The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Derrick, Alyson. Forget Me Not. Simon & Schuster. 2023. Kindle.

Forget Me Not is a YA novel narrated by Stevie, the protagonist, in first-person present. Stevie has been dating Nora since sophomore year, and the two girls are madly in love. They have both just graduated from high school, and they plan to run away to California at the end of the summer. No one in their small town, Wyatt, knows that they are lesbians, and they plan to keep it that way. Stevie lies to her friends and family and tells them that she is going to attend the local community college, but she has been accepted into UCLA. Nora tells her mom that she is going to remain at home to help with their meat business, but she already has a job at a farm in California lined up.

Stevie wakes up and tells her mom that she cannot hang out with her because she has to meet her friends, Savannah and Rory, for brunch. Stevie does not like her friends anymore because they are always making homophobic and racist comments, but Stevie does not want to cut ties until after she leaves for California. She quickly has brunch with them, then lies and tells them she has to go to work at the coffee shop. Instead, she drives out to the woods near Nora’s farm and meets her girlfriend. The girls talk about their plans for apartments and furniture. However, while Stevie is walking across a tree trunk over a ravine, she falls and hits her head. Nora climbs down and pulls Stevie out, then carries her back to the car and drives her to the hospital. Nora lies and tells everyone that she was just walking by when she heard Stevie screaming for help.

Stevie remains in a coma for two weeks, and when she wakes up she is diagnosed with retrograde amnesia, which has erased the last two years of her life and caused her to forget about Nora and her sexuality. The doctor tells Stevie to try getting back into her own routine because this might bring her memories back. However, Stevie soon realizes that her friends and family no longer know everything about her.

Stevie and her mom go out for lunch, and they decide to bring a sandwich to Nora to thank her for finding Stevie and for visiting her in the hospital every day. Nora’s mom is rude to them, so they leave without visiting Nora. Stevie hangs out with Savannah and Rory, but the girls lie to Stevie and tell her that she has a crush Ryan, a boy from their class who works at the Dinor. She goes with them to talk to him, and they all agree to hang out at the county fair together. Stevie goes to work and runs out crying because she cannot remember how to make drinks. She runs into Nora, who comforts her. Stevie asks her if she will show her the ravine where she fell, and the girls exchange numbers. They meet up in the woods and start to connect, but then Stevie tells Nora about her plans with Ryan, Nora gets upset and asks Stevie to leave.

Stevie goes to the county fair with Ryan, and they have a fun time. However, when she runs into Nora in the animal barn, she feels bad that Nora looks so sad. Stevie convinces Ryan to enter a raffle with her so that they can win Nora a cow because Stevie thinks Nora, who has recently gone vegan, is upset that the cow is going to be auctioned off. A few days later, Stevie learns that she won the cow, so she goes to pick the animal up, but instead she is given packages of meat. She tells Nora what happened, and Nora laughs, then says she has to go build a fence. Stevie asks if she can help, and Nora agrees. The girls start to flirt, but Stevie is frightened by her emotions.

Stevie goes to Truck Night with Ryan and her friends, but she is shocked when an old man makes racist comment about Ryan and her friends all laugh about it. The next day, Stevie goes to hang out with Nora. Nora nearly tells Stevie the truth, but they are interrupted. Stevie tries to ask Nora to talk to her, but when Nora brushes her off, Stevie begins to think that Nora is keeping secrets from her.

Stevie goes home and looks through her room. She finds a hidden box full of letters and pictures that prove she was in a relationship with Nora. Stevie drives back to Nora’s house and yells at her for lying. Nora kisses her, and Stevie feels electricity, but she tells herself she cannot be with Nora because doing so ruined her relationship with her family.

Stevie drives to the Dinor and kisses Ryan, but she feels nothing. She goes home and spends a week with her mom and dad, then she calls Ryan to apologize. She tells him the truth about Nora, and he encourages Stevie to talk to Nora.

Stevie goes back to the woods to meet Nora, who shows her all the pictures from their relationship and tells her about their plans to go to California. Stevie tells Nora that they can be together, but she tells her she wants to stay in Wyatt. Nora happily agrees.

A few weeks later, Nora and Stevie hook up at Nora’s house, but her mom walks in. She kicks Nora out, hits her, and tells her to never return. Stevie tells Nora she will tell her mom the truth so that Nora can come live with her, but Nora reveals that Stevie already told her mom, and her mom did not accept her sexuality.

Stevie takes Nora to Ryan’s house, and he says she can stay until his parents return for vacation. The next day, Stevie decides she wants to go to California with Nora. The girls start planning and get everything ready in the next nine days. On the night before they leave, Stevie goes out to dinner with her parents and wishes she could tell them the truth.

The next morning, Stevie leaves them a letter and goes to the airport with Nora. Her parents track her down before she boards her flight and tell her they love her no matter what. They tell both girls that they can call anytime, and that they are always welcome back home. Nora and Stevie kiss in the airport and board their flight together.