Spoiler Free Review of
The one memory of Flora Banks
By Emily Barr
17 year old Flora Banks has no short term memory.
Her mind resets itself several times a day, and has since the age of ten, when the tumor that was removed from Flora’s brain took with it her ability to make new memories. That is until she kisses Drake, her best friends boyfriend, the night before he leaves town. Miraculously, this one memory breaks through flora’s fractured mind, and sticks. Flora is convinced The Drake is responsible for storing her memory and make you whole again. So when he suggested she meet him on the other side of the world, flora knows with certainty that this is the first step toward reclaiming her life.
With a little more than the words “be brave” inked, into her skin and written reminders of who she is and why her memory is so limited, Flora sets off on an impossible journey to Svalbard, Norway - the land of the midnight sun - determined to find Drake. But from the moment she arrives in the Arctic, nothing is quite as it seems, and Flora must be brave if she is every to learn the truth about herself and make it safely home.
Going through this story from Flora’s point of view is a struggle. I’m not going to tell you it gets easier, it doesn’t. With constant repetition, childlike wonder and did I mention repetition? I found it frustrating as a reader to get through each page.
However having said that, the story is most definitely worth getting through to the end. Imagine yourself in a strange place, you don’t know who’s clothes you’re wearing, you don’t know where your family is, you don’t know who your friends are … oh yeah and you think your 10 … this is the life that Flora struggles with every single day.
Flora takes you through surviving her teenage drama with a smile on her face. Despite constant resets, which must lead to terrifying moments, Flora makes friends wherever she goes, which apparently includes kissing her best friends boyfriend. Which is the one new memory that's stuck.
Thinking a cure is in her future, Flora leaves the safety of home armed with her bag of notes, a fluffy jacket and her love for Drake, for an adventure to remember... if only she could. This story is so much more then the synopsis suggests. You're in for a book that delves into family drama, the struggle to let go and the need to be free. You laugh, you cry, you wanna hurt a couple characters, but you always root for Flora.
I'd really love to tell you more, but then ... 1. This wouldn't be Spoiler Free 2. You wouldn't read the book.
Walk into this book knowing that the writing style is hard to read, but the character behind it makes the struggle worth it.
