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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
"The Memory Book" by Lara Avery is about a young girl named Samantha also known as Sammie. Its tell a story of pain, first love, life and death. Even an unexpected second love and of course the love of family and friends around her.
I would strongly recomend this book i think that the characters are stong and the plot as sad as it seems because she has an Illness (NPC) its a very positive book.
love, ch
I would strongly recomend this book i think that the characters are stong and the plot as sad as it seems because she has an Illness (NPC) its a very positive book.
love, ch
all i’m gonna say is that this book made me ugly cry, so basically i absolutely loved it
"So when it all gets to be too much, it's all right that you might ask yourself where you have fallen, why you have fallen, and to tell yourself that you will never fall the same way again. That's how our education, both in life and at school, will serve us. But the work isn't over. Use the knowledge that you will rise for the purpose of joy, and [dangit], get back up."
BRB, crying over this book. I'll write a full review once I start catching up on blog reviews, but I highly recommend this book for anyone facing significant illness, especially those involving severe memory loss. And that goes for those suffering from illness and caring for those who are suffering.
BRB, crying over this book. I'll write a full review once I start catching up on blog reviews, but I highly recommend this book for anyone facing significant illness, especially those involving severe memory loss. And that goes for those suffering from illness and caring for those who are suffering.
If you're looking for a book that will give you a good cry (or at least a lump in your throat), this is the book for you. I wasn't in the mood for a sad book when I picked this up, but I still really enjoyed it.
Sammie is about to graduate high school and has just been diagnosed with a disease that causes very early onset dementia. I looked the disease up - Niemann-Pick - and to my surprise it was a real disease. It sounds much worse in reality than described in the book (which was also really bad).
The best way to describe Sammie is ambitious and determined. She has high expectations of herself and lots of plans for the future. She's the top of her class and wants to stay that way in college and a career. Sammie's determination is not that of a plucky teenager looking to get the most out of life, discover love and friendship in spite of a terminal disease. Not exactly. It's more of hardheaded determination to stick to her goals and ignore her limitations.
I don't know that I exactly liked Sammie. Even though she has a personality I can very much identify with. Here I am looking down on a girl, because she's ambitious and academically minded. Not a good feminist viewpoint. But it's hard to prevent societal ingrained negative associations, even when you know you shouldn't think that way.
I didn't always agree with Sammie's choices. Her decisions not to tell certain people about her diagnosis, what she did decide to tell people about, how her refusal to see obvious truths negatively affected her and those around her. But all her choices made sense. They felt entirely in line with typical decisions of a teenager, someone who's been told horrible news, and someone with her personality.
There is a romance in this book, but don't read it because of that. It essentially turns into a love triangle. Stuart, Sammie's long-term crush, is a nice guy and I see why she liked him. But he was really boring and their chemistry didn't come off on the page. Then you have Sammie's childhood best friend Cooper who is as sweet and dedicated as can be. While she appreciates him, she also makes decisions that do not treat him as he deserves. It wasn't a full love triangle, but as close as you can get.
What I did love about this book was seeing how Sammie's life changed as her disease progressed. The book is told in journal format, which worked wonderfully to show how her life was affected. Especially toward the end, the way the story was told made it extra heart-breaking.
Another pro is Sammie's family. She has dedicated parents and a bunch of cute siblings. I did think her 13 year old brother came off as very immature for his age, with the small amount of page time he got. I get that 13 year old boys aren't great founts of maturity, but he felt more like he was about 10. Regardless, I loved seeing scenes with her family and the positive influence they had on her life.
This was a touching book, even though it often annoyed me. Still, it flowed easily and quickly. It definitely made me want to read more of Lara Avery.
Recommendation: Borrow and be prepared to cry
Sammie is about to graduate high school and has just been diagnosed with a disease that causes very early onset dementia. I looked the disease up - Niemann-Pick - and to my surprise it was a real disease. It sounds much worse in reality than described in the book (which was also really bad).
The best way to describe Sammie is ambitious and determined. She has high expectations of herself and lots of plans for the future. She's the top of her class and wants to stay that way in college and a career. Sammie's determination is not that of a plucky teenager looking to get the most out of life, discover love and friendship in spite of a terminal disease. Not exactly. It's more of hardheaded determination to stick to her goals and ignore her limitations.
