(Don’t You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn is about a seemingly Utopian town that hides a dark and dangerous secret.

In Gardnerville, no one gets sick. No one dies. Those that have been diagnosed with terminal illnesses come far and wide to find the legendary town where they can literally get a new lease on life. It seems too perfect to be true, and in a lot of ways it is.

Upon entering Gardnerville, the new townspeople are told of the dangerous consequences of living in paradise. Every four years some of the teens in Gardnerville lose their ability to control their emotions and they lash out in the most extraordinary way — often with fatal results.

Skylar’s sister Piper killed 16 of her classmates during a fourth year, and now she’s locked up for good. Skylar has been living her life in a drug-induced haze, trying to forget everything that’s happened since that fateful day.

But the only way to get her sister back is to stop the fourth year tragedies from happening. And the only way to do that is to remember those painful memories she’s trying so hard so forget.

‘(Don’t You) Forget About Me’ book review:

(Don’t You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn drops you right into the middle of Gardnerville some years after the events of the terrible tragedy that changed Skylar’s life. She and her sister used to be inseparable, but now the choice to live apart is beyond their control.

Skylar isn’t always a likable character, but she is a realistic one. She turns to a drug called Forget Me Not to wipe away all the bad memories she’s had since Piper was taken away. It’s hard to truly blame Skylar for her actions after having her sister ripped away from her, and throughout the story you come to understand Skylar’s motivations, even if you don’t agree with them.

But as Piper’s memory keeps resurfacing, Skylar fights past her addiction to solve the secret of Gardnerville and the resulting fourth years. Romance, magic, and mystery all have a role in this novel, and each will do its part to keep you guessing right up until the last page.