Review: Remember by Eileen Cook

Remember

Author: Eileen Cook
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Format: ebook
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 2.5 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Harper is used to her family being hounded by protesters. Her father runs the company that trademarked the "Memtex" procedure to wipe away sad memories, and plenty of people think it shouldn't be legal. Then a new demonstrator crosses her path, Neil, who’s as persistent as he is hot. Not that Harper’s noticing, since she already has a boyfriend.

When Harper suffers a loss, she’s shocked her father won’t allow her to get the treatment, so she finds a way to get it without his approval. Soon afterward, she’s plagued with strange symptoms, including hallucinations of a woman who is somehow both a stranger, yet incredibly familiar. Harper begins to wonder if she is delusional, or if these are somehow memories.

Together with Neil, who insists he has his own reasons for needing answers about the real dangers of Memtex, Harper begins her search for the truth. What she finds could uproot all she’s ever believed about her life…

My Review:

Remember is a book about a girl who goes through a traumatic loss. Not knowing how to move on, she gets a treatment called Memtex (against her father’s wishes) to help “soften” her memories. But after getting the treatment she begins to have strange dreams, has trouble sleeping and is starting to uncover memories of strange things. Not knowing what’s real and what’s not, she begins to dig deeper and ask questions which of course, reveals things she never thought could be possible.

Let’s start with the good. I really liked the idea of being able to “soften” traumatic memories. I definitely could see the technology being useful for PTSD victims and people who have suffered serious trauma. The ethical questions the treatment raises were quite interesting. Is it really healthy to erase memories? When you soften the memories it softens everything, not just the bad. Is it worth it to lose all the memories just so you don’t have to deal with the bad?

Another thing I really liked about this was the horseback riding aspect. I’ve been riding since I was 7 years old. I owned a beautiful Thoroughbred for several years named Dudley who was just amazing. Horse people are special. When you’re a true horse person it’s something that’s in your blood that never goes away. I could totally feel that passion that Harper had. I loved that the author described the smells of the barn so perfectly. I could practically smell the hay and musky scent of horse. I also loved that Harper sought refuge at the barn. It was her safe place. Even if she wasn’t riding. Even if she was just sitting around hanging out with the horses or cleaning tack, she just loved being there. I’m the same way. The barn is just such a relaxing place for me to be. I haven’t ridden in a while and this book made me really miss it.

And now for the bad. I feel like there was a lot of telling vs. showing in this book. For example, we were told that Harper was a daddy’ girl, but I never saw proof to really back it up. There just seemed to be a lot of inconsistencies or things that just didn’t seem quite right based on the information we were given.

Instalove. Yep, it’s in here. Harper and Neil have met up like maybe 5 times before the “L” word is uttered. I didn’t see any real relationship development between the two. I also didn’t really feel like we got to know Neil at all. We just get brief glimpses of him in the few meetings that he and Harper share. And because of that, I never really cared about him or believed in him as a character.

Predictability. This book tried to have twists, but I saw every one of them coming. I figured everything out before it happened (normally doesn’t happen because I’m super bad at figuring things out). I don’t mind some predictability in a book, but I just love that feeling where your jaw literally drops and you have to stop reading for a second because your mind is completely blown. That never happened here. Not only were things predictable, they were also a bit too easy. Harper found clues throughout the book to help jog her memory, but it was like the clues just always fell into her lap.

And finally, Harper herself I never really cared for. She wasn’t bad and there wasn’t anything in particular I can pinpoint about her that I didn’t like, but I never connected with her and I never really cared all that much about what happened to her. Still, this wasn’t a bad book and I definitely think that a lot of people will like it. If you’re into memory loss stuff (which I always find interesting), then I think maybe you should give this one a try.

Have you read this one yet? What did you think? Did you figure out the twists as well?