April 18, 2011
Memory is a tricky thing, but never more so than for high school junior London Lane, who must write notes to herself each night, so that when she wakes up with her memory wiped clean, she can be reminded of past events in her life. And the "memories" London does have (including a friend's disastrous relationship with a teacher and a mysterious funeral) are of the future. It's an ambitious premise, and first-time novelist Patrick doesn't quite pull it off. The underlying "rules" of London's condition are murky; she remembers her mother and best friend's identities, as well as her own (presumably drawing from future memories), yet even months into a relationship with gorgeous new student Luke, she doesn't remember him without her notes. More baffling is London and her mother's lack of concern about her condition. "I wouldn't say that you're broken," her mother tells her. "You're special." (Meanwhile, London is still walking into the wrong classrooms on the last day of school.) London's romance and the story's several mysteries may draw in readers, but the inconsistencies prove frustrating. Ages 12âup.