Forget me not / Carolee Dean.

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Title:

Forget me not / Carolee Dean.

Author:

Dean, Carolee.

ISBN:

9781442432550

Edition:

1st Simon Pulse hardcover ed.

Publication Information:

New York : Simon Pulse, c2012.

Physical Description:

374 p. ; 22 cm.

Abstract:

Told from separate viewpoints, Ally discovers that she may have tried to kill herself and Elijah, recalling his own suicide attempt, tries to give Ally a reason to live and escape from the spirits that haunt their high school.

Reading Level:

Ages 14 up.

Subject Term:

Novels in verse.

Interpersonal relations -- Juvenile fiction.

Emotional problems -- Juvenile fiction.

Dead -- Juvenile fiction.

High schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Schools -- Juvenile fiction.

Popularity -- Juvenile fiction.

Haunted places -- Juvenile fiction.

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Teen Fiction Book Paperback	120791002489700	T DEA	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

From the author of Take Me There , a fast-paced novel in verse about a girl caught between life and death--and the boy who will do anything to save her.

Ally is devastated when a scandalous photo of her is texted around school. With her reputation in shambles and her life essentially over, she hides out in a back hallway, trying to figure out where everything went wrong.

Elijah has spent time in that hallway too. He landed there after taking a whole bottle of sleeping pills. Now he can see ghosts, and he knows what Ally has yet to suspect--that she's already half dead, and one choice away from never coming back.

Elijah has loved Ally for years and would do anything to save her from the in-between place. But if she's going to live, Ally must face her inner demons and find the will to save herself.

Told in interwoven verse narratives, this crushingly honest and poetic "blend of fantasy and potent reality succeeds" (Kirkus Reviews ).

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up-Told from alternating perspectives, this novel in verse and screenplay begins with freshman Ally recounting her story about joining the dance team, becoming popular overnight, and then quickly losing it all when a photo of her in bed with Davis, the boyfriend of her school's queen bee, goes viral. Ally has no one to talk to; her "friends" on the dance team shun her; her father is emotionally unavailable; her best friend, Brianna, (Davis's sister) dumps her; and Elijah, the boy who's been in love with her for years, thinks Ally wants nothing to do with a "loser" like him. Not realizing that there's more to her feeling of disconnection than she understands, Ally hides herself in a haunted school hallway; there she meets the Hangman and several other ghosts who attempt to get her to stay with them forever. But Elijah begins trying to make Ally accept that she can face her classmates and begin an emotional and physical recovery. Ally's need for attention and adoration seems all too real, and the way she is undone is all too commonplace in today's schools where bullying and name-calling are made eerily simple through technology. However, too many scenes with the ghosts create a disruption from the otherwise well-written story, and other scenes and elements become a bit hackneyed and or cliched. This timely story has promise in its first half, but ultimately falls flat.-Lauren Newman, Northern Burlington County Regional Middle School, East Columbus, NJ (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Review

A novel in verse tells the intertwined stories of teen classmates Ally and Elijah as they deal with the pressures of high school and the consequences of deadly decisions. When a sexual photo of Ally is maliciously spread across her school, it tips off a cascade of horrific events that lead Ally to her school's rooftop for what she believes to be her only escape. Upon her decision to kill herself, Ally finds herself trapped in her school's deserted humanities hallway. H Hall, as it is known, is a sort of fantastical holding zone populated by ghoulish classmates that have all died at the school via various, mostly suicidal means. Having made a similar decision--and lived to regret it--Elijah helps Ally escape from H Hall and attempts to guide her toward a second chance at life. However, Ally soon learns that for this chance, she must decide if she can live with the pain of her reality. The novel unflinchingly incorporates serious topics of depressions, rape, alcohol and drug abuse, bullying and suicide as common components of high school. This blend of fantasy and potent reality succeeds. (Fiction. 13-18)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Ally is a popular freshman girl whose world comes quickly crashing down when a picture of her in a compromising situation is texted around her high school. A talented actress, Ally loves being center stage. But her desire to be a part of the in-crowd comes at the expense of her friendship with two close friends. Ally exhibits characteristic all-or-nothing teenage thinking, and a surprising plot twist reveals that Ally's black-and-white approach to life has potentially devastating consequences. Narrated in verse, this dramatic novel includes girl-to-girl cruelty that is particularly intense. Although Ally has clearly suffered from the poor decisions she has made, she is not an entirely sympathetic character, as she is willing to use and abuse those who are closest to her in order to achieve her own goals. An emotional exploration of the social and sexual pressures of high school and the effects of losing one's sense of self and purpose.--Gaus, Eve Copyright 2010 Booklist

Excerpts

I CAME TO THE HALLWAY because I wanted to live. Deliberately. No, wait. That was Thoreau. I came to the hallway alone, while the dew was still on the roses. Forget that. I never liked old hymns. Besides, it's almost winter and the roses are gone like Thoreau. I came in peace. Then I came to pieces. Don't bullshit yourself, Ally. You came to the hallway because you didn't have anywhere else to go. Excerpted from Forget Me Not by Carolee Dean All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.