I don't know that I exactly liked Sammie. Even though she has a personality I can very much identify with. Here I am looking down on a girl, because she's ambitious and academically minded. Not a good feminist viewpoint. But it's hard to prevent societal ingrained negative associations, even when you know you shouldn't think that way.
I didn't always agree with Sammie's choices. Her decisions not to tell certain people about her diagnosis, what she did decide to tell people about, how her refusal to see obvious truths negatively affected her and those around her. But all her choices made sense. They felt entirely in line with typical decisions of a teenager, someone who's been told horrible news, and someone with her personality.
There is a romance in this book, but don't read it because of that. It essentially turns into a love triangle. Stuart, Sammie's long-term crush, is a nice guy and I see why she liked him. But he was really boring and their chemistry didn't come off on the page. Then you have Sammie's childhood best friend Cooper who is as sweet and dedicated as can be. While she appreciates him, she also makes decisions that do not treat him as he deserves. It wasn't a full love triangle, but as close as you can get.
What I did love about this book was seeing how Sammie's life changed as her disease progressed. The book is told in journal format, which worked wonderfully to show how her life was affected. Especially toward the end, the way the story was told made it extra heart-breaking.
Another pro is Sammie's family. She has dedicated parents and a bunch of cute siblings. I did think her 13 year old brother came off as very immature for his age, with the small amount of page time he got. I get that 13 year old boys aren't great founts of maturity, but he felt more like he was about 10. Regardless, I loved seeing scenes with her family and the positive influence they had on her life.
This was a touching book, even though it often annoyed me. Still, it flowed easily and quickly. It definitely made me want to read more of Lara Avery.
Recommendation: Borrow and be prepared to cry
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is up there with one of the best books I have ever read. The tragic tale of a young girl who has her entire future planed out until she discovers that she has a disease that will make her forget who she is and where she is from.
The letters at the back of the book broke me completely, I have never cried more at a book than I did when reading this one. The letter from her mum was so powerful that I reread it several times.
I would recommend this book to anyone, it is amazing.
The letters at the back of the book broke me completely, I have never cried more at a book than I did when reading this one. The letter from her mum was so powerful that I reread it several times.
I would recommend this book to anyone, it is amazing.
emotional
sad
Yes, yes, yes...I LOOK 47 and ACT 47, but really I believe I'm 17. So I gave the book 4 stars. Even if my grown up mind knew it was predictable, my 17 year old heart gave in to the story.
VOYA gave it a 2016 Perfect 10. Talking about all award winners, a wise friend told me, "Knowing why it's a winner isn't apparent until you reach the last page." This is applicable here.
Sammie has a terminal disease and is losing her memory, so she records everything on her laptop as a means of reading back to remember. We walk through her senior year into the season of what would have been her freshman year in college, all the while watching her memory slip away. Her friends and family all have their own ways of dealing with Sammie as she deteriorates. Personally, I could relate to the parents. I don't even want to think about something like this happening to my own children.
***Spoiler***The boys in the story: I liked them. Although I never dated a "Stuart" I definitely had "Cooper" friends. I thought Cooper was extremely believable. Stuart - not as much. He had me until the end. The maturity shown in one of the last conflicts was admirable, but not so believable for me. This was what prevented me from giving the book 5 stars.
VOYA gave it a 2016 Perfect 10. Talking about all award winners, a wise friend told me, "Knowing why it's a winner isn't apparent until you reach the last page." This is applicable here.
Sammie has a terminal disease and is losing her memory, so she records everything on her laptop as a means of reading back to remember. We walk through her senior year into the season of what would have been her freshman year in college, all the while watching her memory slip away. Her friends and family all have their own ways of dealing with Sammie as she deteriorates. Personally, I could relate to the parents. I don't even want to think about something like this happening to my own children.
***Spoiler***The boys in the story: I liked them. Although I never dated a "Stuart" I definitely had "Cooper" friends. I thought Cooper was extremely believable. Stuart - not as much. He had me until the end. The maturity shown in one of the last conflicts was admirable, but not so believable for me. This was what prevented me from giving the book 5 stars.
