Ellie Terry

This book was provided to me by the library, because the library is awesome.

As Calliope navigates school, she must also face her mother's new relationship and the fact that they might be moving--again--just as she starts to make friends and finally accept her differences.
Ellie Terry's affecting debut will speak to a wide audience about being true to oneself.

Forget Me Not is an excellent debut novel by Ellie Terry. The fact that Ms. Terry has Tourette’s Syndrome makes this fictional account show more even more moving. Our main character, Calli, makes my heart hurt. On top of having to deal with her tics and how her peers respond to them, she also has a mother who doesn’t really try to understand her. When we meet the Snow family, they are making their tenth move, and Calli is only in 7th grade. My family moved a lot, so I can sympathize with her “nowhere to belong” feelings. Additionally, she’s been told by her neurologist and her mother not to share the fact that she has Tourette’s, because they say people will get the wrong idea. Between her condition, not being able to talk about her condition, coping with bullies, and having a mother who is oblivious, this child has so much bottled up inside of her, that I’m surprised she held on to it as long as she did. I would recommend this book to anyone with a 4th grade or higher reading level, and especially to anyone who may know or work with a child with Tourette’s. I learned things from this book that will affect how I see this neurological condition and those who live with it. show less

"It's Tourette's,"
Mom sucked in a breath,
choked on her own spit.
I popped a sucker in my mouth,
happy to have a name
for the weird things I did."

This is an amazing and brave story. About a girl named Calliope - or Calli - who has Tourette's syndrome. She moves around - a lot. She is constantly starting a new school and her tics, from her syndrome, make it tough for her to make friends. She was told long ago to keep her tics to herself - to try to hold them in and not tell anyone she has them. show more She was told that by a doctor and her mother agreed.

Tourette's is a very
misunderstood
disorder
and if people knew,
they'd treat me different,
expect me to curse
spit in their face
give them the finger
because that's all they've seen in the movies
even though not everyone
who has Tourette's
does that."

And this book is absolutely correct. Tourettes is a very misunderstood syndrome. It's not widely talked about and the few times it is, it IS with the extreme examples of the swearing and/or obscene gestures. But this books shows the truth of it. That each person's truth of Tourettes is different. That the person is frustrated and embarrassed well before anyone is cruel (especially kids). This is a very bold and beautiful book that brings light to something I knew very little about. I loved the 2 POV's and how they were told two different ways - one was told through verse and the other through short chapters. It gave Calli's loneliness and hurt a good packed punch to the reader but didn't drown us in her anguish. And the chapters give us Jinsong's struggle to beat against the bullies and be her friend, even though it's middle school and possibly social suicide. The story really touched me and I loved it. I look forward to more stories from this author. show less

What a sweet, moving novel "Forget Me Not" was. Written in free verse, it tells the story of thirteen-year-old Calli who suffers from Tourettes Syndrome. She has just moved to another new school and is struggling to fit in.

Calli's struggles are heart-wrenching. Not only does she have to cope with the spontaneous tics and sounds that she has no control of, but she also has to deal with the verbal abuse and teasing from her peers. My heart bled for Calli all the way through this story. She was show more such a tenacious young girl who picked herself up and continued on, and fought back despite her loneliness and hurt. It was only after I read the Author's Note that I discovered that the author also suffers from Tourettes, and that Calli's tics and struggles mirrored her own.

Calli's mother and their neighbour, Jingsong, annoyed and frustrated me. Her mother was embarrassed of her daughter's condition and Jingsong, even though he secretly liked Calli, didn't have the strength of character to stand up in front of his friends and stop their harassment. Thankfully, he did grow throughout he novel but it took him too long to do the right thing by Calli.

Beautifully and simply written, "Forget Me Not" is a touching read about self-acceptance and forgiveness, and perfect for younger readers who have ever struggled to fit in. Highly recommended. show less

Solid debut novel -- the book just flows from page to page, telling the story of Calliope June -- always moving, interested in astronomy and rocks, girl with long blonde hair and secret Tourette's. It alternates short prose from Jinsong, high achieving boy who lives next door in the apartment Callie has just moved into -- Jinsong who finds her fascinating and lovely, but keeps weighing what it will cost him in school popularity to admit this. There's a bit of beginning romance here, just a show more little. There's a lot of problematic behavior from Callie's mother.

It's a great book, and I appreciate the author's note talking about living with Tourette's. show less