Things I Can't Forget by Miranda Kenneally
Published: Sourcebooks Fire (March 1st, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Paperback: 320 pages
Series: Hundred Oaks, #3
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Summary:
Companion to Catching Jordan and Stealing Parker.
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…
Review:
Ah, such a wonderful series. One of my favorite parts of Miranda's Hundred Oaks series is that we stay in the same group of people. No, some of them aren't the best of friends, but they are all connected in some way.
In Things I Can't Forget we meet Kate. Kate is the ultimate good girl. She goes to church, doesn't drink, have sex, cuss, etc. But she does have one secret and it is eating her up inside. She goes to Cumberland Creek camp as a counselor and hopes to escape the thoughts tormenting her about her best friend back home and what she helped her do.
While at the camp we meet Matt. But Matt and Kate do have a bit of a past at the camp. It was nice to hear how they had met and what they were like as kids. Matt is a wonderful character. He was so kind and understanding. I felt that he accepted people no matter what.
Kate was difficult to like. She's very very judgmental. She's a pretty hardcore Christian and this makes her pretty much pick everything apart. She's always reminding people about what they are doing wrong. She's a bit of a prude too. I tried to understand that this was just how she was raised but this just made getting to know her a bit difficult. I wanted to slap her on a few occasions.
Over time, the people at camp really show her that not all things are cookie-cutter. Sometimes people don't have the best upbringing and they may have reasons for being snarky or angry. One of the best lessons in this comes from Parker, who we meet in Stealing Parker. She is a great reminder of how life can throw you a curveball and how you have to deal with what comes. It's so nice to see these connections throughout the series.
This is a wonderful continuation of the Hundred Oaks series. The religious themes were a bit more obvious in this book but it definitely didn't dominate it. After a while it was easier to see how Kate was changing and learning to accept people for who they were. I can't wait for the next story!
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