Remember Me

Remember Me
Author(s)
Age Range
13+
Release Date
March 22, 2022
ISBN
978-1250261939
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Remember Me is an astonishingly bold young adult novel from Estelle Laure, the critically acclaimed author of This Raging Light and Mayhem

If you could erase all of your painful memories, would you?

Blue Owens wakes up one day with the strangest feeling that something is very wrong. Everyone’s acting weird and she’s found a note in her closet telling her to get on the Little Blue Bus at 7:45, which she does, meeting up with the exact person she was supposed to avoid: Adam Mendoza. Even though she has no idea who he is, something about him is so familiar.

When she confronts him, the truth is revealed―Blue has paid to have her memories removed, and Adam is one of those memories. As Blue struggles to piece together her history, she is torn between her desire to know why she would do something so drastic and her fear of what she will find.

Remember Me is the bold and beautiful story of a girl who must find the courage to face the demons of her past and reclaim her loved ones―even if it ruins her.

Editor review

1 review
intriguing YA about memory and the power of pain
Overall rating
 
4.3
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
5.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
REMEMBER ME is an intriguing YA sci-fi that examines the power of pain, memory, and grief/loss. The story begins with Blue, who wakes up feeling like she has forgotten something important but not remembering what it is. Everyone around her seems to be acting a little strange, and she knows something is not quite right with the things she knows to be true. When she looks deeper into her own room, she finds an unfamiliar note telling her to take the Little Blue Bus at 7:45 am on her birthday in a couple days.

When she does, she realizes the bus driver knows her, even though she has no memory of him, and the boy who rides with her seems to know her, and her body feels like it knows him, even though she cannot ever recall having met him before. This path takes her to discovering who she was and what happened to her - she went to a psychologist using an experimental treatment to remove memories. But what was she trying to forget? And who is she without her painful memories?

What I loved: This was an intriguing read that examines the way grief/loss, pain, and trauma shape our experiences and define us. Memories hold a lot of power, and the book grapples with the ideas around losing them and the way that they transform and define us. People who are old enough to know the movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, will recognize some of these themes as well as how they have evolved here.

The book changes throughout the telling, and I honestly did not guess the reason for the memory alterations. The book asks some intriguing questions around the possibility of losing your pain through memory and the choices around doing so. Important themes around guilt, grief/loss, the power of memory, mental illness, consent, the role of a therapist, romantic love, and family dynamics make this a thought-provoking read that merits some further discussion. This would be great for a book club or discussion group.

Blue is an intriguing character, and she evolves as we learn more about her past. The character that we meet at the beginning of the story is not the character in the middle of the book or at the end. Her development was really compelling, and while readers may not agree with her choices, I think they become more understandable as we learn more about her.

What left me wanting more: While there are some themes touched upon with depression and suicidality, I would appreciated further resolution and discussion around these. The focus of the story is on memories, but these themes are really powerful and important for readers who may be grappling with their own mental illnesses.

Final verdict: Overall, REMEMBER ME is an intriguing and thought-provoking story of the power of pain and the importance of memory.
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