Syndetic Solutions - [Book Review for 9780374349462]

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

by Gabrielle Zevin

Syndetic Solutions - [Book Review for 9780374349462]

Book Review

Publishers Weekly :

Terms of Use:

Departing from the science fiction premise of Elsewhere, Zevin cooks up an entertaining love story out of what her narrator calls chance, gravity and a dash of head trauma. As the novel opens, 16-year-old Naomi has fallen down a flight of stairs and lost all memory of the past four years. She doesn't remember her parents' divorce (not to mention her mother's remarriage, her half-sister and her father's recent engagement to a tango dancer). Her best friend, Will, with whom she co-edits the school yearbook, and Ace, her tennis-player boyfriend, seem like strangers. What Naomi does remember is James, the first person she saw after her accident. The image of the boy—who helped her to the hospital and stayed to make sure she was all right—lingers as she tries to sort out her past and her feelings. Well-defined characters and convincing narration camouflage the Lifetime-movie premise and the inevitability of every plot turn (no one will doubt which characters will become romantically involved and who will end up together). Naomi, adopted in infancy from a Russian orphanage, can summon up more than enough hidden emotional depths to counterweight the slicker aspects of the story; teens will identify with her vulnerability and her heightened feelings of alienation. And fans of psychological dramas won't want to put this book down. Ages 14-up. (Sept.)

distributed by Syndetic Solutions, LLC.:

Syndetic Solutions - [Book Review for 9780374349462] Book Review
:

School Library Journal :

Terms of Use:

Gr 8–11—When Naomi Porter takes a nasty fall, she loses all memory of the past four years. She's not sure if she's had sex with her boyfriend or what she saw in him, and she has no recollection that her adoptive parents are divorced, that she hasn't talked to her mother since her half sister was born, or that she's not wild about her dad's fiancée. Luckily, her buddy and yearbook coeditor, Will, is willing to clue her in on her lost life, leaving out the detail that before she lost her memory, they had shared a kiss. The only thing that eases Naomi's discomfort is the knowledge that she's not entirely alone. James, the first one to arrive on the scene of her accident, is not only handsome and mysterious, but he's also interested in starting off with a blank slate. They eventually fall for one another and begin to date, but precisely as Naomi's memory returns, she realizes that James's troubles run deep. An assignment for a photography class helps Naomi reconnect with her mother, a photographer, and understand how her definition of a family can evolve. Zevin realistically examines the power of memory through Naomi and the subplot regarding her parents' joint career and failed marriage. The cast of sympathetic characters, especially James, who suffers from depression following the death of his brother, will resound with teens. Though not as wholly engrossing as Elsewhere (Farrar, 2005), this is a compelling read with intelligent dialogue that's also touching and funny.—Jennifer Barnes, Homewood Library, IL

distributed by Syndetic Solutions, LLC.:

Syndetic Solutions - [Book Review for 0374349460] Book Review
: BookList :

Terms of Use:

*Starred Review* Contemporary realism, set askew, is the silver streak of Zevin, whose Elsewhere (2005) depicted a teen's experiences in the afterlife. This equally sensitive, joyful novel, her second for YAs, tackles the slippery nature of human identity, deceptively tucked within a plot familiar from TV soaps. After high-school junior Naomi conks her head, she can't remember anything that happened since sixth grade. She is by turns mystified and startled by evidence of her present life, from the birth-control pills in her bedside table to her parents' astonishing, rancorous split. Eventually, the memories return, leaving Naomi questioning the basis of a new, intense romance, and wondering which of her two lives, present or former, represents her most authentic self. The amnesia device could have been more convincingly played, but Zevin writes revealingly about emotions and relationships. Especially vivid is the Hepburn-Tracy bond Naomi shares with yearbook co-chief Will, whom she wounds with her lurching self-reinvention even as she discovers deeper feelings: "I had thought the way I felt about Will was just a room, but it had turned out to be a mansion." Pulled by the heart-bruising love story, readers will pause to contemplate irresistible questions: If the past were a blank slate, what would you become? Does the search for one's truest identity necessarily mean rejecting all that has gone before? Mattson, Jennifer.

distributed by Syndetic Solutions, LLC.: