The Art of Forgetting

March 21, 2011
In Pagán's uneven debut, diet editor Marissa Rogers is driven but lacks confidence, thanks largely to her appearance-obsessed mother. When a brain injury changes her best friend, Julia, from beautiful, independent alpha woman to needy, cat-obsessed, purple-clad shut-in, Marissa's life takes a turn as well. A recovering Julia is intent on reuniting Marissa with Nathan, the college sweetheart that Julia personally coerced Marissa into dumping. Though Marissa has often thought about Nathan, she has a fine relationship with Dave, a reliable workaholic. As Julia's change creates distance between these two old friends, Marissa grows closer to her religious sister, Sarah, who helps her navigate her relationships. Meanwhile, at work, Marissa is forced to fend off the barbs of an ambitious editorial assistant, a plot line that feels tacked-on in order to give Pagán a chance to reveal the toil and tedium behind the glamorous veneer of magazine life. Though it's not without humor, Pagán's prose feels stale and clunky, and moments of revelation seem pat, easy, or implausible.

June 1, 2011

In an underweight debut, needy Marissa learns to love herself and take control.

Marissa Rogers' emotional barometer is stuck on self-doubt. Undermined by her mother's constant criticism and bullied in middle school, she has spent years disbelieving she's worth it. At college, could cute student Nathan really be in love with her? At Svelte magazine in New York City, where she works as diet editor, can she really be as highly-regarded as her boss says? Does Dave—the handsome, kind, patient corporate tax attorney she's dating­—really want her to move in? This constant state of "Who, me?" can be tiring for the reader. Supposedly Marissa's BFF Julia is the one solid spot of equality and mutual dependence in Marissa's life, except that the old Julia, who forced Marissa to give up Nathan for the sake of their friendship, is gone, after a traffic accident delivers a personality-disordering brain contusion. Pagán's rom-com ticks the boxes for empathy, good humor and empowerment but is light on originality. Will Nathan attract Marissa back? Will her pushy assistant undermine her? Will she find a better job, get engaged and lose those pesky last ten pounds? The answers are as predictable as the questions.

A pleasant but transparent primer on self-esteem.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

April 15, 2011

Pagan's debut novel explores the fantasy of pondering the what-ifs in life. Marissa and her best friend, Julia, have a rapport and dynamic well established since high school, where Marissa unconsciously let her gorgeous and well-liked friend shine because of her own lack of self-confidence. However, when Julia is suddenly hit by a car and sustains a brain injury that affects her memory and personality, both women are faced with how their past decisions and actions have unknowingly led them to the present. Specifically, Julia regrets her role in Marissa's breakup with Nathan, who was seemingly the love of her life. When Nathan reenters their lives, the friends must confront the bigger question of how to move forward and learn to forgive. VERDICT This page-turner with original, likable, empathetic characters and an identifiable theme will attract readers who enjoy intelligent novels about women's friendships.--Anne M. Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2011
Indecisive Marissa Rogers details the often rocky history of her relationship with her exuberant best friend, Julia Ferrar, as each navigates distinct New York City lives. A fitness magazine editor who bemoans her eternal quest to stay in shape, Marissa finds her world dramatically changed when Julia is hit by a cab and suffers brain damage that markedly alters her personality and memories. The sharp realization that Julia may be forever different forces Marissa to face painful truths about their relationship, particularly the fact that 10 years earlier, she walked away from the love of her life at Julias request. Although Julia is a challenging character to like, whose grip on Marissa is difficult to understand, the age-old theme of the meaning of friendship and personal integrity overlaying the contemporary feel of Pagns first novel should interest twentysomethings. In addition, health writer Pagn researched brain injuries and, like neuroscientist Lisa Genova in Left Neglected (2011), incorporates factual information about such traumas that is at times more interesting than the story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)