A tragedy during a senior class trip to Italy shatters the lives of two best friends in Cook's engrossing tale of innocent lies and intentional deception. Jill Charron and Simone McIvory have been friends since fourth grade-Jill is the studious one from a wealthy family, while Simone is the natural leader with the infectious personality. Yale-bound Jill saw the Italian adventure as a way to experience the world with Simone at her side, but when she wakes up in a hospital bed, the last six weeks have been erased from her memory: the trip, the car crash that caused her injuries, and, worst of all, Simone's death. Whisked back from Montepulciano to the U.S., Jill is in the middle of a complicated criminal case and a psychological minefield where her lost memories are concerned. As her rehabilitation progresses, the Italian authorities threaten deportation, and questions of false memories and outside motivations loom. Cook (Remember) believably portrays the struggles of girl who had it all and is left to pick up the pieces of a life she isn't sure is hers. Ages 14-up. Agent: Barbara Poole, Irene Goodman Literary Agency. (June)? © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Gr 9 Up-Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room recovering from a broken leg and a traumatic brain injury with no memory of how she got there. She doesn't remember anything about her study abroad trip to Italy six weeks ago with her best friend Simone. She doesn't remember the car crash that killed Simone or the flight her wealthy father chartered to get her to an American hospital. She doesn't remember why she might need the lawyer her father has hired. Everyone thinks they know what happened between Jill and Simone, thanks to eyewitness accounts and the sensational news coverage, but it's up to Jill to figure out the truth for herself. This character-driven thriller teases out what might have happened between the two girls as the events leading to the accident slowly unfold. Jill's recovery includes realistically portrayed rehab for her broken leg and speech therapy for the aphasia that leaves her forgetting words. Cook intersperses Jill's first-person narration with police interviews, news coverage, and blog posts about the car crash. Travel guide excerpts are as close as readers will get to any Italian locations as Jill's memories of the trip remain elusive for most of the novel. Flashbacks, Facebook posts, and emails help to further develop Jill and Simone's complicated relationship. The rest of the cast fall more comfortably into stock character territory. Questions of what Jill remembers and what might have been a dream or suggested memory lend a chilling quality to the conclusion of this novel. VERDICT A solid thriller that will leave readers guessing until the very last page.-Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

*Starred Review* When privileged Jill wakes up in the hospital, she's concerned with two things, talking to her best friend, Simone, and getting ready for the tour of Italy she'd been anticipating. Soon, though, she realizes the terrible truth. She's already been to Italy. That's where she caused the car accident that killed Simone. As she pieces together the missing six weeks of her memory and endures both physical and psychiatric therapy, Jill encounters increasing trouble. The Italian police believe the accident was intentional, and thanks to Internet vitriol, she's swiftly becoming the subject of a media frenzy. She has allies, but they're not enough to stem her rising anxiety over the threat of extradition. As the rumors surrounding the case (related in snippets of ephemera between chapters) become more salacious, Jill becomes more dogged in her determination to remember the truth. Similarities to the infamous Amanda Knox case notwithstanding, Cook's compelling, tautly written mystery leads readers on a swooping roller coaster of allegiances. Jill, a determined overachiever, is multidimensional and sympathetic, and the doozy of an ending clicks all the seemingly disparate elements of her story and character neatly, chillingly into place. Cinematic scene breaks and propulsive reveals will keep the pages furiously turning in this slow-burning but explosive thriller.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 Booklist

Yale-bound student Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital bed to a nightmare. Her best friend, Simone McIvory, is dead. And Jill is accused of murder.While the white teen recovers from massive head injuries, she discovers Simone was killed in a car crash while they were in Italy during an Adventures Abroad program, her dream trip. Everyone says Jill was the driver, but she can't remember the accident or being in Italy at all, due to her retrograde amnesia and struggles with aphasia. While in rehab, Jill works on her memory with Dr. Weeks and meets roommate Anna Lopez, both of whom provide respite during the media firestorm. Rumors heat up implying that Jill and Simone fought over Nico, their Italian tour guide. The hoopla surrounding the accident is played well, reminiscent of the real-life Amanda Knox trial. Jill's past-tense narration is complemented by Justice for Simone blog posts, police transcripts, text messages, email, Facebook comments, and Crime Watch episodes, through which details of their frenemy-ship and what might've happened emerge. It's a virtual he said/she said at its loudest and, oftentimes, most cruel. What falls short are stereotypical depictions of characters, like Evan (pushy lawyer), Nico (Casanova), or Jill's father (midlife abandoner). No one character really shines, not even Jill. What does provide interest is the slippery notion of truth versus memory versus perception.Gossip and hubbub abound in this tame mystery. (Mystery. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Jill wakes up in a hospital with no memory. She learns that a car accident during her post-graduation trip to Italy is to blame for her injuries; that her best friend, Simone, is dead; and that she's being accused of Simone's murder. Flat characters and relatively little action aside, the whodunit tension of this psychological mystery is engaging enough to keep pages turning. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.