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Synopsis
**1953:** “So, um...this is awkward, but...that's my grandma you're sitting on.” A half smile inched across the young man's face, and he motioned to the headstone I was leaning against. “I am so sorry,” I said, quickly standing. “I didn't realize—I mean, I should have realized—I just—I'm sorry.” The man chuckled. “Told you it was awkward,” he said, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he continued to smile. “I'm Joe.” Life in Backus is, in Ella's mind, akin to the observation in Pride and Prejudice: "For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" Ella wants out, and the arrival of her friend's handsome cousin threatens that dream. Joe starts working her job in the diner, gains the respect of the town, and--worse--causes her to like him. **2008:** "You probably aren't used to people just walking into your house. At least, not ones you've never met." The strange girl giggled. "Um," I shifted uncomfortably. "Hi?" She took my greeting as an invitation to step farther into my room. "Who are you?" "Oh!" She laughed. "I'm Rosie; I live next door. You're Jane, right?" Jane, who recently moved from the Twin Cities, just hopes to fit in. The talkative Rosie and a position on the Backus newspaper help that happen...but as she continues looking into the town's past, she finds more mysteries than explanations. Two cultures combine in this story of love, friendship, and tested faith.
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Is Forgotten Memories appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 12 and up.
A gentle dual-timeline clean romance set in a small Minnesota town, alternating between 1953 and 2008, with no violence, no sexual content, and a focus on friendship, faith, and belonging.
What to know going in
This book has no graphic violence, no sexual content, and clean language.
Who'll love this
A sweet, wholesome story about fitting in, first crushes, and uncovering small-town secrets across two different eras.