Bern's Bookcase: Forget Me Not Book Review (Middle Grade)

The brave, poetic and heartfelt story 

of a girl with Tourette's Syndrome

“I am Calliope June. I wish I could fly to the moon. There’d be no one there to laugh or to stare and no one to call me a goon.” 

This middle grade book is an amazing, poetic & heartfelt 5 star read! I initially bought this book for the Littlest Diva to read. She read it and we had such a wonderful conversation about it that I knew I had to read it for myself. I’m so glad I did. This book genuinely touched my heart.

Calliope (Calli) is a young girl with Tourette’s Syndrome. Forget Me Not is told in short, simple prose from two points of view - that of Calli and her neighbor/friend Jinsong. It was a quick read but also the kind of story worth reading irregardless of your age and its intended audience. Calli’s story is absolutely captivating. Her mother jumps from relationship to relationship, always packing up & moving on with the ending of each one. Calli tries hard to hide her tics to fit in but of course it’s extremely difficult for her. My heart ached for Calli as she dealt with endless taunts and teasing from classmates. Her own mother honestly did not seem to grasp her Tourette's. Thinking it was something Calli could just stop doing. Calli worked so hard to control her tics and time and time again her body betrayed her. This is such a misunderstood syndrome. I was awed and touched by Ellie Terry’s raw honesty in its depiction (she has Tourette’s herself). 

My heart broke for Calli so many times while reading this book. She is lonely, misunderstood, bullied and made to feel ashamed and embarrassed of herself. Yet, I was beyond touched by her strength, resilience and her innate goodness. Calli had a huge heart. She was sweet, funny and brilliant. The kind of girl anyone would be lucky to have as a friend.

I highly recommend this book for middle schoolers (its intended audience) but honestly I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone looking for a heartwarming, inspirational read. There is much to be learned about friendship, life, resilience, acceptance and bravery from Calli & Forget Me Not.