aggressive_nostalgia 's review for:

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

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Normally I'm not a big fan of YA books, even as a teen myself, because I feel they tend to lack real content. However, I have to say that the moderately interesting premise (amnesia—not über original, but not commonplace, either) veneer over the predictable string of romance actually made for a rather charming novel. (*I should probably note the existence of spoilers in this review here. I do give some plot points away.*) True, Naomi is definitely not a paragon of integrity, and sometimes her sheer idiotic brashness (and poor life/judgment choices, both those alluded to as pre-amnesia events and those made during the present story) ground on my nerves, but I thought she did get several important points hammered home in the course of the story. Will was the amazing, sweet, quirky, intelligent, lovable best friend, and, as such, was the sensible end to Naomi's crazy little romance spree. He definitely had more depth than any other character int he book. (I love Will and his mix cds [and they mentioned Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots! I literally bounced out of my seat upon seeing that].) Though I did think it was interesting that James was set up to be this really crazy, mysterious character, and then he sort of faded into nothing. It was a fun read, not quite as dark (not that it's really lighthearted, either) as I'd been expecting. It was pretty predictable, but actually in a sort of cute/comfy chick-flick-film sort of way. There were a few unexpected twists, and the characters were varied and lively enough to give the novel a lot of character. A worthy read, probably not one I'd spend money on, not with a protagonist I'd recommend anyone model their life after, but actually rather charming.