Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Publication date: 28th February 2013
My rating: 3 stars
A catastrophic plan crash leaves one survivor: a girl with no memory. Who is she? Where does she come from? Nobody knows and no one comes forward to claim her. Haunted by a looming threat she can't remember and plagued by abilities she doesn't understand, she struggles to recall who she is. But every clue leads to more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them. Her only hope is a boy who claims they were once in love. Alone and on the run, who should she trust? And what if she discovers that she is safer with a past that stays unremembered?
Books dealing with memory loss is my biggest pet peeve, I
enjoy the entire concept; of for whatever reason a protagonist loses their
memory and spends most of the story trying to discover who and what they were
before the accident. But I’ve never found a novel which deals with memory loss
which has totally wowed me. I’ve found that novels which take a light hearted
approach to this such as What Alice forgot, I’m more likely to enjoy, where as
those with a big conspiracy theory behind everything tend to confuse me even
more. Unfortunately Unremembered for me falls into the latter category. Despite
starting off fun, with Violet trying to find her place in her foster family and
forming a relationship with her witty step-brother Cody, the path the story
followed kind of dwindled off into strangers lurking in the shadows and
accusations being thrown about all over the place of who Violet really was. I
quite liked the first half when Violet and Cody become their own little
detectives and did their own investigating, the second half unfortunately I
didn’t like at all.
For me personally Brody attempted
to throw too much into the mix, I barely got my head around what Violet was and then
we had all these individuals popping up claiming to be “friends” of Violet, who
could she trust? I liked getting into the back story into Violet’s life, but
after everything I didn’t find it all that exciting. The romance also thrown
into the mix didn’t win me over either, I usually like my action packed novels
layered with a sweet romance. But the relationship between Zen and Violet had no
substance for me, I enjoyed getting the small flash backs into how they once
were, but now I wasn’t too confident that they could get that back.
The first half of Unremembered
began solidly for me I even had the initial excitement that finally I had found
a decent story dealing with memory loss. But the second half just went over my
head. I’m not sure that I will be continuing with this series, but I definitely
want to try Brody’s other books I have a feeling I may have more luck with her
contemporary novels.
If anyone has read decent books dealing with memory loss, I would love to know your recommendations.
If anyone has read decent books dealing with memory loss, I would love to know your recommendations.
24 comments:
I had high hopes for this book but it just didn't reach my expectations. There were too many factors that didn't work out.
- Ellie at The Selkie Reads Stories
Wow Jasprit! Awesome review! It's hard to find good memory lost stories. I actulely can't think of a book with memory lost that I felt used it to enhance the plot, I heard of False Memory or some title similar did it pretty well.
Most reviewers I know had the same reaction to this book as you did. I'll admit I was curious about this when the blurb first came out, but I'm no longer interested. I haven't read any memory loss book that impressed me either. Plus, I hate it when authors try to mix too many elements in a book. It winds up being messy and choppy. Sorry this didn't completely work for you, Jasprit. I hope you're next book is better than this! Lovely honest review! :)
Too bad it didn't work on you. :( I still want to read this though, cause I love Jessica Brody's 52 Reasons to Hate My Father.
I was really exited for this one, but memory loss books are most of the time hit or misses. I'm still not so sure about this one, maybe my library will carry it. Great review.
Jenea @ Books Live Forever
Oh, it's too bad that Brody seemed to throw too much in there, that can be frustrating. I've heard similar reviews and it's disappointing that a potentially great book didn't reach that high. And the romance wasn't so good either so that's also a letdown. Great review, I'm glad I read it! :)
I liked this one a little more than you, but I totally agree that the first half of the book was the best. I didn't realize it was a series until after I finished either. Wondering what the next book will bring. Great review! :)
~Sara @ Forever 17 Books
Awwww sorry this one didn't quite work for you Jasprit! I really enjoyed it, but I agree memory loss is definitely a tricky premise. I usually end up pretty confused and out of sorts (I think I'm supposed to be for the most part) and that causes me stress while reading. I didn't have too much of that in this one, which is why I ended up liking it. And of course now that you've asked about books with memory loss, I can't recall a single one. MEMORY FAIL! How appropriate:)
I hate it when the second half is not as good as the first ... Hmmm for the life of me I can't remember a single book that has memory loss as its main plot point ..I'll definitely comment when or if I remember any good ones ... Wait does Cinder count ?
