Sometimes there’s a town called Indianola.
And sometimes there isn’t.
Summer, 1993. Claire has been dumped in rural Indianola, Texas, to spend her whole vacation taking care of mean, sickly Grammy. There’s nothing too remarkable about Indianola: it’s run-down, shabby, and stifling hot, a pin-dot on the Gulf Coast.
Well, there is one remarkable thing, she discovers. Something otherworldly.
But if you leave Indianola, you forget about it… and if you stay, you have to live with it every day.
Because there’s a confluence of energies at Indianola, a fissure in time and space, a gap in reality. Nothing is as it seems. And unless Claire can figure out this town–the talkative lizards under the pecan trees; the honey-sweet but terrifying girl next door; the cute daughter of a powerful family, who would answer Claire’s questions if she had any answers; the pervasive sense of history coming unspooled, like a video tape–she might never leave.
Featuring a mindbending plot, heartfelt queer romance, brilliant writing, and intricate worldbuilding, Forget This Ever Happened is a lush and thrilling genre-bender perfect for the Black Mirror generation.
REVIEW: Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tours and Holiday House for the ARC of this book in exchange for my review. This book was an absolute unexpected gem. This book started out as the story of a teenage girl who is forced to stay with her grandmother over the summer to help her out because she's sick, and quickly turned into a twisting and turning sci-fi story that I couldn't put down. The 90's nostalgia was on point with all the things from VHS tapes to Walkmans. Along with the confusing feelings that Claire discovers she has this book was a major win. There is incredible history that unravels during this book that rivals an old school Nancy Drew mystery. We get to hear this book from two different narrators that couldn't be more different. There's Julie, the small town exterminator in Indianola, TX who knows all about the town and it's history....sort of. Then there's Claire, who is the out of towner who is dropped into a crazy situation that she soon figured out piece by piece. This book was full of fun, adventure, science fiction madness, and a little romance on the side. It's unlike anything else I've ever read. This book was a solid 5 star read due to the fact that I did not want to put it down.
FAVORITE QUOTES:
"They expect everyone to just know when they pass the city limits." - Julie
"I've got Street Fighter II and Super Mario Kart and a couple of other." - Julie
"Yeah, I don't want to sound like a creepy stalker or something-" - Claire
"I didn't really - it was talking about astronauts." - Claire
"I can't believe all these movies are here," she says. "In Indianola! Of all places." - Claire
"Dude!"she says. "This is like a soap opera." - Julie
"She is the key."
"Sometimes we have to make sacrifices." - Grammy
PLAYLIST:
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" - Lenny Kravitz
"Heart Shaped Box" - Nirvana
"All That She Wants" - Ace of Base
"Loser" - Beck
"Disarm" - Smashing Pumpkins
"I Feel You" - Depeche Mode
"Creep" - Radiohead
"I'm the Only One" - Melissa Etheridge
"Bed of Roses" - Bon Jovi
"Somebody to Love" - George Michael & Queen
"Linger" - The Cranberries
"The Gift" - INXS
"It's the End of the World (As We Know it)" - REM
Publication Date: October 6, 2020
For more stops and insight on this tour about this rad book check out TBR and Beyond Tours!