Mar 7, 2013

Review: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Title: Unremembered
Author: Jessica Brody
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Publication Date: 3.5.2013
Pages: 320
Genre: SciFi
Series: Unremembered #1
Source: ARC from publisher

Rating: A-

Summary (from Goodreads):
When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

Review:
In Unremembered Jessica Brody writes a hypnotic tale about a girl with no memory learning who she is in an ever-changing world. This book is the very definition of mystery. This is an onion book—there are so many layers to it. You peel one layer back and solve one mystery only to be met with several more layers and twice as many questions. Getting to the core of this book proved to be an adventure I won’t soon forget.

What I love most about Sera is that there is no history with this girl—she is making her own history. There was no backstory to her so she had no past relationships or moments to define her as a person … She is a blank slate. Yes, we find out more later on, but I’ve never read a book where the character starts out from nothing. Reading about everything through her eyes was wondrous and enigmatic because she is experiencing so many things for the first time. She was, at times, a bit frustrating and abrupt, but who wouldn’t be in her situation?

The plot took more twists and turns than I could keep up with, which at times made me a little wonky, but overall kept me firmly entrenched in the novel. Watching everything fall into place was like putting a jigsaw puzzle together.

I wish there would have been more developments between Sera and Zen, but I guess that’s one of the many things that will keep me coming back for book 2. Overall, this book is a delightfully, intriguing, mysterious read that kept me guessing and wildly entertained. Kudos to Brody for taking a blank canvas of a character and creating a masterpiece. 


6 comments:

  1. Great review, I am definitely looking forward to reading this. If only my library would get their copies in!

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  2. PERFECT description of Sera; she totally makes her own history!! :) It was so interesting to have her know NOTHING about her past or even about the world she was in. I am totally with you on the Sera and Zen thing. I wanted more! I personally couldn't feel their connection or their deep love for each other. Maybe book 2 will change this! :)

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  3. YEAH HANNAH!!! So glad you loved this one too:) I agree completely, I loved that Sera was a complete blank slate when we started with her too, it made forming a connection to her so much easier. I do have a lot of questions about certain things, but there not the irritating kinds of questions, more the I NEED THE NEXT BOOK kind of questions:)

    Lovely review Irish:)

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  4. I had this one as my WoW a while back and I can't wait to read it. It seems like the type of story that I will love. Great review!

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  5. It's Lena! GREAT review! I also wish that there was more development between Zen and Sera. Maybe some more history or more stolen kisses or something because I loved them together. Alas, maybe that's what the next book is for.

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