Sometimes there's a town called Indianola.And sometimes there isn't.A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year June, 1993. Claire has been dumped in rural Indianola, Texas, to spend her whole vacation taking care of mean, sickly Grammy. There's nothing too remarkable about Indianola: it's run-down, shabby, and sweltering, a pin-dot on the Gulf Coast.
Except there is something remarkable. Memories shimmer and change. Lizards whisper riddles under the pecan trees. People disappear as if they never existed. Yesterday keeps coming unspooled, like a video tape. And worst of all, a red-lightning storm from beyond our world may just wipe the whole town off the map, if Claire and her
maybe-girlfriend Julie can't stop it.
Because reality doesn't apply in Indianola. Indianola is not supposed to exist.
Surprising, brilliant, and, like, totally tight,
Forget This Ever Happened is speculative horror at its finest, featuring a queer romance from a Pushcart Prize-nominated queer author and dark, dazzling world-building.
Sometimes there's a town called Indianola.
And sometimes there isn't.
June, 1993. Claire has been dumped in rural Indianola, Texas, to spend her whole vacation taking care of mean, sickly Grammy. There's nothing too remarkable about Indianola: it's run-down, shabby, and sweltering, a pin-dot on the Gulf Coast.
Except there is something remarkable. Memories shimmer and change. Lizards whisper riddles under the pecan trees. People disappear as if they never existed. Yesterday keeps coming unspooled, like a video tape. And worst of all, a red-lightning storm from beyond our world may just wipe the whole town off the map, if Claire and her maybe-girlfriend Julie can't stop it.
Because reality doesn't apply in Indianola. Indianola is not supposed to exist.
Surprising, brilliant, and, like, totally tight, Forget This Ever Happened is speculative horror at its finest, featuring an OwnVoices Queer romance and dark, dazzling world-building.
★ "Small-town politics, weird creatures, and LGBTQ first love elevate this fast-paced piece of speculative horror from nostalgic homage to gleeful update. . . . Clarke (
Star’s End) unfolds the town’s mystery with a compulsively building menace, while delightfully alien monsters, sweet queer representation, and a riot grrrl soundtrack keep even tense moments fun."—
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review"The slow-burn lesbian romance, convoluted family mysteries, and the paranormal aspects of memory loss and the nature of reality will hook readers. . . . Will send readers through a twisty labyrinth to a satisfying conclusion."
—Kirkus Reviews "This quick, fun sci-fi mystery is uncomplicated but intriguing, has a fair amount of buried small-town resentments, and involves a sweet queer romance plotline. The disorientation Claire feels as she makes her way through Indianola is shared by the reader to fun and atmospheric effect, and the depiction of the benign, but deeply out-of-place, monsters is well done. A fun, mysterious read for fans of light sci-fi."—
School Library Journal "Clarke slowly ratchets up the tension of this fascinating, genre-bending mystery. . . . A sweet romance between Claire and Julie balances the more gonzo elements. Original and compelling." —
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