(Don't You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn

Lynnie  

young adult, fantasy


(Don't You) Forget About Me was an oddly satisfying book (emphasis on the odd). Katy Karyus Quinn has written an imaginative & gripping tale about the mysteries of the town of Gardnerville which unfold through a series of current events and flashbacks.

Gardnerville functions in cycles of four years. The town has a magical energy, which usually makes sick people well, allows the older citizens to avoid aging, and gives many the power to manipulate others or the environment around them. In a fourth year however, all the pent up energy of the town's magic affects its teenagers, making some of them cause impressive amounts of harm and mayhem in the community, as a form of payment for the everday magic in the town. When the troubled teens are captured they get sent to the town reformatory where they eventually become shadows of their former selves. 

Most of the book takes place in a fourth year, so that all of the characters are on edge and you're never quite sure what will be around the next corner. There were a few mysteries that I had figured out long before the book revealed them, but several that surprised me entirely.

The creativity of the story truly held my interest throughout the book. I was always eager to find out what was going to happen on the next page. A fun read which does NOT seem to be a trilogy- hurray!