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bina_malde 's review for:
The Memory Book
by Lara Avery
DNF at 70%
I feel a bit of a fraud posting a review when I did not finish the book, but I think I need to justify it. I cannot begin to imagine going through the trauma of being told you will not only die in a few years, but you will lose all sense of self and control of your body, too.
The heroine, Sammie, suffers from NCP which is a degenerative disease that causes not only early onset dementia, but various physical disabilities that will make it impossible for Sammie to continue on the high-flying path she had strived for (aiming to be a lawyer at NYU).
Sam has no friends, a very poor self image (body image) and values only high grades. The author has tried to make us sympathise with her - this lonely, friendless girl who spends all her time studying - but I came away thinking she was very insular and single-minded with little time for the things she ought to value the most (friendships, family and the truth). Once the true nature of her condition is revealed, her manner of dealing with it is childish in the extreme and she buries her head in the sand, pretending it isn't really happening, ignoring warnings and safety precautions her parents try to put in place.
She takes terrible risks, imperiling others, doesn't medicate, and only 'comes clean' to her only friend when she has to
The only value I found in the book was as an exposure for the disease (kudos and many thanks to the author for raising awareness) and Sammie's stubborn 'can do' attitude, in that she wasn't going to let the disease stop her from following the path she'd mapped out for herself.
I feel a bit of a fraud posting a review when I did not finish the book, but I think I need to justify it. I cannot begin to imagine going through the trauma of being told you will not only die in a few years, but you will lose all sense of self and control of your body, too.
The heroine, Sammie, suffers from NCP which is a degenerative disease that causes not only early onset dementia, but various physical disabilities that will make it impossible for Sammie to continue on the high-flying path she had strived for (aiming to be a lawyer at NYU).
Sam has no friends, a very poor self image (body image) and values only high grades. The author has tried to make us sympathise with her - this lonely, friendless girl who spends all her time studying - but I came away thinking she was very insular and single-minded with little time for the things she ought to value the most (friendships, family and the truth). Once the true nature of her condition is revealed, her manner of dealing with it is childish in the extreme and she buries her head in the sand, pretending it isn't really happening, ignoring warnings and safety precautions her parents try to put in place.
She takes terrible risks, imperiling others, doesn't medicate, and only 'comes clean' to her only friend when she has to
Spoiler
it was beyond selfish to enter the nationals without mentioning her condition<\spoiler> . For a bright and intelligent girl, she behaved very irrationally and perhaps that was something the author was trying to convey as the natural reaction to her condition, but one couldn't help feeling that was Sammie all over. What's worse is that Sammie couldn't see how unreasonable she was being and used the 'I'm going to die' card to excuse her behaviour to herself.The only value I found in the book was as an exposure for the disease (kudos and many thanks to the author for raising awareness) and Sammie's stubborn 'can do' attitude, in that she wasn't going to let the disease stop her from following the path she'd mapped out for herself.