memoirs of a teenage amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

First of all, let me say that I read Elsewhere this summer and it quickly made my list of favorite books read this year. So I approached memoirs of a teenage amnesiac with a little bit of trepidation. I thought I would either love it or be disappointed by it. Actually, I was neither. I liked the book a lot, but just not as well as I liked Elsewhere.

Naomi and her best friend Will are leaving school one day when they realize they have forgotten the yearbook camera. They flip a coin to see who will go back in and get it. Naomi loses and on her way back down the stairs, she trips and falls, hitting her head and causing partial amnesia. Naomi forgets the events of the past four years of her life (from 7th grade through 10th grade).

Naomi now has to figure out who she is. During the time period she has forgotten, her mother has had an affair, divorced her father, and gotten married, something Naomi hasn’t forgiven. Should she now? Her father has become engaged to a tango dancer, someone Naomi hasn’t been able to warm up to. Should she give her another chance?

And then there’s the matter of a boyfriend with whom Naomi cannot seem to make much of a connection. And the mysterious new guy who rode with her in the ambulance the day she was injured. Naomi feels pulled to him, but he is obviously damaged. Is that what appeals to him or is there something more?

If I had amnesia and had to learn all over about who I am, would I like her? Would I make the same choices, commit to the same groups? Those are just some of the things that Naomi has to deal with in memoirs of a teenage amnesiac. Today was a day well spent. I read a good book.