Review: DRIVE by Stephanie Fournet
I have loved everything I’ve read from Stephanie Fournet, and DRIVE did not disa[...]
Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout Published by Hyperion on April 15, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery, Young Adult
Format: eBook
Pages: 384
Source: Bought
Goodreads • Amazon •
Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend.
Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash.
But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?
The combination of mystery, murder and mean girls definitely makes for a good read, and Jennifer L. Armentrout mixes these elements to maximum effect in her novel, Don’t Look Back. She puts her own twist on the popular plot, namely in the form of a main character suffering from dissociative amnesia (a real thing according to Google).
I have to admit, I initially picked this book because of the creepy cover, and from the first page, it did not disappoint. Samantha comes to consciousness covered in blood and stumbling down a dirt road, and she has no idea how she got there, why, or even what her name is. Believe it or not, things just get weirder and more confusing for Sam from there, and she can’t really put herself back together with Cassie still missing. Sam may have been a brutal high school dictator, but Cassie was worse – like Regina George on steroids. Throw in one dreamboat childhood friend whom Sam now inexplicably hates, a super douche-y current boyfriend and devious high school politics, and you have all the elements of an addictive read. I should warn you, do not start Don’t Look Back right before bedtime, because you will have to know whodunit, sleep be damned.
Aside from the building tension, the best part of Don’t Look Back for me was Sam’s refusal to pigeonhole Cassie or their troubled relationship. Despite veiled threats, clear danger and that pesky amnesia, Sam persists, searching for the truth about Cassie’s disappearance. She can’t deny the toxic nature of their friendship or their history of mean-girl machinations, but she knows there is more to their story. Her tenacity in the face of loneliness, fear and betrayal made me like her. Heck, it made me believe that she really did want to be a better person post memory-loss.
Sam’s strange relationship with her boyfriend and her dysfunctional (to say the least) family dynamics are never really explained. But the way overachieving parents, twisted priorities and the pressures of high school can turn a sensitive, smart girl into a diminutive despot is fully explored. Sam’s journey back to being a good person is filled with death, deception and deviousness, but no one said the road to redemption is an easy one. Even for a prom queen.
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