Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, Gabrielle Zevin

If things had been different, I'd be called Nataliya or Natasha, and I'd have a Russian accent and chapped lips year round.

I loved Elsewhere, and so was looking forward to reading this one. It's the story of Naomi, who tripped on the way back from getting the yearbook camera down the steps. There was a coin toss between her and her friend Will to see who had to go book. And she picked heads. The fall causes her to not remember anything from the past four years. She meets James, the boy who found her after the fall. There are two other guys in the novel, Will, her best friend from yearbook, and Ace, her boyfriend before the accident.

I don't know. I wanted to love this book, but I couldn't. James has a turbulent past; he was rather crazy, on drugs, etc. It wasn't exactly his fault, but still, most people wouldn't want to associate with someone like that, never mind become romantically involved. I liked Will much better. However, I think the ending was sweet and just right, so it redeemed the book for me. A lot. I just couldn't have born it if she ended up with James. Zevin's writing style was just as good, and the premise was quite interesting.

Read Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac:
  • if you liked Elsewhere
  • if you like YA realistic fiction
271 pages, 3.5 stars.

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