Book Review: The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

Title:The One Memory of Flora Banks

By: Emily Barr

Published: May 2nd 2017

By: Philomel Books

Genre: YA-Contemporary-Family-Mystery

Seventeen-year-old Flora Banks has no short-term memory. Her mind resets itself several times a day, and has since the age of ten, when the tumor that was removed from Flora’s brain took with it her ability to make new memories. That is, until she kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend, the night before he leaves town. Miraculously, this one memory breaks through Flora’s fractured mind, and sticks. Flora is convinced that Drake is responsible for restoring her memory and making her whole again. So when an encouraging email from Drake suggests she meet him on the other side of the world, Flora knows with certainty that this is the first step toward reclaiming her life.

With little more than the words “be brave” inked into her skin, and written reminders of who she is and why her memory is so limited, Flora sets off on an impossible journey to Svalbard, Norway, the land of the midnight sun, determined to find Drake. But from the moment she arrives in the arctic, nothing is quite as it seems, and Flora must “be brave” if she is ever to learn the truth about herself, and to make it safely home.

Goodreads

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Wow this has been a very strong and difficult journey, it wasn’t at all what I expected, but I still end up enjoying it a lot, a roller coaster of emotions!

Flora is our main character she’s a 17 year old girl who after a tragic event doesn’t remember anything about her life after the 10 years old, she has a type of amanesia, where she can’t retain new information, whereby she can just retains information for a few minutes or maybe hours and then no longer knows where she is or what she was doing, she has created a mechanism for remembering things by writing the most important thing in her arms. One day she goes to a party in her best friend’s house, a party organized to say goodbye to her best friend’s boyfriend Drake who is about to travel to Norway to study, that night Flora is on the beach with Drake where they share a kiss, the kiss wich Flora continues to remember, even though they spend days and weeks and so she clings to this unique memory she possesses, falls madly in love with Drake and it’s here that she will undertake a journey to find him and finally begin to heal, and all this has been more than magnificent.

I finished this book last night, and I couldn’t write a review at that time, because I really didn’t feel capable of, I was so overwhelmed. I was looking for a book that made me feel this way, I don’t feel it’s a book for everyone and that is why I understand the mixed reviews about it, even so for me it has been a great experience and a book that certainly I will not forget in a long time

Flora is such a curious and unique character, I felt so bad for her all the time, the kind of illness she has is so difficult to understand, she has so much courage and strength, I really liked her. As I have told you before Flora only remembers her life until her’s 10 yeas old, so there are 7 years of her life that she doesn’t remember at all, and this involves getting up every day with a body that she doesn’t recognize, to see her family and to her best friend grow up,without the memories about it, is very hard guys. It would be a challenge for me to explain in words everything that she goes through the book, in her quest to be what she calls “normal”, but it has made me feel many emotions and now that I think about it I think it’s a journey of self-discovery, hope and growth.

The plot, the way it’s told, is the best of this book, manages to keep you hooked till the end in a super intelligent way, the plot twist are incredible, I think there was a moment where I could decipher what would happen, and still, it wasn’t easier for me to go through that, was impressed, I was speechless, destroyed my heart, I really felt so attached to Flora and I was as committed as she to her journey and her search, that I have suffered with her, it’s weird but personally I found it fascinating

I also liked it a lot as all the stories are connected in some way, as you get to doubt to everything you’re reading, to know that it was real and not. Since the book is told in first person by Flora is difficult knowing exactly if you are reading something that is real or something that is simply in her head, that has been somewhat confusing but gives it a touch of suspense and intrigue that I have enjoyed. Also the way she talks and expresses herself is so innocent and simple, she goes straight to the point. She’s so honest, it’s so sweet and weird to see this attitude in a 17 year old girl but then you realize she still has 10 in her mind so it’s something to keep in mind

There are several situations that may seem improbable or maybe they are things that would never happen in real life I understand that this is a factor that annoys people and yes, I have seen it, although it hasn’t been a big deal for me

The secondary characters are so peculiar, they all have their personalities and take life as they think it’s better even if itsn’t always the right way. I love Jacob, he’s Flora’s older brother and his personal story has touched my heart, the way he supports to his sister is beautiful and I like to read about it, I enjoyed Paige as well, she’s Flora’s best friend , she seems somewhat rude at first but then ends up being so important in Flora’s life and despite all shows that friendship can against everything

We don’t have the best parents here, but it’s interesting to see how Flora’s parents have handled this situation, obviously itsn’t easy to have a daughter with this disease, and although I don’t share her decisions I can see why they do it , and I think the mother, above all, is a very unstable woman so I don’t think she knows exactly what she’s doing, everyone will have their point of view about it I’m sure of that

I really love this book, I recommend it if you are looking for a different story, original, with very hard plot twists and revelation that will leave you in shock, I remind you that I think itsn’t for everyone, is a book that touches a very delicate subject, a disease that I honestly don’t know much about and it will be hard and crude but personally it has worked for me, it has left me amazed and it has been a roller coaster of emotions, I’ve been happy, then sad, then I’ve had hope and then I’ve been so angry, a great experience thats for sure

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Rating

5/5 Stars

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