I have a feeling this summer is going to be a lot of me doing shorter book talks especially since, as I talked about here, I’m going to maybe post a little less during the summer.
The Memory Book by Lara Avery
I received this for review consideration but this in no way affected my opinions.
About In A Sentence or Two: Sammie is diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that will start to lose her memory and her health. She’s determined to not let this happen so she starts her Memory Book in which she writes all the important things and memories, daily entries, entries from family and friend and chronicles her daily life with the disease and other things like school work, love and friendship.
Thoughts: Oh man this book had me sobbing like a baby in the middle of the night. I tend to enjoy books written in different formats and this was no exception. The fact this story was told by journal entries for her Memory Book worked really well and made it even more heartbreaking. It was devastating to watch Sammie’s dreams feel dashed and to watch her struggle with her memory at different points in the story. My heart broke for her but her hope and determination in the face of everything was inspiring. I just found myself so invested in Sammie’s life — whether it was her struggles with her disease and losing her memory or just her as a motivated and bright young girl who is falling in love and still learning and growing. Makes you think a lot about memories and unrealized dreams and making the most of your time when time is no longer this abstract idea but is instead something you can feel as definitively numbered. I think that’s a lot of the stuff that made me cry the most — becoming so invested in this life of Sammie who I feel like has so much more to give and experience and become. It’s a bittersweet and heart-wrenching, yet triumphant, read but I’m glad I picked it up. ALSO, I love Cooper so much. SOOO MUCH. If you are into contemporary YA and don’t mind a book that’s hard to read at times, pick it up! If you loved The Fault In Our Stars or even if you liked the idea of TFIOS but aren’t a John Green fan, this would be a good one readalike.
Rating:
Split Second by Kasie West
About In A Sentence Or Two: This is the sequel and conclusion to Pivot Point — a “Sliding Doors” type YA duet. If you haven’t read Pivot Point yet go read my review but just know that after this book I love and recommend this duet even more!
Thoughts: I read (and loved) Pivot Point back in 2013 and I’m just NOW getting to the sequel/conclusion. I FREAKING LOVED SPLIT SECOND — maybe even more than Pivot Point which is saying something. Pivot Point was basically the story of her playing out what two paths would diverge based on her decision to move or not move when she Searched her future and Split Second is her living out the decision she made at the end of Pivot Point after some pretty crazy things happened in each of the two futures. I loooooved being back with these characters and this world. This conclusion was such an explosive page-turner and made me fall further in love with the duet as a whole — betrayal, twists, even more depth into the Compound and Addie and Laila’s abilities. I was really sad about who she’d have to give up after Pivot Point (but obviously understood WHY Addie would considering who she would have lost) but oh man those parts were bittersweet. Such a fantastic conclusion and I highly recommend this duet/duology if you like contemporary with nice notes of paranormal abilities. [spoiler]OH MAN it was so bittersweet because we know what both of her futures were and what she gives up to keep Laila alive. She gives up Trevor. BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL TREVOR. It was so hard to read of them meeting but she doesn’t KNOW who he is because, if you remember, she had Laila erase her Search. I loved how this one got deeper into the compound and the secrets and manipulation and also even more into her and Laila’s abilities. Some of the stuff at the end was amaaaazing — how they recreated the night with all their powers. [/spoiler]
Rating
Have you read any of these? What did you think?!
kristen says
added the memory book to my list – just finished saying on your other post that i love happy fluffy books, but i also love a good cry 🙂 i still haven’t read pivot point, but it is on my shelf at home waiting for me. glad to know you liked both!
Jamie says
Yes definitely save this one for when you need a good cry!! I have a whole arsenal of “makes you cry” books but barely any fluff. I NEED TO FIND MORE FLUFF. lol
Def read Pivot Point when you want something light and will hook you pretty easily! Loved Pivot Point but man did Split Second up the drama and make me love the two books as a whole even more.
Heather says
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Split Second so much! I read Pivot Point a couple years ago (2014 maybe) and couldn’t wait for Split Second to come out. CAN’T FIND IT ANYWAYS!! Ok I’ll rephrase that one – I can’t find it at any of the local libraries OR any of my discounted book stores. I’ll have to be more diligent in find it – or maybe try for an ILL.
Jamie says
EEEE fingers crossed you can find it!!
Fiona says
I LOVED Pivot Point and Split Second! I wish there were more books in that series/set in that world because I just found them so fascinating. I agree it was hard to watch her give up who she did, but she definitely did it for the right reasons. Those books were such an interesting concept and done so well!
Jamie says
YES SAME. I bet there is so much that could be explored within that world and meet new characters with cool powers! I loved that even more about Split Second is that we reallyyyy got to see the awesomeness of the abilities. And yeah…she def did it for the right reasons. That’s the choice I would have made. SO HEART-WRENCHING to know as the reader that THEY LOVED EACH OTHER IN ANOTHER VERSION OF THIS FUTURE. I was just like gahhhh we need for you to remember all this bc my HEART!
Cynthia @ Bingeing On Books says
Oh man, The Memory Book was SO GOOD!! I was actually in a bit of reading slump until I read that one. And I just was not prepared for the ending. I probably should have been, but I was optimistic. I was crying at the end of it.
Jamie says
*spoilers for anybody reading*
YAS SAME. I had a bad feeling it would end that way but I was sooooo soo hoping it wouldn’t. So bittersweet. I had to get out of bed and go blow my nose bc I was just sobbing all over.
Halee says
Oh my god The Memory Book sounds absolutely HEARTBREAKING. Definitely adding it to my TBR
Amanda @ Vivalabooks says
The Memory Book sounds like such a good read! The concept is tragic but interesting, and the format of journal entries sounds like a nice change. This is definitely going on my TBR list!
JoLee says
Oh man. I am such a big Kasie West fan, and I absolutely loved Pivot Point and Split Second. I’m excited to read her new book.
Julia Gomez says
I just added “The Memory Book” to my wishlist!