Unremembered

No memories, no past, no identity, no answers – such is the fate Seraphina faces when she awakens among the wreckage of a plane crash, not only the only survivor but completely unharmed. Her miraculous survival not only garners intense media scrutiny but also more insidious observers. In her new world filled with well-meaning advice, Sera perceives an unknown threat that forces her to test her instincts. Did she survive a horrific plane crash only to meet a more treacherous fate? Such is the premise of Jessica Brody’s latest novel, Unremembered, the first book in a new trilogy.

Seraphina is the type of character which creates a need to protect within everyone who meets her, including the reading audience. This is in large part due to show more her total amnesia, which is so complete that she is not even able to remember how to dress herself. The complete lack of past, along with her forced isolation thanks to the media and her absence of familial connections, produces a character who appears fragile and fully engenders the nurturing response. That she is not quite as fragile as one might initially expect is not a surprise, but that desire to help and sympathize for Sera’s ongoing bewilderment creates a strong emotional bond within the reader.

One of the best things about Unremembered is the fact that it is unpredictable. Just as a reader begins to guess at the truth, the truth has a habit of veering off down a completely different path than the one expected. In fact, without completely spoiling the surprises, it is possible to completely overthink the plot. There are hidden agendas and shady scientists, but the society as described on the pages are exactly what they appear to be. Readers have become so inured by complex dystopian societies in which the downfall of modern society is only mentioned through hints or well into the second novel of a series that to read a novel which does not require one to try to figure out what happened necessitates its own mini paradigm shift of sorts.

The success of any science fiction novel hinges on the believability of the science being used to promote the story. In Unremembered, the science is actually fairly weak. Some of the explanations leave a lot to be desired, and the reader must take more than one leap of faith to accept Ms. Brody’s descriptions. In spite of all that however, a reader can and will still enjoy the story, as it is more about Sera’s search for answers than anything else. That some of the answers require a reader to suspend one’s sense of disbelief is not a major undertaking because one is so immersed in Sera’s fate.

The premise underlying Unremembered is quite creative. Ms. Brody answers just enough questions to keep the story satisfactory but still leaving larger answers and the fate of her heroine open for future novels. She excels at capturing Sera’s profound confusion, frustrations, and desperation for answers, which lends the story a sense of humanity and outshines its weaker elements. The emotional bond between Sera and reader and the desire to know her fate is what will keep readers anticipating the sequel. show less

A 3.5 stars book.

I'm always on the look for interesting YA series, for my daughter and son mainly, but also for myself. Although the writings of YA books are a bit less sophisticated and there's always a love with such childish teenage angst (not to mention the consistent appearance of love triangles), some recent YA books are beautifully written with a wonderful plot and/or great prose. Some well written YA series that I loved are [b:Delirium|11614718|Delirium (Delirium, #1)|Lauren Oliver|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327890411s/11614718.jpg|10342808], [b:Divergent|13335037|Divergent (Divergent, #1)|Veronica Roth|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328559506s/13335037.jpg|13155899] and [b:Seraphina|12394100|Seraphina (Seraphina, #1)|Rachel show more Hartman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1325528367s/12394100.jpg|17375239]. This book falls into the great plot category, but I definitely will not call the writing great, or the characters unforgettable.

A girl, recovered from a plane crash site, who does not remember who she is, or where she's from - does the plot sound familiar to you? The Jason Bourne plot line has been used over and over again in modern literature. In this case, the mystery is that she was not on the original passenger list. It later turned out that she was also great with numbers, strong, fast and intelligent, but lack human emotion that we all possess naturally. The girl has beautiful, inhuman purple eyes, and a tattoo on her wrist that later turned out to be some sort of a tracker. She was then adopted by a foster family that appeared only in one or two chapters. During this time, she was constantly approached by a boy who she has no memory of, but his appearance always triggered a bit of recognition in her subconsciousness. He insisted her to trust him, and that there are people, bad people, after her. She was amazed by her own strength and intelligence, but also the lack of will power to face danger instead of fleeing every time. Is she human?

"What makes us human? Is it our hearts? Our brains? Our senses? Our limbs? Ask a hundred people and you'll get a hundred different answers."

The book is a page turner, with a good (yet a bit familiar) plot. However, the character development is a bit weak compared Delirium or Divergent. Although the physical descriptions were there, I could not visualize them as someone likable or grow to empathize them. They blindly believe in the love between them, and think it will triumph over every other obstacle...and that they will find each other even if one's memory is erased, which I found a bit unbelievable. In addition, the writing style is a bit bland compared to the other books, and quite lacking in prose. A phase from a Shakespeare sonnet was used throughout the book, and it was, sadly, the most beautiful writing in the book:

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments. Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove."

