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tadams_sg's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the other books in this series much more.
I had issues with the main character Kate. She was rather insufferable at times. I think the ending with the conversation between Kate and Megan was anti-climatic. I wish Kate had stood her ground and confronted Megan with multiple examples of her horrible leadership skills.
The book was entertaining and I kept wanting to read it until I was finally finished, but in the end I was just meh. I think the other books I've read by Kenneally were much easier with which to identify and relate.
On a positive note, I though it was wonderful how Kenneally intertwined the previous main characters in the series, Jordan and Parker. Hats off to Kenneally on that.
I had issues with the main character Kate. She was rather insufferable at times. I think the ending with the conversation between Kate and Megan was anti-climatic. I wish Kate had stood her ground and confronted Megan with multiple examples of her horrible leadership skills.
The book was entertaining and I kept wanting to read it until I was finally finished, but in the end I was just meh. I think the other books I've read by Kenneally were much easier with which to identify and relate.
On a positive note, I though it was wonderful how Kenneally intertwined the previous main characters in the series, Jordan and Parker. Hats off to Kenneally on that.
julie_reads15's review against another edition
4.0
'Things I Can't Forget' by Miranda Kenneally is a young adult book about how Kate's religious beliefs effect her relationships with those around her.
Kate has always been the good Christian girl that her parents raised her to be, until she goes against her religious beliefs and helps her best friend, Emily, buy a pregnancy test.
This summer, Kate is a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp where she reunites with Matt, who was her first kiss. Matt has transformed from a geeky songwriter into a buff lifeguard.
Kate finds herself falling in love with Matt but is terrified of disrespecting her beliefs.
Kate thought life was black and white, right and wrong. She goes through a journey of transformation and realises life isn't that simple. She struggles to find a balance between having a boyfriend and still respecting her beliefs.
At first, Kate was a judgmental and harsh character, disrespecting other people's beliefs because they were different to hers. Throughout the story, she learns that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and becomes more accepting.
Although it is not necessary to read the first two books in the Hundred Oaks series before reading 'Things I Can't Forget,' characters from the previous books show up as secondary characters. I loved reading about these characters and finding out what they're currently doing with their lives.
Even though I do not share the same religious beliefs as Kate, I still found this book enjoyable to read. It was interesting reading about how Kate's firm beliefs effect her day to day life and relationships.
I loved the romance aspect of the book. It balanced perfectly with the rest of the story.
Kate has always been the good Christian girl that her parents raised her to be, until she goes against her religious beliefs and helps her best friend, Emily, buy a pregnancy test.
This summer, Kate is a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp where she reunites with Matt, who was her first kiss. Matt has transformed from a geeky songwriter into a buff lifeguard.
Kate finds herself falling in love with Matt but is terrified of disrespecting her beliefs.
Kate thought life was black and white, right and wrong. She goes through a journey of transformation and realises life isn't that simple. She struggles to find a balance between having a boyfriend and still respecting her beliefs.
At first, Kate was a judgmental and harsh character, disrespecting other people's beliefs because they were different to hers. Throughout the story, she learns that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and becomes more accepting.
Although it is not necessary to read the first two books in the Hundred Oaks series before reading 'Things I Can't Forget,' characters from the previous books show up as secondary characters. I loved reading about these characters and finding out what they're currently doing with their lives.
Even though I do not share the same religious beliefs as Kate, I still found this book enjoyable to read. It was interesting reading about how Kate's firm beliefs effect her day to day life and relationships.
I loved the romance aspect of the book. It balanced perfectly with the rest of the story.
ali_e18's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
ryleewalter's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shirleymak's review against another edition
4.0
Awww okay this was a really cute book but probably not one of my favorites from Kenneally.
Just because it's really religiously based in a way. And I'd say the girl was PRETTY FREAKING FRUSTRATING but I can't say that because the only reason she was frustrating was because she was SERIOUSLY devoted to her religion. which is cool. but yeah.
ANYWHO Kenneally was somehow able to write this book without making it super super religious????
OKAY ANYWAYS YEAH MATT IS CUTE BYE
Just because it's really religiously based in a way. And I'd say the girl was PRETTY FREAKING FRUSTRATING but I can't say that because the only reason she was frustrating was because she was SERIOUSLY devoted to her religion. which is cool. but yeah.
