Tuesday, April 15, 2008

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac

Just finished Gabrielle Zevin's Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. I really like Zevin's Elsewhere, so I was looking forward to this one. Zevin did not disappoint. This is another one with a great couple of opening lines: "Above all mine is a love story. And like all good love stories, this one involves chance, gravity, a dash of head trauma." The story is about Naomi, who, just before the start of her junior year of high school, accidentally falls down the school steps. The resulting head injury leaves her with no memory of the last about 4 years of her live. She has to reacquaint herself with both family and friends, causing her to question why she bothered with some of the people in her live, as well as why she avoided others. It makes you wonder how you would look at your own live if you had to do it with fresh eyes. How many of your friends are just there because, well, they always are? If you had to choose them again, would you? What about your boyfriend or girlfriend? What activities are you involved with that you do just out of habit? What if you could start fresh? Along with the questions is a love story with a few twists. There is some mature content, but nothing graphic. Highly recommended for high school students as well as older, more mature middle-schoolers.

2 comments:

Molly Krichten said...

I really enjoyed this book, too! It made me think, exactly as you say, about how you would look at your life if you had no past experiences on which to base your judgment. Enjoyed by many teens here in Hanover!

Mrs. G. said...

Thanks, Molly! I hope it starts circulating well here. I was the first one to read this copy. It would make a great book discussion book!