I actually like memory loss novels, but not if too much is trying to go on at once. I have heard no so good things about this one and might skip it.
I too felt that this novel was overly ambitious and that Brody tackled far too many things and ended up addressing none of them properly. I expected more (probably because of that US cover) and I was more than a little disappointed.
Lovely review, Jasprit!
I agree: memory loss is almost impossible to write about WELL! I seem to remember Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac being really good... Of course, I read it years ago so I might not be remembering right... If you're into crime thriller mystery type books, Before I Go To Sleep is a must read.
Thanks for the awesome review! :)
I am really looking forward to reading this novel... I've never read a book about memory loss before and it sounds like a very interesting subject to me. Maybe I'm wrong, IDK.. I think I'll have to read the book and find out for myself.
Great review!! Your blog is really beautiful. I'm a new follower via GFC and Bloglovin. Can you follow back? Thanks (:
Sapir @ Diary of a Wimpy Teen Girl
I've heard the same reaction for this book over blogs. I haven't really read any share of memory loss so I am intrigued by this book. I feel bad that we never got to read it together. :( But hopefully we'll chose something different instead. Lovely review, Jasprit. I'll look forward to reading it. :)
It's a shame this one didn't work out for you, Jasprit, but I've seen a lot of negative reviews and am not surprised. I really hate when authors try to take on too much in one book. It never works and often makes me annoyed or distracted because no one plot thread is given the attention it's due, which is a shame. Anyway, love this review dear!(:
I actually can't remember a great deal about this book now, which isn't good as I didn't read it that long ago. Memory loss isn't one of my favourite topics, though I did think the author handled parts of it fairly well here. I don't really have plans to read the sequel though, what with the supposed impending love triangle. Great review, Jasprit!
I have to agree with you, I find the idea of memory loss intriguing but it doesn't always get done right, usually it feels unrealistic! But, the beginning of this sounds ok, and I'm glad it was partially enjoyable!
I actually haven't had much luck with memory loss books, either. I got this one for review a couple of weeks ago, but now I'm hesitant to read it. The romance doesn't seem all that great, and I really don't enjoy when an author just dumps a bunch of information on the reader. So sorry you didn't enjoy the last half! Thanks for the helpful review, Jasprit!
I'm a big fan of memory loss books, and have found several I've enjoyed. Maybe the difference is that these were adult books? I don't know. But anyway, though I was initially excited about Unremrmbered, many reviews have convinced me it is probably not the book for me.
Great review!
I like the book idea but it sounds like things seemed a bit scattered in the second half of the book. Thanks for sharing your view with us, Jasprit!
I'm not really a big fan of memory loss because there's a high probability that the protagonist will remember all of her memories at the end of the book which isn't a surprising ending lol. I'll probably skip this one. The story sounds flat to me. It would be cool if the protagonist didn't get her memory back at the end (but sad also!)
Leigh
Little Book Star
This book sounds really confusing. I've seen it around and the author is really promoting this book. I loved the cover of the HC but this one not so much. Back to the story - I dunno what to think. Sounds like it has too much of everything. Maybe I'll give it a try one day. Great review Jasprit :)
I'm not sure I've ever read a book about memory loss, but I like the sound o light hearted better than conspiracy theory. Which is weird because I tend to like conspiracy theory books. I guess it's the memory thing. Lovely review! :)
I do think memory loss can be quite cheap, and though I occasionally read a book that uses it well, for the most part I'm underwhelmed by it. All of the reviews I've read of Unremembered make me confident in my decision to skip it, and your review gives me even more confirmation that I'd be fine never reading it. Thanks for your honesty! :-)
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