From the New York Times best-selling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, Gabrielle Zevin's Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is an imaginative YA novel all about love and second chances.
If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn't have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn't have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn't have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia.
She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her "Chief." She'd get all his inside jokes, and maybe he wouldn't be so frustrated with her for forgetting things she can't possibly remember.
She'd know about her mom's new family. She'd know about her dad's fiancée. She wouldn't have to spend her junior year relearning all the French she supposedly knew already. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her.
She wouldn't have wanted to kiss him back.
But Naomi picked heads.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
“Zevin is completely convincing on the intensity of early passion and the way it can evaporate in the rays of something new, and she has a light touch with the deceptively shallow anguish of adolescence.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Sensitive, joyful . . . Pulled by the heart-bruising love story, readers will stop to contemplate irresistible questions.” —Booklist, Starred Review
“Zevin is just a great writer. . . . [She] gets all the details right.” —The San Francisco Chronicle
“Zevin blends romance, changing friendships, and familial dysfunction with themes of chance, loss, and choice, and the result is a quiet exploration of identity and self-realization that is simultaneously thought provoking and entertaining.” —Voice of Youth Advocates
“Unique . . . Will be well received by teens.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Honest and complex characterization grounds a thoughtful, suspenseful examination of memory and identity.” —The Horn Book
“Zevin cooks up an entertaining love story . . . teens will identify with her vulnerability and her heightened feelings of alienation. And fans of psychological dramas won't want to put this book down.” —Publishers Weekly
“A compelling read with intelligent dialogue that's also touching and funny.” —School Library Journal
“I would definitely recommend this book to my high school students, especially teen girls.” —The ALAN Review
“A good read.” —Kathy Taber, Kids Ink Children's Bookstore, Indianapolis, IN
“This book seems to be really accurate about how teens think . . . very refreshing and a great read!” —A YALSA YA Galley Teen Reader
“Zevin, already a great author, has outdone herself.” —A YALSA YA Galley Teen Reader
“Zevin is a smooth and subtle stylist, creating particularly interesting characters here.” —The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books
“This was a memorable book. Naomi was a likable, realistic character.” —A YALSA YA Galley Teen Reader
“This book was hard to put down.” —A YALSA YA Galley Teen Reader
“It conveys a sense of normal teenage pressures, but also presents a unique story.” —A YALSA YA Galley Teen Reader