I wished the characters are as attractive as Romeo and Juliet, but they are not. However, I will still read the second book when it comes out. I love how the author integrated lots of technology, math and science facts into the story. I can't reveal too much, or I'll be giving the plot away. The plot is quite intriguing, so, if you ask me if this book is worth reading - yes, it is. show less

It took me a while to get into this one. We start off meeting "Violet"after she is discovered on the wreckage of a plan that went down in the ocean. She had no memory of how she got there or who she is, actually she doesn't seem to remember anything. She spends time in the hospital, and while everyone is looking for her next of kin, and her photo is plastered all over the news; no one seems to be stepping forward to claim this 16 year old girl. "Violet" is so called because of her unusual eye color.

Violet has a visitor while in the hospital, but trying to fight against the drugs given to her to help her sleep isn't easy and she starts to think that it wasn't real. Once she is released from the hospital, she sees someone that she thinks show more was the visitor from her room, though she isn't sure and she is frightened of him. She is placed with a foster family that lives out in a little town. This is where things start to pick up a little bit.

Violet meets her foster parents son after he returns from camp. Violet, ends up going to the store with her foster mother, and there she runs into this mysterious guy again, he tells her what her name really is, and that she was never on that plane. While "Violet" whom we now know was called Sera, short for Seraphina; doesn't really belive the boy, she convinces her foster brother to go with her to the airport, to see if she was really on that plane.

I got kind of bored with the story at this point and stopped reading for a few days, and then went back to it. Long story short, Sera starts to believe what the boy Zen is telling her and she ends up at a diner where she is chased. She is captured, and in the end released by one of the guys who created her. So she isn't fully human, she's more super human. But then things change again! She leaves with Zen and he helps her recover some of her memories, using a device sort of like a thumb drive for a computer. In the end Sera believes everything that Zen has told her and they run off together, only to have Zen captured and Sera eventually give herself up to save him. I really hope that this turns out to be more than just one book, I can't stand not knowing if the two love birds make it to where they were originally heading and if the people that created Sera continue to look for her. show less

A sixteen year old wakes up as the only survivor of an air crash, with no memory of who she is, or where she’s come from. The media latch on to her unusual coloured eyes, and she takes on the name Violet. Fostered by a family and their teen son, she starts to realise that there are other unusual things about her. She meets a mysterious boy who claims to know who she is.. but who can she trust?

It’s an interesting premise to start a story with, and could have gone in lots of different directions. I thought I had it worked out at one point, only to find out my ideas weren’t quite accurate – and then the story developed well beyond what I imagined.

The story itself draws you in from the beginning, and continues to be fast paced. show more It’s continuously moving and evolving, and should keep even reluctant readers engaged. The characters are also well developed, with ‘Violet’ herself being believable as she tries to work out who she is and what’s happening to her. There’s romance, but never does it take over from the story.

Unremembered is an exciting blend of mystery, thriller and science fiction. It’s the first in a new YA Trilogy – for me, the story was wrapped up enough to be satisfying, but has also left me anxious for second book, a hard balance to achieve. An excellent addition to the YA market – highly recommended! show less

Wow oh wow! Did I love this novel! I read the e-arc and I gotta say I couldn't put it down. There was a little slowness in the beginning because Seraphina doesn't remember anything, not what she looks like, not how to eat or take care of herself, absolutely nothing. And certainly, she doesn't remember how she survived the crash that killed everyone else on board Flight 121 bound for Tokyo. But she doesn't remain anonymous for long. Her picture is flashed on the t.v. screens and news papers everywhere asking if anyone recognizes her. Of course, it goes viral. But some mysterious boy keeps popping in and out of her life, first in the hospital saying she shouldn't be there and he'd get her out and then later in various other places. He's show more always trying to convince her to trust him and believe her, but she's always trying not to believe him. Seraphina is a very logical, reasonable, ordered person and the things this boy tells her don't follow logic and reason.

This is part mystery, part romance and definitely heart pounding. I just can't tell you how much I loved this novel! I couldn't follow the clues fast enough and it wasn't until the very end that I finally figured out how Sera ended up in the middle of the ocean when she wasn't on the airplane that crashed. The clues are slow in coming, but not so slow that you're bored or lose interest. Sera is smart and strong and as her memory comes back so does her will to survive and save. This book is exciting right up until the very last line! I didn't realize this was a series because, to me, the ending was so good. I mean, I just trusted the ending. But I am more than happy that there will be more books in this series. They just can't come fast enough!!

