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A review by colleenlovestoread
The Art of Forgetting by Camille Pagán
5.0
Marissa Rogers and Julia Ferrar became the best of friends from the first day they met their freshman year in high school. Julia, the queen bee with a good heart, helped Marissa to acclimate to her new surroundings and made her school experience, which had to this point been riddled with teasing and embarrassment, a little more enjoyable. They quickly became inseparable and gave to each other what they couldn’t seem to get anywhere else. For Marissa, she now had someone to boost her self esteem instead of constantly putting her down like her own mother did. For Julia, she had someone who really listened to her and kept her sometimes selfish and pouty nature in check. This sweet but egocentric personality naturally placed Julia as the leader of the relationship, and Marissa was just fine with that. Their friendship was the most important thing in her life, and if sacrifice is what she needed to keep it running smoothly, then so be it. Even when Julia asked Marissa to sacrifice her first love, Nathan, during college, a request that almost had Marissa standing up to her best friend, she acquiesced. While she was heartbroken, she moved on with her and Julia’s plans to graduate, move to New York, and start their new lives as ballerina (Julia) and someday editor in chief of a big magazine (Marissa).
Julia and Marissa are living their dream when Julia is accidentally hit by a cab. While her body seems to sustain little harm the accident has caused a severe head trauma. Julia’s memory is now sporadic and as unpredictable as her temper, and even her voice is nothing like the old Julia. She has different tastes, from colors to clothes to even a new love for cats, and is prone to migraines and speaking with no social filter. Marissa is now thrust unwittingly into the driver’s seat of their relationship and soon learns she is going to have to expand and grow beyond Julia if she is going to get through this terrible ordeal and help either of them move on.
While Julia moves in with her parents in Ann Arbor, Michigan and works on her recovery, Marissa begins to develop some new friendships and improve some old ones she had often left neglected while concentrating on Julia and her needs. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Dave, continues to grow stronger and she even takes the big step of moving in with him. She agrees to coach a running program for girl and soon learns that these young girls are teaching her as much about self esteem and growth as she is supposed to be teaching them. While she begins to sort out the issues in her own life as well as keep her friendship open with Julia, Julia throws a curveball at her by bringing Nathan back into the picture and trying to convince Marissa that he was the one she was meant to be with. Marissa cannot help but wonder if Julia might be right about Nathan, even if her ways of going about it are wrong. Could he be the proverbial one that got away? If so, what does that mean for Dave, a man who gives her such stability and love that she cannot seem to imagine where this great man has come from?
With her best friend no longer able to help her through the tough times and who is actually making her life even more complicated, Marissa is on her own to figure out what is right for her. She must make her own decisions and decide what life she is meant to live. Finally forced to be the leader of her own destiny, she learns that she is much stronger than she ever imagined she could be.
The first thing you will notice when picking this book up is the absolutely gorgeous cover. It might be the most beautiful one I have ever seen. What might shock you is that the story inside is just as beautiful as its wrappings and one that will fight for precedence in your heart. This is an exquisitevly written book about what makes a relationship, what memory means and who and what controls our destiny. Marissa discovers that she herself cannot always trust her memories of her relationship with Nathan and, at times, with Julia, and that sometimes the rosy colored glasses she has placed over these memories don’t allow her to see clearly into what came before. The growth of Marissa from a slight pushover who would rather let her mother make her feel fat or her best friend tell her what to do to a brave, strong woman who takes the steps to make her own life on her own terms is heartening. She is a smart, witty, beautiful person and it is such a joy to see her discover this about herself along with the reader.
My only disappointment with this book is that it had to end and I know it will be some time before I will have another gem from Camille Noe Pagan in my hands to devour. In the meantime I will have to satisfy myself with rereading Julia and Marissa’s story and waiting patiently for what comes next. Go get this book. You won’t be disappointed.
Julia and Marissa are living their dream when Julia is accidentally hit by a cab. While her body seems to sustain little harm the accident has caused a severe head trauma. Julia’s memory is now sporadic and as unpredictable as her temper, and even her voice is nothing like the old Julia. She has different tastes, from colors to clothes to even a new love for cats, and is prone to migraines and speaking with no social filter. Marissa is now thrust unwittingly into the driver’s seat of their relationship and soon learns she is going to have to expand and grow beyond Julia if she is going to get through this terrible ordeal and help either of them move on.
While Julia moves in with her parents in Ann Arbor, Michigan and works on her recovery, Marissa begins to develop some new friendships and improve some old ones she had often left neglected while concentrating on Julia and her needs. Her relationship with her boyfriend, Dave, continues to grow stronger and she even takes the big step of moving in with him. She agrees to coach a running program for girl and soon learns that these young girls are teaching her as much about self esteem and growth as she is supposed to be teaching them. While she begins to sort out the issues in her own life as well as keep her friendship open with Julia, Julia throws a curveball at her by bringing Nathan back into the picture and trying to convince Marissa that he was the one she was meant to be with. Marissa cannot help but wonder if Julia might be right about Nathan, even if her ways of going about it are wrong. Could he be the proverbial one that got away? If so, what does that mean for Dave, a man who gives her such stability and love that she cannot seem to imagine where this great man has come from?
With her best friend no longer able to help her through the tough times and who is actually making her life even more complicated, Marissa is on her own to figure out what is right for her. She must make her own decisions and decide what life she is meant to live. Finally forced to be the leader of her own destiny, she learns that she is much stronger than she ever imagined she could be.
The first thing you will notice when picking this book up is the absolutely gorgeous cover. It might be the most beautiful one I have ever seen. What might shock you is that the story inside is just as beautiful as its wrappings and one that will fight for precedence in your heart. This is an exquisitevly written book about what makes a relationship, what memory means and who and what controls our destiny. Marissa discovers that she herself cannot always trust her memories of her relationship with Nathan and, at times, with Julia, and that sometimes the rosy colored glasses she has placed over these memories don’t allow her to see clearly into what came before. The growth of Marissa from a slight pushover who would rather let her mother make her feel fat or her best friend tell her what to do to a brave, strong woman who takes the steps to make her own life on her own terms is heartening. She is a smart, witty, beautiful person and it is such a joy to see her discover this about herself along with the reader.
My only disappointment with this book is that it had to end and I know it will be some time before I will have another gem from Camille Noe Pagan in my hands to devour. In the meantime I will have to satisfy myself with rereading Julia and Marissa’s story and waiting patiently for what comes next. Go get this book. You won’t be disappointed.