Jessica (HDB)

Remembrance opens by introducing us to Lizzie Davenport and her boyfriend Jeremy. Lizzie is a girl who isn't really comfortable in her own skin, seems really shy, and has a hard time making her own decisions. Jeremy, on the other hand, has no problem making them all for her. From telling her how to do her hair, to how she should behave, he is quite the boyfriend. Notice the sarcasm that is oozing out of those last words. If it was Michelle Madow's aim for me to want to punch Jeremy straight in the mouth, she definitely accomplished that.

Lizzie on the other hand was a fairly well written character. I liked her relationship with Chelsea, her best friend, and how beautifully it contrasted with other characters in the book. Lizzie's life is definitely normal high school fare. Surrounded by choices between popular people and staying true to herself. Trying her best to fight off bad grades and bad press. The only problem I had with Lizzie is that, like I mentioned above, she just wasn't really that great at figuring anything out for herself. Her lack of depth in that respect really made it hard for me to connect with her.

In terms of plot, Madow weaves a lovely romance that transcends the ages. Pulling influences from Austen, she brings Drew and Lizzie together in a heartbreaking manner. Star crossed lovers anyone? Readers who enjoy well written teenage dialogue will like their story. It is definitely sweet, but unfortunately it also very slow. It may just be me, but there were some chapters that dragged by. I found myself skimming over paragraphs to get to the meat of what was happening between Jeremy, Drew, Lizzie and Chelsea. I genuinely wanted to see where their story was headed. It just took a while to get there.

Ultimately this is a book that I ended up enjoying, but that took me a while to get through. I was intrigued enough by the story line to keep reading, but it was slow going. I'm interested to see where the story goes next and I'll likely pick up the next book. I sincerely hope though that the plot picks up a bit, and I'll get to see a little bit more depth in the characters.