing, I just couldn't relate especially with the slow drip of information that was revealed over the course of the novel which made me even more unappreciative of her lack of contact.

The supporting characters in Forgotten were fabulous. I wanted to have Emma's best friend over to share a bottle of wine and have dinner with her exuberant and loving family. Emma's love interest made me swoon and her arch enemy made me just as stabby as Emma. They were all fantastic and I only wish I had had the same strong feelings for Emma.

Regardless, I still really enjoyed Forgotten even with a little detachment. I still can't quite put a finger on exactly why Forgotten didn't stand out as much as McKenzie's first two novels, Spin and Arranged, both of which I loved, but it was definitely still worth the read.

The story grabs you right from the start and holds your interest to the end. I found the writing style to be similar to the author's other book, Spin, which I also enjoyed.