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A review by kcelena
Yesterday by Felicia Yap
4.0
This book started out for me as 4.5 stars, then dwindled to 4 and finished off with 3.5.
The story is set in our world with one major difference - short term memory evaporates as quickly as water left in the open air. The majority of the population are classified as Monos - those who can not remember anything more than one day in the past. A select and special few however, are able to recall their lives up to two days in the past. They are the Duos. People everywhere rely on the facts and events written in their iDiaries each night to help them remember the rest of their lives.
After an intriguing prologue, the book brings us to Chapter 1 and the introduction of Claire - a Mono woman married for 20 years to a Duo. She wakes knowing that the day before was spent in misery but is unsure of why, as the events creating such sadness happened the day before. Her iDiary tells her nothing, and her husband does the same. Then an inspector shows up, questioning her husband about a woman found dead in the nearby river. The inspector accuses Claire's husband of having an affair with this woman and then murdering her. Claire is shocked and devastated and turns to her diaries of the past to help her see how life has brought her to this point. Claire’s husband, the inspector and past diary entries of the woman killed, add to the story creating an intriguing mystery full of heartache, deception, and brutal truth.
There was so much about this book I liked. The world building, the fast pace of it, the ensnaring hook at the very beginning that isn’t fully explained until the end. What I did not like - and what ultimately led me to finish it feeling less than thrilled - was the character of the victim Sophia. I didn’t feel like I was reading the real thoughts of a woman scorned and seeking revenge (why and against who I’ll let future readers discover). Rather, I felt that I was reading the authors incorrect idea of what such a person would sound like. Those chapters lacked depth and believability and ultimate - for me anyway - detracted from the story as a whole. Putting that aside, it was a fun read.
The story is set in our world with one major difference - short term memory evaporates as quickly as water left in the open air. The majority of the population are classified as Monos - those who can not remember anything more than one day in the past. A select and special few however, are able to recall their lives up to two days in the past. They are the Duos. People everywhere rely on the facts and events written in their iDiaries each night to help them remember the rest of their lives.
After an intriguing prologue, the book brings us to Chapter 1 and the introduction of Claire - a Mono woman married for 20 years to a Duo. She wakes knowing that the day before was spent in misery but is unsure of why, as the events creating such sadness happened the day before. Her iDiary tells her nothing, and her husband does the same. Then an inspector shows up, questioning her husband about a woman found dead in the nearby river. The inspector accuses Claire's husband of having an affair with this woman and then murdering her. Claire is shocked and devastated and turns to her diaries of the past to help her see how life has brought her to this point. Claire’s husband, the inspector and past diary entries of the woman killed, add to the story creating an intriguing mystery full of heartache, deception, and brutal truth.
There was so much about this book I liked. The world building, the fast pace of it, the ensnaring hook at the very beginning that isn’t fully explained until the end. What I did not like - and what ultimately led me to finish it feeling less than thrilled - was the character of the victim Sophia. I didn’t feel like I was reading the real thoughts of a woman scorned and seeking revenge (why and against who I’ll let future readers discover). Rather, I felt that I was reading the authors incorrect idea of what such a person would sound like. Those chapters lacked depth and believability and ultimate - for me anyway - detracted from the story as a whole. Putting that aside, it was a fun read.