A review by kitkatmichelle
The Forgetting Spell by Lauren Myracle
4.0
WARNING: A bit spoilery, so proceed with caution!!!!
I'm surprised there are so many negative reviews for this book. I remember reading and enjoying the first book, "Wishing Day," but this one was just so... pretty. And I'm not talking about the cover (though the cover is GORGEOUS). I'm talking about the story.
So. We have Darya. In the first book, Darya is rather annoying, but in this book I liked her. She had many flaws, but she tried so hard to be selfless, and for those of us in real life who try to put others in front of ourselves, we can relate. It's hard to be a "good" person. Darya was trying extremely hard at times, and I love her because she felt VERY real to me.
"Wishing Day" ended with a cliffhanger. Mama is alive, and she's NEAR, because she left those notes where Natasha could find them.
In "The Forgetting Spell," Natasha tells Darya that Mama is back in Willow Hill, and she met her. Natasha MET with Mama for coffee! It's like a dream come true for Darya and all the Blok sisters... until she meets Mama herself. Mama has changed. She won't come home, she won't tell Papa, and she wants Darya to use one of her Wishing Day wishes for HER, to bring back someone she "disappeared" with her own wish years ago, which led to her abandonment of her family.
But Darya wants answers first. And the only one she can confide in, it seems, is the new girl Tally, who is in an even tougher family situation.
Speaking of Tally, she was wonderful! She wasn't likeable, but I liked her anyway :) I guess it was her sense of humor, really. Darya's sisters are amazing. Ava seemed younger than eleven-turning-twelve, but she was so sweet. Natasha was so caring, and after "Wishing Day," we already know how she thinks - have been inside her head - so it was easy to see her logic for certain things. Darya's mom... I didn't like her very much. It upset me that she would leave just because she was oh so sad about making that certain person disappear. Sure, she was miserable, so much so that it was affecting her mental health, but to leave her husband and daughters behind??? Bad move. Very bad move.
The style was beautiful and unique, and by the end of the book, I wanted to hug everyone. Darya, Ava, Mama. Heck, I've even warmed up to the Bird Lady! However, there are mysteries yet unsolved, so I eagerly await the next book in this set of lovely stories by Lauren Myracle :)
I'm surprised there are so many negative reviews for this book. I remember reading and enjoying the first book, "Wishing Day," but this one was just so... pretty. And I'm not talking about the cover (though the cover is GORGEOUS). I'm talking about the story.
So. We have Darya. In the first book, Darya is rather annoying, but in this book I liked her. She had many flaws, but she tried so hard to be selfless, and for those of us in real life who try to put others in front of ourselves, we can relate. It's hard to be a "good" person. Darya was trying extremely hard at times, and I love her because she felt VERY real to me.
"Wishing Day" ended with a cliffhanger. Mama is alive, and she's NEAR, because she left those notes where Natasha could find them.
In "The Forgetting Spell," Natasha tells Darya that Mama is back in Willow Hill, and she met her. Natasha MET with Mama for coffee! It's like a dream come true for Darya and all the Blok sisters... until she meets Mama herself. Mama has changed. She won't come home, she won't tell Papa, and she wants Darya to use one of her Wishing Day wishes for HER, to bring back someone she "disappeared" with her own wish years ago, which led to her abandonment of her family.
But Darya wants answers first. And the only one she can confide in, it seems, is the new girl Tally, who is in an even tougher family situation.
Speaking of Tally, she was wonderful! She wasn't likeable, but I liked her anyway :) I guess it was her sense of humor, really. Darya's sisters are amazing. Ava seemed younger than eleven-turning-twelve, but she was so sweet. Natasha was so caring, and after "Wishing Day," we already know how she thinks - have been inside her head - so it was easy to see her logic for certain things. Darya's mom... I didn't like her very much. It upset me that she would leave just because she was oh so sad about making that certain person disappear. Sure, she was miserable, so much so that it was affecting her mental health, but to leave her husband and daughters behind??? Bad move. Very bad move.
The style was beautiful and unique, and by the end of the book, I wanted to hug everyone. Darya, Ava, Mama. Heck, I've even warmed up to the Bird Lady! However, there are mysteries yet unsolved, so I eagerly await the next book in this set of lovely stories by Lauren Myracle :)