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Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: September 6th, 2016
Synopsis: On the morning of September 11,2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows. She is covered in ash and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a New York City detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home?
This is the second YA book I’ve recently read centered around 9/11 and while it stirred up some strong emotions, it’s beautifully told. Gae Polishner’s writing is so elegantly descriptive that the events that I felt as though I was part of the story. The book starts with New Yorkers fleeing across the Brooklyn Bridge and I was immediately swept back to that unbelievable moment of watching residents desperately trying to escape the carnage on the tv. Because of Polishner’s evocative writing, you can feel the confusion and blind panic of that day when dense clouds of smoke, ash and debris seemed to obscure everyone and everything in sight and nowhere seemed to be safe. The story itself is told from both Kyle and this unnamed girl who he rescues and brings home. Their voices are very distinctive from one another and while I loved Kyle, it was the girl’s voice which drew out the most emotional reaction from me. You can’t help but feel her raw pain and confusion as she struggles to remember who she is. Both of them wind up making an immense personal journey in the course of just a few days. In the end, The Memory of Things is a haunting coming-of-age story send against the backdrop of one of the most tragic days in history. I recommend this to anyone who lived through 9/11 as well as today’s teens who were not yet born. If you do read this, please also read the author’s afterward in which she relates how and why she came to write this. Her experience adds even more to the story.
Just pre-ordered. I was working in an art gallery on 9/11, and we were all in early working toward a big show. A colleague came running into my office (I had the only TV in the place) and switched it on. For the rest of the day, we got now work done as we watched in horror. I’m sure it will be tough to relive that day, but this sound amazing. Great review.
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Thanks Stefanie. Our library stayed open as well, and we kept taking turns watch the tv in our meeting room. It was one of those things that you didn’t want to watch but had too.
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Just finished this a few days ago. Very beautiful book that made me want to curl up and watch Remember Me. Great review!
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Thanks Lekeisha! I’m so glad you liked this also. I haven’t heard of Remember Me, so I’m going to go look it up.
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This sounds very interesting. I’m going to preorder as well.
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I hope you like it Jay!
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Is this thing on?
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WordPress is really starting to tick me off! I’m going to have to start checking my spam folder daily it seems.
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Great review (as always). I’ll be pre-ordering as well.
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Thanks Jay! I’m sorry this reply is so late, but it seems as though several comment wound up in my spam folder, including a few of yours.😡
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May have to look into picking this one up too, great review. 🙂
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Thanks Carrie. I hope you like it!😃
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You’ve been reading a lot of great books lately! Sent a request for this, we will see!
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I’ve had some good luck lately! I hope you get approved for this Zoe.😃
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Marvellous review. This book sounds very emotional and personal. And 5 stars means it must be something very good.
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Thanks Vinnie!🙋🏻
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5 stars is an impressive rating.
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Fabulous review, Kim! I still can’t pick up a book about 9/11. It just holds too many emotions for me. But someday when I’m brave enough, then this will definitely be one of the first ones I pick up!
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I totally understand Jen.
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