Never Forgotten by Kelly Risser (4.5 stars)

About Never Forgotten

One minute Meara Quinn is making plans for the summer before her senior year. The next she finds out that her mother's cancer has returned and they're moving away from the only home she's ever known. Every day becomes a struggle as Meara tries to cope with her mother's illness while being forced to move to another country to live with grandparents who are strangers. 

Add weird visions of a father who was absent her entire life and top it all off with one whopping secret that everyone seems bent on keeping from her, and Meara has the perfect ingredients for a major melt down. The only things keeping her from coming unglued are some new friends and Evan—the son of her mother's childhood friend—who seems to know Meara almost better than she knows herself. 

Together with Evan and her friends, Meara embarks on a new journey to unlock the secrets that will not only tell Meara who she is, but what she is.

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Review

Life can change with only a moment's notice. Meara Quinn never knew her father, but she has a great mother and best friend. Then, Meara's mother finds out she has cancer and everything changes. They will be moving to Canada to live with grandparents she doesn't know so her mom can face the battle of her life. Then, Meara starts having unsettling visions of her father.

It doesn't take long for her to make some new friends and meet Evan, with whom she shares an immediate connection. But the visions of her father get more intense, causing her to question many things about her life. Then, a new friend brings even more intrigue.

Will she be able to solve the mystery, and how will it affect her life?

Wow! It's rare to find a story that stirs emotions and stimulates the imagination. Since this is book one, there are a lot more questions than answers, but I found myself captivated and very curious to find out more about Meara and her father. In addition, there's a sweet romance brewing between Evan and Meara, although I couldn't help but have some suspicions about him.

Beyond the book's creativity and emotion, I also appreciated the teen scene. Kelly Risser does an amazing job of teen-speak and building relationships without sacrificing the adult characters. My heart went out to Maera's mother, not just her struggle with cancer and facing death, but her strength to protect her daughter no matter what.

Book two is up next in my to-be-read queue, and I can't wait. Oh, and I just found out book three will debut in May. So excited!

Rating: 4.5 stars

About the Author

Becoming a published author is a lifetime dream come true. As a child, I subjected friends and family to my "KellyMark" greeting cards ("When you care enough to make the very best."), poetry, homemade magazines, and short stories. In high school, my short story, "If Only to Escape" was published in the local paper, and I won a writing contest for my children's story, "Televisella." In college, my creative writing tapered off, but I still managed to write the occasional review for The Marquette University Tribune. Once I graduated, I mixed creative writing with business writing, and I've held positions in Advertising, Marketing, and Instructional Design/eLearning Development.

Today, I am busy writing the next book in Meara's story. When I'm not writing, I'm reading, hanging out with my husband and two kids, or playing with our Whoodle puppy.

Drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you!

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