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Unforgettable
Losing her entire memory after witnessing a terrible crime, Hope cannot accept her luxurious life or the man who claims to be her father and finds solace in Mitch McKenna, a college student who may solve her mystery. Original.
272 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1994
17 people are currently reading
179 people want to read
About the author
Caroline B. Cooney
129 books1,766 followersCaroline Cooney knew in sixth grade that she wanted to be a writer when "the best teacher I ever had in my life" made writing her main focus. "He used to rip off covers from The New Yorker and pass them around and make us write a short story on whichever cover we got. I started writing then and never stopped!"
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
When her children were young, Caroline started writing books for young people -- with remarkable results. She began to sell stories to Seventeen magazine and soon after began writing books. Suspense novels are her favorites to read and write. "In a suspense novel, you can count on action."
To keep her stories realistic, Caroline visits many schools outside of her area, learning more about teenagers all the time. She often organizes what she calls a "plotting game," in which students work together to create plots for stories. Caroline lives in Westbrook, Connecticut and when she's not writing she volunteers at a hospital, plays piano for the school musicals and daydreams!
- Scholastic.com
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 16, 2018
"Unforgettable", by Caroline B. Conney, is about a girl who doesn't know who she is and a strange man claims to be her father, and the only person she can trust is a person called Mitch. The part where Hope realizes she doesn't know where she is made me feel bad for her because she was so confused.
January 3, 2015
What a train wreck. And I don't mean that in a good way.
In truth I can't help but admire the author. It was quite bold to craft a story about amnesia, kidnapping, knife fighting, and colonial costuming and take it all so seriously.
I had no idea what this book was when I borrowed it from the good old lib on my Kindle. It looked kind of interesting and I'm still in my Kindle honeymoon period. I had no idea what it was, but it turned out to be YA and first published in the (early?) 90's. It wasn't that bad at first, but it went there. OH yes, it went there. By the end (yup, I read to the end. I have no idea why...), it was so ridiculous that I was actually shaking my head as I was reading. Not good, because I think it gave me a low-grade headache. I'm kind of kicking myself for taking time away from other reading pursuits to spend time on this one, but it has taught me to be more discerning before clicking that "borrow" button!
In truth I can't help but admire the author. It was quite bold to craft a story about amnesia, kidnapping, knife fighting, and colonial costuming and take it all so seriously.
I had no idea what this book was when I borrowed it from the good old lib on my Kindle. It looked kind of interesting and I'm still in my Kindle honeymoon period. I had no idea what it was, but it turned out to be YA and first published in the (early?) 90's. It wasn't that bad at first, but it went there. OH yes, it went there. By the end (yup, I read to the end. I have no idea why...), it was so ridiculous that I was actually shaking my head as I was reading. Not good, because I think it gave me a low-grade headache. I'm kind of kicking myself for taking time away from other reading pursuits to spend time on this one, but it has taught me to be more discerning before clicking that "borrow" button!
June 24, 2015
Man, this was trashy. Trashy in a sort of entertaining way, trashy and memorable if you loved it as a kid, but trashy nonetheless.
It's hard to give a synopsis, because it's so full of twists and red herrings. Beautiful girl sees traumatic event and succumbs to amnesia. Distinguished man and psychopathic girl claim to be her father and cousin, and take her into their lives. Distinguished man and psychopathic cousin turn out to be con artists and jewel thieves who picked the girl because a different crazy cousin slipped a stolen necklace, or a replica of a stolen necklace, into her handbag whilst fleeting from DM and CC #1.
I'm capable of great suspension of disbelief while reading. I like fantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi, romance - all of which force you to put aside your cynicism for a while. But there were a few holes in this book that even I couldn't fill in:
1) How the girl (Hope / Lynne / whatever) that ended up with the necklace in her bag looked so much like the original Hope Senneth. Enough so that Hope's passport convinced both Hope and Mitch (who are admittedly not candidates for Mensa, but still) that it was the same girl. I suppose Edie could have picked Hope-Lynne because she looked like the original Hope (although - why?) but what are the chances that a girl who's a dead ringer for the original woman just happened to be passing outside the hotel?
I generally find doppelgänger stories a bit hard to take, because where do you find someone* who looks exactly like someone else, without extensive plastic surgery? But at least in most books and films of this sort, the con artists undertake some sort of search to find the right mark. Here, we're supposed to believe she just suddenly walked past the door, and was no relation to the family, yet looked exactly like Hope #1. Not gonna happen.
2) The general stupidity of Hope #2's and Mitch's actions. I don't even know where to start here. It's not exactly a plot hole, because it's possible that two people could truly be that thick - I watch Jerry Springer, after all - but it still made me cringe. Using Susan's name, going to the yacht party, the whole Hope act...it's crazy-stupid.
Even with all that, though, I do find this book quite entertaining. It's not Cooney's usual style, and while I'm glad that she didn't write too many books like this, it's still a fun, fluffy read for a summer evening. I always enjoy her descriptions of clothing and interior decor, and The Jayquith doesn't disappoint in that respect. If you're looking for something to showcase Cooney's knack for emotive writing and her ability to create characters that break your heart, I'd look elsewhere, perhaps towards The Stranger or Don't Blame The Music. But for pure glitz and giggles, I found this quite readable. 3 stars.
*That said, people do often seem to see what they want to see. I've been stopped on the street several dozen times because people have mistaken me for Thora Birch (as a teenager) and Kelly Clarkson (as an adult). I look nothing like either of those people.
It's hard to give a synopsis, because it's so full of twists and red herrings. Beautiful girl sees traumatic event and succumbs to amnesia. Distinguished man and psychopathic girl claim to be her father and cousin, and take her into their lives. Distinguished man and psychopathic cousin turn out to be con artists and jewel thieves who picked the girl because a different crazy cousin slipped a stolen necklace, or a replica of a stolen necklace, into her handbag whilst fleeting from DM and CC #1.
