Title: Things I Can't Forget (Hundred Oaks #3)
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Release Date: March 1, 2013 (paperback)
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 320
Source: ARC provided by publisher

Overall: 4.5 Stars

Summary:

SOME RULES WERE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.

Kate has always been the good girl. Too good, according to some people at school—although they have no idea the guilty secret she carries. But this summer, everything is different...

This summer she's a counselor at Cumberland Creek summer camp, and she wants to put the past behind her. This summer Matt is back as a counselor too. He's the first guy she ever kissed, and he's gone from geeky songwriter who loved The Hardy Boys to a buff lifeguard who loves to flirt...with her.

Kate used to think the world was black and white, right and wrong. Turns out, life isn't that easy... 

My Thoughts: 
Kate has always viewed the world in black and white; either something is right or it's wrong. But when her best friend Emily needed her support, Kate made a difficult decision that's now eating her up inside. Nobody knows she helped her friend get an abortion, and Kate can't stop feeling guilty. She prays for God's forgiveness, and doesn't understand why Emily is not praying too. Just as the tension rises between them and their friendship begins to crumble apart, Kate spends the summer away as a counselor at a camp supported by her church.

Initially, Kate seemed too judgmental a person, but the more I got to know her, the more I realized I had misjudged her myself, ironically. Kate's Christian values have always made her want to disassociate with anyone who doesn't act like her, and it makes others believe she's looking down on them when she just doesn't know any better. It's always been just her and Emily together, but now that she's on her own at the camp, she has the chance to broaden her horizons, meet new friends, and learn the world comes in shades of grey.

It was like love at first sight when Matt was introduced in the novel. He's funny, kind, adorably sweet, and oh so handsome. It's been several years since Kate last saw Matt, and during this time, he's grown from an awkward boy to a very attractive lifeguard. As the pair easily flirt with each other, feelings stir within Kate that she has never felt before, and it makes her nervous just how hard she finds herself falling for him. And if you're fans of Parker and Will from Stealing Parker, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that they feature prominently in the novel as Kate's fellow camp counselors!

I absolutely loved reading Miranda Kenneally's Things I Can't Forget! Much like the previous two books in the Hundred Oaks series, Things I Can't Forget is much more than a typical romantic contemporary novel. Miranda Kenneally has perfectly balanced exploring Kate's internal struggles with pure summer fun! Compared to Stealing Parker, the religious undertones are lighter in Things I Can't Forget, and I did think that helped me enjoy this book so much more. Miranda Kenneally has quickly risen to be among favourite YA contemporary authors and I can't wait to read her next novel, Racing Savannah! 

Thanks so much to Raincoast Books for providing this review copy!