ANYWHO Kenneally was somehow able to write this book without making it super super religious????
OKAY ANYWAYS YEAH MATT IS CUTE BYE
books4susie's review against another edition
5.0
I'm really liking how these stories are tying together.
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 Stars
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Things I Can’t Forget is kind of a controversial book. It focuses heavily on religion, but strongly religious readers may not like the sexual content and some of the ideas presented – and readers who are just plain turned off by religious themes may not like it either. But, personally, I loved the themes that this book explored and it all rang very true to me, even if I didn’t always agree with everything that the main character, Kate, was thinking and feeling. Let me tell you more …
What I LOVED:
Realistic soul searching.
I felt like Kate’s journey was very real and something that many young Christians go through. When we are very young, our faith is often given to us (or, in the case of people who are raised in non-religious families, sometimes withheld from us). Children are taught what to believe and how to act on their faith (or lack thereof) – both with purposeful lessons and by observing their parents and others. But at some point, everyone needs to do some soul searching to determine if the faith that they were raised with is truly their own. In a lot of ways, this book is about Kate’s journey to do just that. She has always been taught that there is a certain way to live and that anyone who chooses not to live that way is somehow wrong or bad. She can sometimes be judgmental – and she acknowledges that. But the world is very black and white for her and it confuses and scares her when she starts to see shades of gray. When Kate goes against everything she believes in to help a friend, it throws her life into chaos – she is overwhelmed with a confusing mix of guilt and loyalty to her friend. She wants desperately for things to stay the same as they always were – but they can’t anymore. They change. And Kate doesn’t know exactly how to feel about any of it. Then Kate falls for Matt, a boy at the camp she’s attending. And suddenly she finds herself desiring someone in a way that she had always considered sinful. Suddenly her boundaries and her ideals are tested in ways that she never imagined and she finds herself more confused than ever. And honestly, in some ways, she fails – she judges others for their actions then goes ahead and does some of the same things she judges others for. Then gets confused and scared and wishes she hadn’t done those things (maybe – or maybe not) and hurts people and messes up some more. And in the end she learns that things might not be as black and white as she once thought.
The negatives:
Kate’s not perfect.
By a long shot. I’ve read some reviews out there and I know that some people just couldn’t handle how judgmental and self-righteous Kate is. And I get that. I do. But for me, the journey that Kate went on felt real – even when it was messy and Kate wasn’t perfect. She wasn’t just a mean girl bully, she was a girl struggling with her own identity and struggling to figure out how her ideals matched up with the rest of the world. She wanted to experience the loving non-judgmental side of her faith, but the waters were murky and there were no easy answers for her.
So, while I didn’t agree with everything that the main character did, and I didn’t even necessarily 100% agree with all of the conclusions that Kate drew at the end of the book. I still really felt like I loved the experience of reading it. Why? Because it made me think. It made me examine my own faith and ponder those questions that we all have sometimes – and think about the wrongs and the rights and the areas of gray. So this book was my highest rated of the series so far (Breathe, Annie, Breathe actually tied it) at 4.5/5 stars.
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Things I Can’t Forget is kind of a controversial book. It focuses heavily on religion, but strongly religious readers may not like the sexual content and some of the ideas presented – and readers who are just plain turned off by religious themes may not like it either. But, personally, I loved the themes that this book explored and it all rang very true to me, even if I didn’t always agree with everything that the main character, Kate, was thinking and feeling. Let me tell you more …
What I LOVED:
Realistic soul searching.
I felt like Kate’s journey was very real and something that many young Christians go through. When we are very young, our faith is often given to us (or, in the case of people who are raised in non-religious families, sometimes withheld from us). Children are taught what to believe and how to act on their faith (or lack thereof) – both with purposeful lessons and by observing their parents and others. But at some point, everyone needs to do some soul searching to determine if the faith that they were raised with is truly their own. In a lot of ways, this book is about Kate’s journey to do just that. She has always been taught that there is a certain way to live and that anyone who chooses not to live that way is somehow wrong or bad. She can sometimes be judgmental – and she acknowledges that. But the world is very black and white for her and it confuses and scares her when she starts to see shades of gray. When Kate goes against everything she believes in to help a friend, it throws her life into chaos – she is overwhelmed with a confusing mix of guilt and loyalty to her friend. She wants desperately for things to stay the same as they always were – but they can’t anymore. They change. And Kate doesn’t know exactly how to feel about any of it. Then Kate falls for Matt, a boy at the camp she’s attending. And suddenly she finds herself desiring someone in a way that she had always considered sinful. Suddenly her boundaries and her ideals are tested in ways that she never imagined and she finds herself more confused than ever. And honestly, in some ways, she fails – she judges others for their actions then goes ahead and does some of the same things she judges others for. Then gets confused and scared and wishes she hadn’t done those things (maybe – or maybe not) and hurts people and messes up some more. And in the end she learns that things might not be as black and white as she once thought.