I received an e-ARC of the novel from the publisher through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I was not compensated in any way for my review.

Don't forget that currently the first 5 chapters of the novel are available for free on most digital formats. I don't know how long that will last so get it while you can! show less

To go along with the title of Jessica Brody's latest novel, here are a few words and phrases that work to describe my impressions of Unremembered: Unlikely. Unnecessary. Unmet-potential. Unsatisfying. Unemotional. Unsubtle. Underachieved. Uncanny. Unadorned. Unamused. Unbelievable (and not in a good way...). Unimpressive. To say the least, I expected so much more from this read, and I got flat, one-dimensional characters acting out a plot that has been done so many times before. By no means subtle or original, Brody's latest does have its moments of pure fun, but amidst all the other dross and predictability, it wasn't enough to make Unremembered anything other than a forgettable novel.

I guess I can start with the good about show more Unremembered - it falls prey to some YA tropes (instalove, especially, but Violet/Sera is one hell of a Mary Sue..), but it somehow manages to avoid others. There is no love triangle, there are no magically missing/absent parental units, and the love interest isn't abusive or a total creeper. And while I was disappointed by a lot of how this book played out, it moves fast and it's an easily read and digested bit of teen fiction. Brody's prose is serviceable, if plain and unremarkable. At least she is consistent? This is no Laini Taylor, Gayle Forman or Melina Marchetta or any other wordsmith. Jessica Brody is an able author, but her subject and plot leave a lot to be desired and detract from her strong points.

One of the main problems with Unremembered is that it tries to ask Important Questions about Life, like: what makes a person human? and what makes up a reality - experiences or memories? Unfortunately (another un-word!), Unremembered doesn't fully explore the answers or nuances of the questions it raises. It's a rather shallow but occasionally fun romp with time travel, "true love", and some pseudo-science to pull it all together. Contemplative themes and ideas are abandoned in favor of a romance that has no chemistry and time travel that raises more questions and complications than it solves.

Unremembered ends with an almost literal cliffhanger, and I couldn't care less. It's not a bad book - it's not objectionable or infuriating like Wasteland or Twilight, but it could have been so much better. The unmet potential is one of the most frustrating aspects of the entire exercise. It's highly and amusingly appropriate to me that a novel with that name could be so entirely forgettable once one finishes the last page. show less

Read this review and more like it at Pretty Deadly Reviews.

I'm really torn up about this one. I thought the beginning was fantastic. But it slowly devolved into a gigantic info-dump, all the way through to the end. But once I did get to the end, I found it enjoyable again.

The opening chapters were this book's strongest parts. Seraphina, then known as Jane Doe, or Violet because of her eyes (ugh, I know), is stuck in the hospital, after being recovered at the site of a violent plane crash. She doesn't have a scratch on her, but she can't remember a thing. Not even her name. From the beginning, the tone is very dark and mysterious, and it was very exciting following Seraphina around, relearning the whole world over again.

Unfortunately, show more though, it starts going downhill very quickly. As soon as we meet the love interest in earnest, the action and suspense came to a standstill. In its place is a lot of insta-love and awkward forehead tingling (which I totally thought would be explained by her origins, but in reality is really, really cheesy. Cheesier than it sounds.) After that, there's so crazy-weird memory technology and a LOT of info dumping. Seriously, about two hundred pages of info-dumping. Then the end comes, and it's a goofy confrontation with the evil villain which goes exactly how you'd imagine. But then the actual end comes, and it's pretty cool. I won't tell you why, because it will really spoil it, but just know that it was hard to wrap my head around at first, but in the end, it was more intriguing than not, and I do plan on reading the next book.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the characters. Seraphina was a blank slate - so it was too easy for her to lack a personality. She was made of emptiness - she literally had nothing to her personality at all, so it was hard to be attached to her, or care about what happens to her. She doesn't remember the love interest, Zen, and when they meet again, it's all insta love with no substance. The one character I really enjoyed was Cody, Sera's foster brother - he was the cute, quirky science geek, and he was so courageous and brave and honest. I loved him to pieces.

If you can deal with massive amounts of info dumping, I think you'll enjoy this. But if you're anything like me, the middle of Unremembered will seriously slow you down. Like I said before, I really loved the beginning, and I loved the last three pages or so. I'm glad I stuck with it to the end, because I do plan on continuing on with the series. But I would only recommend this to the most patient readers, and big fans of conspiracy stories. show less