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.
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
Looks like another book is going on our TBR… What can we do if (awesome) bloggers such as yourself make wicked reviews…😛😎
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Aw you guys thanks😄😄❤❤❤ !, I’m so glad you like it. I hope you enjoy it once you read it😊
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Your welcome 😊 We hope so too! 😃
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Yay that is a good rating and I have this ARC so I’m really happy you liked it!
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That’s great, I hope you enjoy it once you read it honey ❤
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I hope so too!
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I’m so glad you loved this book! I have been dying to read it! Awesome review!😄
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Thank you! ❤, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did once you read it, I would love to know your thoughts!
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This sounds great! Lovely review 😊 why do you think this book is getting mixed reviews? Just because it’s a difficult subject matter to read about? I will definitely read it…when I’m in the mood to feel all the emotions that come with this story 😊
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Thanks Alex ❤. What I think is that I don’t believe that everyone can endure such a delicate issue as the disease that is spoken in the book and all that entails, the book tends to be repetitive because Flora needs to review the same information every day, that’s why I repeat, you have to remember that it is because of her illness, there are very insensitive actions against her where she is treated like a crazy person, I understand that all this can be difficult to bear for the readers, it is a hard reading but I think the message is unique and beautiful, so I hope you enjoy it if you decide to read it 😊
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Ahh that does make sense. Thank you for the heads up! I am definitely looking forward to reading this book.
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Ooh this sounds really interesting! Fabulous review, I’m definitely adding it to my to-read list.
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Thanks❤! I’m glad you liked it, I hope you enjoy it once you read it 😊😊
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I’ve been really curious about reading this book after seeing the mixed reviews. The synopsis gives me 50 First Date Vibes. I really enjoyed reading your review!
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This sounds incredible! I really need to read this one. I read a really interesting interview with the author too.
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I hope you can give it a try at some point it’s such a powerful and deep book, I hope you enjoy it if you go for it 😊😊❤
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Thanks for the review, I think I would add this book to my TBR reads, seeing as how it sounds. Unique and curious with the main character having a very strange disease and having her family deal with it, I feel like wanting to read it after your review. By the way, I have nominated you for the mystery blogger award after seeing your blog and the way it reviews books: https://dreamingmtthoughts.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/mystery-blogger-award/
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Thank you, that is so sweet of you!❤ I’m glad you liked my review, I hope that if you decide to read it you enjoy it as much as I did😊
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Awww… I was curious when I saw the cover months ago, but now I want to read it!hehe 😉
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It’s an intense but fantastic book, I hope you enjoy it if you decide to go for it 😊😊
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[…] The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr (5/5 Stars) REVIEW HERE […]
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[…] ☕️ The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr : I think this is probably an unpopular opinion, because of everything I’ve seen and heard about this book it’s not that good. But I personally LOVED IT, I think it’s a very intelligent and unique proposal, about a girl who has short-term memory, so she must live with what that implies, creating ways of remembering what she’s living and thus be able to have a “normal life”, but one day she will embark herself on a trip to the Arctic, which is quite unique in itself, but there’s also a very shocking revelation there waiting for her. What I enjoyed the most of this book is that I didn’t see coming anything that happened and for me the outcome, although it breaks your heart, is very well thought out and also makes you think, because it’s very difficult to meet this girl who repeats one and again the same thing, it’s a very unique trip, and I think it’s worth reading ||MY REVIEW|| […]
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