Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Rating: 4.3/5
Rationale for Rating:
I got this book on an impulse, because I adored the cover, and because I'd read Elsewhere in sixth grade and loved it. I got more than I expected. I thought it would just be some fluff to read, but it was more than that. It still met some of my expectations. However, I found myself incredibly attached to the best friend--which I often do with books, especially when the best friend is of the opposite sex and oh-so-secretly in love with the MC. Anyways, I digress. It was a decent book.
Basically, Naomi Porter is sixteen and about to start her junior year when she gets a concussion and amnesia from it. She can't remember past sixth grade, which is hard when eleventh grade is such a crucial year for her. She has a boyfriend, Ace, who she can't remember. She's the co-editor of the school yearbook with her best friend, Will, whose inside jokes she doesn't understand. Her parents' divorce, which happened four years ago, is brand new to her, and her dad's fiance is even brand new-er. She has French, photography and tennis, none of which she knew she was into. And amidst it all is James, the mysterious boy that called the ambulance on the day of her accident.
It received a 4.3 because of the lack of character development from some of the secondary-but-not-minor characters, the bland prose, and the uncharacteristic choices that Naomi makes. And I didn't like how the author sort of explained things instead of using dialogue or some other clever method. And I thought that it was sort of unnecessary to have Naomi be an adopted orphan from Russia. Also, I hated James. I just did. I recommend it mostly to teenage girls that like romance books but think that Nicholas Sparks' books are too long. Just kidding. I guess it's a nice book to read when you want a decent love story.
Spoilers from here on out.
Like I said, I enjoyed it, for the most part. But I hated James, her love interest for most of the book. I hated how he rejected Naomi's love but also pined for her incessantly; I hated how he was such a terrible influence on her. He had depression, yeah, but he seemed to blame all of his problems on that. What a hypocrite--he already said to Naomi that she shouldn't blame all of her problems on her amnesia.
And at some point in the book, I hated Naomi, but only for a little. I hated that she was suddenly so dependent on James, so needy. She made huge sacrifices for a love that lasted for, like, four months, maybe shorter. Months and time lapses weren't really mentioned in the book, which annoyed me because I never had a sense of when things happened. Anyways.
But I loved Will completely. As stated previously, I have this thing for best-guy-friends. The second a male is introduced as the female protagonist's best friend, I almost immediately ship them (with the exception of Hermione and Harry). I call it the Rudy Steiner Syndrome. I love his wisecracks and formally casual way of talking and I loved how he was so subtly concerned about Naomi and I loved his mixtapes and the birthday present he got for her and I loved how he loved Naomi oh-so much.