The negatives:
Kate’s not perfect.
By a long shot. I’ve read some reviews out there and I know that some people just couldn’t handle how judgmental and self-righteous Kate is. And I get that. I do. But for me, the journey that Kate went on felt real – even when it was messy and Kate wasn’t perfect. She wasn’t just a mean girl bully, she was a girl struggling with her own identity and struggling to figure out how her ideals matched up with the rest of the world. She wanted to experience the loving non-judgmental side of her faith, but the waters were murky and there were no easy answers for her.
So, while I didn’t agree with everything that the main character did, and I didn’t even necessarily 100% agree with all of the conclusions that Kate drew at the end of the book. I still really felt like I loved the experience of reading it. Why? Because it made me think. It made me examine my own faith and ponder those questions that we all have sometimes – and think about the wrongs and the rights and the areas of gray. So this book was my highest rated of the series so far (Breathe, Annie, Breathe actually tied it) at 4.5/5 stars.
madithecloud's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
michalice's review against another edition
3.0
Going into Things I Can't Forget it took me a while to recognise who Kate was, and in all honesty I wasn't initially too impressed with her. She is judgmental and has no issues in sharing her feelings about things with others, even if it offends them, and even if it has nothing to do with her.
Kate is going to camp as a counselor, it's been years since she last went but she needs to do this for applications and to help her friend. At camp there are faces she recognises, and some faces from previous book that I recognised. Emily, Kate's friend, has been kicked out of her house for getting pregnant and not keeping the baby, and Kate feels guilty for helping by going with Emily. At camp she is looking for God to forgive her and to forgive Emily.
Matt is an old friends of Kate's from camp when they were children, and I loved seeing them strike up a friendship again, as adults. But Kate is holding back, still stuck on her beliefs. I like how Matt is with Kate, he treats her like a friend and I love his quirk about wearing no shoes. He is caring and although he doesn't necessarily share the same attitude as Kate, he takes most of it in his stride.
Things I Can't Forget was a book that quickly changed my opinions on characters. My feelings towards Kate faded fast, and I did begin to feel sorry for her. The environment she is brought up in didn't really help in her outlook on things, and I suppose being around the judgements of others will rub off on her, affecting her own feelings. Things I Can't Forget was another fast read for me, and I did enjoy this one more than I expected to.
Final Verdict
A great addition to this series and gives us a better look into the other side of the fence in terms of beliefs and feelings.
Kate is going to camp as a counselor, it's been years since she last went but she needs to do this for applications and to help her friend. At camp there are faces she recognises, and some faces from previous book that I recognised. Emily, Kate's friend, has been kicked out of her house for getting pregnant and not keeping the baby, and Kate feels guilty for helping by going with Emily. At camp she is looking for God to forgive her and to forgive Emily.
Matt is an old friends of Kate's from camp when they were children, and I loved seeing them strike up a friendship again, as adults. But Kate is holding back, still stuck on her beliefs. I like how Matt is with Kate, he treats her like a friend and I love his quirk about wearing no shoes. He is caring and although he doesn't necessarily share the same attitude as Kate, he takes most of it in his stride.
Things I Can't Forget was a book that quickly changed my opinions on characters. My feelings towards Kate faded fast, and I did begin to feel sorry for her. The environment she is brought up in didn't really help in her outlook on things, and I suppose being around the judgements of others will rub off on her, affecting her own feelings. Things I Can't Forget was another fast read for me, and I did enjoy this one more than I expected to.
Final Verdict
A great addition to this series and gives us a better look into the other side of the fence in terms of beliefs and feelings.