Summer reading season is upon us. No matter whether it’s an eBook, an audio book or a classic paperback, nothing beats being lazy and soaking up a good book and some sun rays. Personally, I love a good mystery. Just as addictive as saying, “one more episode of Netflix before bed,” perpetual cliffhangers leave me saying, “I’ll go to bed right after I finish reading this chapter. I NEED to know what happens."

The first of many books I will read this summer is "What Alice Forgot" by Liane Moriarty. I was recommended this book by my small book club, and to be honest I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not. Reading through the first chapters I was just as confused and bewildered as the main character, Alice. Trust me, I have a horrible time remembering names of characters in books and movies, so having to make a conscious decision to remember all of the character names and connections was a bit difficult for me. The best way I battle this constant character confusion is by writing what I know about each character on a book mark until I get the who’s who straight.

For me, the pace of the novel didn’t pick up until after all of the characters were introduced and the connections started happening. I’d say the first quarter of the book is pure confusion. I could relate to Alice a lot; being thrown into this weird scenario in a book and not knowing who to trust, who’s telling the whole truth and what exactly will happen to Alice in the meantime, before her memories come back. Elizabeth’s commentary to her psychologist gave more depth to her character. She’s a control-freak, to say the least. From the way she tries to control the conversation flow, avoiding direct questions about her troubles with fertility to her self-depreciating humor, Elizabeth gives the reader not only a double edge to Alice’s memories but also provides a stark contrast to Alice’s seemingly perfect life.

The one downside I found to the novel was the flatness in the character Gina. She’s Alice’s best friend, her right-hand woman, so why is there such lack of description about her? Even after the meringue pie day incident, the full details as to who Gina is and her connection with Alice fall flat. Yes, they shared so many memories together, many lost due to Alice’s accident, but compared to Alice, Nick, or Elizabeth, Gina seemed distant. I guess in a sense it is a true mark of an author when they are able to connect the reader to the story so vividly that even they question the memories of the characters.

I would give this book a 7/10 rating personally because some of the parts were a bit slower in the novel and not many of the chapter’s ended in cliffhangers. Although the pace of the book sped up in parts, it seemed to do so in spurts when long in-depth conversations were being had. Franny’s letters to her long gone lover were predictable from the start, although they did give hope for love even when a person is in the last of their years. Her letters seem like a side novel that never got written, or an idea that was only half-developed. An old woman still writing to her fiancée who has since passed, recalling her life since the loss of him. Most importantly out of all of my critiques of this novel I would like to say the epilogue still caught me by surprise which is the biggest redeeming factor for this novel.

If you’re too busy to read the book or listen to the audio book, take a gander at the movie adaptation of this novel which is in the works currently and is rumored to star Jennifer Anniston as Alice.