A Town Called Forget

by C.P. Hoff

A Town Called Forget is Anne of Green Gables turned on its head. But in this tale it is not an over-imaginative redheaded orphan that takes center stage but the off-beat town itself, full of individuals that should be restrained if not medicated. And the poor heroine of this yarn, banished to live with her Aunt Lily whom her parents have never publicly recognized, has to navigate the delicate balance between her aunt’s sanity and neuroses. Amid adventures and misadventures, she learns about patience, tolerance and even love.


A tender and often hilarious debut novel from Alberta writer, C.P. Hoff.
The discordant notes come from a wit and sauciness that would make Oscar Wilde proud.


LibraryThing


This humorous Canadian story is completely different. From everything. Maybe it’s Anne of Green Gables with a little Alice Through the Looking Glass thrown in.


Tim Armstrong
author of Avians


You will probably never come across a town like Forget, it’s a one of a kind and I marvel at the creative thought processes of C.P. Hoff in giving us this town. There’s also a secret, a well hidden secret, that is slowly revealed and was quite a surprise. Like the town’s slogan says “Forget is a place that you won’t forget” and so is this book!


LibraryThing

ebook

Published August 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Definitely not for me. I tried very hard to get into this book and at least care about Girly (the main character's name given to her by her aunt) a little, but I couldn't get interested. I didn't care what happened to any of the main characters or what was going on in the little town she gets sent to live with her aunt. I didn't even care about why she was sent there.

The writing style wasn't really my taste and the characters didn't interest me, so it was very difficult to read. Fortunately, it's a short book, so I still finished it pretty quickly, but I made the time to finish it today, since I didn't want to be reading it any more. I was just done and wanted to put it behind me.

The other reviewer loved it, so clearly it was just a miss for me...

[Daryl P Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amusing and unforgettable characters in slow-burn love story.

This is the second in the series of picaresque tales, but it would work as a standalone too. I quibbled with the author about the use of picaresque as there is no peripatetic element, which the term needs, but this one starts with our main character on a train journey - destination a town called Forget.

She is in her mid teens and been abandoned by her parents for reasons which are revealed in a series of letters. One to be opened each week. We learn through her encounters with the disparate characters the origins of the town's name; the hierarchical and prejudiced nature of the community and the feuds of cliques and officials.
The central relationship for our heroine is with her non-conformist, curmudgeonly, capricious aunt Lilly who has a position of power and notoriety within the community. I enjoyed the onion peeling of what at heart is a love story and found my affection growing for this apparently obnoxious character.
I was absorbed by the twists and turns as well as amused by the exploits of the cast of characters. For those who have read the previous"West of Ireland" the author inserts a character from that tale in a different role, but still recognisable from physical and behavioural description. Difficult to classify for the gamut of emotions, but lovely and I found the ending very satisfying as well as revealing. I want to read more from this skillful author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book and one I definitely recommend please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.When the book starts we meet a 16-year-old girl on the train on the way to her aunt Lilly‘s house who lives in a town called forget. The town is muddy the neighbors are weird her aunt is even weirder girly has never felt a connection with her parents her mom sent a series of letters to be opened up once a week and there supposed to explain everything. Between chicken funerals skinny-dipping tuckers and visits from Hillary and Lil Jon Soon “girly“ over time will come to see Forget as a comfortable place to be but it will be her aunt Lily‘s confession that just may make it feel like home. CP Hoff has such a great writing style with whitt intelligence and and a heart-warming plot that I find irresistible. She has the ability to write characters that have a good old days type flavoring and I’m just obsessed.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the Picaresque Narratives series.

I expected to see the return of some of the characters from the first book, but this book featured an entirely different set of characters. I did like these new characters and I enjoyed reading about them. I felt that some of them were odd or unusual, but in an intriguing sort of way. While I was reading this, I found myself chuckling, but also able to empathise with the characters. There was one character whose name wasn't mentioned, who was given a nickname instead, and I felt like that was an incentive to keep reading, as this character was wonderful and i wanted to know if we would ever find out her name.

