Et cetera : What We're Reading: The Forget-Me-Not Library

Heather Webber never fails to impress, and she's done it again with this book. In the little community of Forget-Me-Not, Alabama, there is a strange anomaly that occurs when someone is "lost," literally or figuratively. First, people will unwittingly find themselves in the town. Then their car will literally break down in front of the house where their help lives. In addition, smoke will usually huff from the engine, and the particular color of the smoke will tell the townspeople what the need is.

In this case, Juliet Nightingale takes a leisurely road trip through the southern states, trying to recreate a trip taken by her grandfather when he was in his twenties. On a schedule to reach Memphis by 7:00, Juliet gets caught up in a detour and gets lost; even her trusty GPS fails! While all of her dashboard symbols flash simultaneously and her engine coughs its last, she rolls to a stop, finding herself in Forget-Me-Not with blue smoke puffing from under her hood.

And if that wasn't enough, a thin, scruffy-bearded elderly man appears and knocks on her window. A blond seven-year-old has disappeared, but the old man insists that Katy isn't lost, just misplaced. In fact, his job of babysitting his granddaughter depends on it! Juliet hops out of her car, explaining that her car had just broken down in front of his house and Tennyson Greenlee immediately asks if smoke has come out. When she replies that it had, he inquires as to the color.

Juliet is trying to gain peace following the death of her beloved grandfather with whom she had planned to take this trip; now she is on a quest to regain her memory, which was lost in the same incident that claimed grandpa's life. There are several stories intertwined in this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is available in large type at the Vinton Public Library, and on the Libby app. Relax and read!

~Connie, Library Assistant