Emily Barr (1) (1971–)

4.5 Stars. While I found this a compelling page-turner, at the same time, I can see where other readers may dislike it or even DNF it.

The most obvious stumbling block for some will be the writing style. Flora has short term memory loss, so to reflect that, her thoughts are somewhat choppy and repetitive and the entire story is told that way. I thought it was really well done, reflective of the confusion Flora feels without confusing the reader, and even though Flora thinks in somewhat show more simplistic terms, those simple words manage to capture a lot of emotion, too. For me, it was such an effective way to convey Flora’s character and her struggle, but I know there are those who have a tough time getting acclimated to stories told in an unusual voice, so if you’re one of them, you might want to try an excerpt of this first to make sure it works for you rather than jump right in.

Very early on, Flora (an unreliable narrator so you can’t be certain of anything) may or may not have kissed her best friend’s boyfriend. Flora becomes obsessed with this guy, convinced she’s in love with him, that he’s her future, her everything, she’ll be so happy and feel so alive if she builds her life around him. Between the possible friend betrayal and being so consumed with a boy that she is willing to follow him anywhere, you may have questions about Flora morally and on a feminist level, and on top of that her feelings for this guy just seem like too much too soon.

But if you manage to overlook those things, or better still, if you try to understand Flora’s state of mind, her desperation to hold on to memories, to feel grown up, her longing to live life like other people, then maybe you’ll be able to settle in for the adventure this book offers and the fascinating way Flora has to constantly write things on her hands and arms, in notebooks, on random pieces of paper and frequently refer to them, putting together the pieces, every day a mystery she has to solve just to have some inkling of where she is, who she’s with, and what she’s doing.

I loved the mixed emotions I felt throughout this book, Flora is such a vulnerable person, you want her to be safe and protected, yet as concerned as you might be for her, it’s thrilling in the moments when she breaks away from her sheltered existence. I love that even though Flora’s circumstances may be sad and despairing, confining, and scary for her even, it’s a hopeful and inspiring feeling to read about someone fighting to overcome and following her motto to be brave.

One last thing I wanted to note for those who enjoyed and own the hardcover edition, the North American paperback includes a bonus chapter, it features Flora and her brother, if you were fond of that relationship it’s a heartwarming little addition to the story, however, it’s very short, only four or five pages, so take that into consideration when deciding whether to buy another copy or to just borrow it.

I received this paperback through a giveaway. show less

I found Flora Banks' character completely engrossing. I can't imagine how terrifying it'd be to find myself in a situation without any memory of how I'd arrived there. But while this book is suspenseful in parts, the story itself isn't dark because the character herself is so bright and optimistic. I enjoyed getting to know her while sharing her journey. I also found the book thought-provoking. Are we merely the product of our memories and experiences or is our idea of self rooted in show more something deeper? Anyway, I loved both reading this book and discussing it with friends and family afterward. show less

For a list of trigger/content warnings, representation, and tropes for this book, see its page on booktriggerwarnings.com.

Thank you so much to The Write Reads, Penguin, and Emily Barr, for allowing me to be part of this experience and for providing me with a complimentary digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

Before I get started, I want to give a fair warning–something many other bloggers stated in their reviews–that this isn’t your normal apocalypse thriller. The book does show more starts out with a newsflash that the atmosphere is going to become uninhabitable in less than a year due to human’s lack of care about their effect on the environment (sounds about right). But in a twist of events, humans have no idea what to do now that they’ve been confronted with their shortened life-span, so people kind of just decide to go about their lives exactly the same way as before, albeit with a few more risks, parties, and vacations thrown into the mix.

Rather than being a story about humanity falling apart at the end of the world, the plot instead focuses on a 17 year old girl, Olivia (Libby), who is desperate to break from her shell and truly live her life before she dies. She meets Natasha, a cousin she didn’t know existed, and takes off on a series of adventures that Natasha cooks up. As Libby gains more self-confidence, she begins to learn that her family tree is full of dark secrets. Why didn’t anyone tell her about her estranged cousin? What aren’t her parents telling her about their pasts? Is Natasha really as amazing as she seems to be?

While the book took a while to get started (the first 50% or so reads more like a contemporary than a thriller), the story continues with a second-half that kept me hooked and anxious to read more. I enjoyed the writing quite a lot (Barr embodied the teenage mind well), and somehow the plot managed to be both predictable and unpredictable at the same time. There are several plot points that are pretty obvious, yet Emily Barr kept throwing twists at me that I never even thought about.

Overall, I’m highly impressed with this book. I’ll admit that there were multiple aspects I didn’t like (unnecessary secrets, lack of parental authority, what I felt was a needless romance side story), but once I got to the end, I didn’t at all care. I was so caught up in how much I was enjoying the ride, that I completely forgot about any bumps I experienced along the way.

I’m definitely going to look into reading more Emily Barr books in the future! I’ve heard great things! show less

This is the first book about someone with a memory loss where I actually felt and understood what it was like to wake up everyday ( or even during the day) with acute memory loss. Flora has amnesia. When she "wakes up" she thinks she is 10 but she is actually 17. She has "Flora be brave" tattooed on her hand and writes notes to herself all over her arms in texta so she knows what is happening. She has one good friend Paige who she has known since she was 10 who helps her but she doesn't go show more to school. The story begins at a party for Drake who is Paige's boyfriend. He is going off to university placement in the Artic. Flora wakes up at the party and after re-orientating herself she walks out down to the nearby beach. While there, Drake meets her and kisses her. The next day, when Flora wakes, she remembers Drake kissing her. This bombshell sets off a chain of events as well as her parents suddenly flying to Paris and Paige not talking to her - Flora is alone and she does something brave - she flies to the Arctic to be with Drake. Fascinating story with lots of twists and turns and excellent portrayal of a brain damaged person and their struggles. Barr also leaves little clues in as to what the parents are hiding from her and also the kindness of strangers is explored in the people that Flora meets on her travels and how they can see she needs help, so they help her. Also loved that Drake turned out to be a total a..hole and the ending is nice and YES I had a little cry. show less