Thank you to Booksprout and the author for a free copy to review.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Linda Penner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is funny & endearing in a "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town" kind of way. No wonder it was listed for the Stephen Leacock Award for humour! You will meet the colourful characters that can be found in a lot of small towns, but C.P. Hoff skillfully puts them all together in a crazy place called, Forget. Aunt Lily welcomes us into her weird & wonderful world with her long lost niece, Girly. and she takes us along, right to the end - and what an ending! I'd like to think there's a little Aunt Lily in all of us (I know there is in me). Looking forward to more from this budding new Canadian author.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me all over the place. I started out not liking Aunt Lily, and I wasn’t sure what to make of Girly. The more I read, though, the more they grew on me. Aunt Lily is quirky on a good day and straight up insane on a bad day. Girly puts up with a lot. The townsfolk are an odd lot as well so they all fit together well.
I really enjoyed this book. By the end, it touched my heart. It took an unexpected turn that was well worth the wait.
I received this book as a free ARC and am voluntarily leaving this review. This is my third book by this an and I highly recommend checking them out.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say C. P. Hoff has a great sense of humor to be able to come up with this storyline. My husband would look at me or ask me what is so funny. I would say honey you need to read this book, then I would read a few things to him. I got up one morning and when to sit down with a cup of coffee and my kindle was gone. I spent all day looking for it. He comes home from work with my kindle was in his briefcase.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this an interesting way to write a story. It's totally original and I love that about it. The people in this town are fantastically written characters if not a little nuts! But who am I to judge, right?! I loved spending my time in this world, not forever, but it was a nice visit. A really well written story that I won't soon forget!

[Lauren Gadd · Rating 5 out of 5]

When reading the book summary I did not have high hopes that this would be 'my kind of book', but was pleasantly surprised when I started reading it. A thoroughly enjoyable, well-written, quirky story!

[Helma · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a town! How do you come up with it?! I really want to see this turned into a movie (or better; a series)!!

[Shaz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m sorry.. the humour in this book just wasn’t my thing

[Maggie Semple · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this novel. I had been to a reading of the book at When Words Collide. A great first novel, C.P. Hoff; well done & congratulations!

[Felicity · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Giveaway and what a quirky book it proved to be! Right from the first page we are introduced to the first of many of Forget's eccentric residents, and a girl. This girl goes on to become the main character but we don't get to know her name until she arrives in town and meets up with her 'Aunt' Lily. Aunt Lily gives her a new name, 'Girly' and Girly she answers to from then on, Girly Gardener, Girly Maid, Girly Butler and Girly Historian, each Girly having an appropriate outfit to wear. At first I didn't like Aunt Lily, she's abrupt, blunt to the point of being rude, bombastic, selfish and nuts, but as the story unfolded I came to see through the craziness, just like Girly did. You will probably never come across a town like Forget, it's a one of a kind and I marvel at the creative thought processes of C.P. Hoff in giving us this town. There's also a secret, a well hidden secret, that is slowly revealed and was quite a surprise. Like the town's slogan says "Forget is a place that you won't forget" and so is this book!

[Robert Runte · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only word to describe this novel is 'quirky'. C. P. Hoff has a completely original voice that is both bizarrely funny and touching. A privileged teenage girl is suddenly sent away without explanation to stay with her eccentric aunt and becomes embroiled in her aunt's feuds and adventures. Our heroine slowly unravels the mystery of why she was sent to Forget and the story of her aunt's life. As one encounters the odd characters that inhabit the town of Forget, and understands the history of their relationships, it all starts to make a weird kind of sense. A ridiculously funny and oddly sentimental story of one girl growing up over a summer in a town far outside her urban comfort zone. (Full disclosure: I was the copy editor for this book, but that's not why I'm recommending it.)

[Timothy Gwyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up because I heard a reading from it at When Words Collide. It is way outside my usual tastes: I mostly read science fiction. This humorous Canadian story is completely different. From everything. Maybe it's Anne of Green Gables with a little Alice Through the Looking Glass thrown in. A young girl is sent by her affluent parents to summer with her eccentric aunt. More like completely bonkers, actually, but the whole town is off-kilter, almost surreal! I laughed often.