I'm capable of great suspension of disbelief while reading. I like fantasy, paranormal romance, sci-fi, romance - all of which force you to put aside your cynicism for a while. But there were a few holes in this book that even I couldn't fill in:
1) How the girl (Hope / Lynne / whatever) that ended up with the necklace in her bag looked so much like the original Hope Senneth. Enough so that Hope's passport convinced both Hope and Mitch (who are admittedly not candidates for Mensa, but still) that it was the same girl. I suppose Edie could have picked Hope-Lynne because she looked like the original Hope (although - why?) but what are the chances that a girl who's a dead ringer for the original woman just happened to be passing outside the hotel?
I generally find doppelgänger stories a bit hard to take, because where do you find someone* who looks exactly like someone else, without extensive plastic surgery? But at least in most books and films of this sort, the con artists undertake some sort of search to find the right mark. Here, we're supposed to believe she just suddenly walked past the door, and was no relation to the family, yet looked exactly like Hope #1. Not gonna happen.
2) The general stupidity of Hope #2's and Mitch's actions. I don't even know where to start here. It's not exactly a plot hole, because it's possible that two people could truly be that thick - I watch Jerry Springer, after all - but it still made me cringe. Using Susan's name, going to the yacht party, the whole Hope act...it's crazy-stupid.
Even with all that, though, I do find this book quite entertaining. It's not Cooney's usual style, and while I'm glad that she didn't write too many books like this, it's still a fun, fluffy read for a summer evening. I always enjoy her descriptions of clothing and interior decor, and The Jayquith doesn't disappoint in that respect. If you're looking for something to showcase Cooney's knack for emotive writing and her ability to create characters that break your heart, I'd look elsewhere, perhaps towards The Stranger or Don't Blame The Music. But for pure glitz and giggles, I found this quite readable. 3 stars.
*That said, people do often seem to see what they want to see. I've been stopped on the street several dozen times because people have mistaken me for Thora Birch (as a teenager) and Kelly Clarkson (as an adult). I look nothing like either of those people.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2024
This book came out in 1994, so there are no cell phones and the computers aren't portable. I first read this in 2000, and I loved it. If Caroline B. Cooney sounds familiar, you might know her from the Face on the Milk Carton books. I hadn't forgotten the ending, but it still makes sense and reads well even knowing it. This book was marketed as a romance novel when I first read it, but there's no spice and the romance story is not the main event. It's really more of a mystery, since the main character is dealing with amnesia. I don't want to spoil it, but I still enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it.
January 25, 2011
I read this book when I was in the eighth grade. I remember very little of the plot, but the introduction of Hope and the main plot twist at the climax of the story have stuck with me, as has the first meeting between the hero and heroine. I read a great deal during my childhood and teenage years. Most I can't recall anymore, but I remembered both the title and cover of this one. There was something about it that resonated with my snarky, 13 year old self, though I'd be hard pressed to tell you what. I remember finding parts of it a little disjointed and confusing, but I'm not sure why anymore. Maybe someday I'll get the chance to reread it as an adult.
September 18, 2017
This was possibly one of the worst books I have ever attempted to read. I can't believe this was truly written by Caroline Cooney. She's written some bad books but nothing this terrible. This was written around the time when a lot of juvenile fiction authors from the 1970's and 1980's started pumping out crap on a regular basis, by the late 1990's, things were pretty much done for.
The writing itself was quite awkward and amateurish, very little made any sense. I regret bothering with it.
The writing itself was quite awkward and amateurish, very little made any sense. I regret bothering with it.
February 20, 2023
I enjoyed this plot and getting to know the characters within the story. I thought it was a unique storyline that I’ve never read before. I thought the twists were actually surprising. My biggest issues with the book come from editing (it could be better) and from the repetitiveness of the writing. It could have been simplified and the book would still have been good but would have been just a bit shorter without so much repetition. Overall though this was a good read.
Read
October 5, 2025I love so many books by this author but this was utter trash, and soooo boring. I got 181 pages into it and realized we were still talking about the same couple of days, and I didn’t care what happened.
October 9, 2019
Honestly, one of the worst titles I’ve ever read...willingly. The only thing that saved it is the suspense toward the end. In addition, the story line is complicated and difficult to follow
December 31, 2025
Chaotic but entertaining 😜
August 17, 2007
I think what I love most about this book is the twist at the end about the girl and her amnesia - I won't ruin the ending for you, but that's the reason this is one of my most favorite books. Who hasn't wondered what it would be like to remember nothing of your past?
May 9, 2011
I have loved this book since I was in the 7th grade. Something about it really resonated with me at that time in my life. It's funny how a book sticks with you, making you want to find it again. I have to admit, though, I'm a little scared to re-read it in case it's not like I remember it!
December 18, 2011
i read this book in elementary school. actually, to be honest, if it weren't for this book i would have never become a bookworm! honestly, love this book, and the huge impact it has taken on me. love Caroline B Cooney. !
May 8, 2013
If I had read this book when I was 13 I probably would have really liked it. But since I read when I was around 17, all the characters just seemed so dumb to me. Who would really be that dumb? And why? Why would anyone be so dumb??
August 12, 2008
This book was kinda like a mystery but it was really good!
December 10, 2015
I read this book years ago in Jr. High and loved it. Now I cannot fathom why. Hope is so seriously stupid. In this day and age to do what she did is both reckless and dangerous.
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March 22, 2014It had some good twists and turns but never quite reached what it was aspiring to be.
July 13, 2025
YA Totally unrealistic but entertaining. Light read
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews