Well what a treat this book was. Totally loved Flora such a unique character in every way, the book was devoured in just one sitting as I couldn't put it down! The story is told just from Floras point of view and had you constantly guessing if what she was seeing/hearing/remembering could be actually trusted??...I thought it had good pace and kept my interest throughout. Loved seeing her learn about herself and friends and family members and the way it all unfolded was just beautifully written. Must read book!!

Too clichéd for me - it really annoyed me and I struggled to finish.

Flora Banks is 17. She lives in Cornwall and has a best friend, parents and a brother. So far, so ‘normal’, but Flora isn’t normal because she can’t recall anything on a daily basis unless it happened before she was ten. However, last night Flora kissed a boy and what’s amazing is that when she wakes up she can actually remember doing it.

This revelation causes Flora to embark on a journey that takes her to the Arctic to find the boy she kissed. She goes because she’s in love with him and because she hopes he holds the key to unlocking her memory.
A novel about a character who has no memory is a tricky premise for a writer, but Emily Barr tackles the challenge cleverly and with aplomb. Naturally there’s a certain amount of repetition, but it’s handled deftly and is integral to plot and character.

Flora is indisputably a quirky, attractive and original character. She is resolute, resilient and funny, and although she’s by no means your average teenager, her faltering steps towards independence echo those all teenagers make. The plot twist, while not entirely unexpected, is satisfying in that it confirms the reader’s suspicions about Flora and neatly ties up a well-told and enjoyable story.

When I heard that Emily Barr was releasing a new book, I was really looking forward to it. I’ve read and enjoyed several of her adult novels, so a YA book was a new direction.
The storyline was intriguing and it was fascinating to read how Flora tries to keep hold of her memories, writing in notebooks and on her hands and arms.
Flora is a very likeable and unique leading character, and I was rooting for her to get her happy ending.
What she manages to achieve, travelling to the Artic to find Drake, all on her own, is inspiring.
Yes, the story has lots of repetition in parts, but it’s not at all boring, and I do think that it helps understand what Flora has to deal with constantly.
I was looking forward to bedtime and continuing the story, before remembering that I finished it the previous night.

Thank you very much for allowing me to read this title; I am trying to read as widely as possible ahead of the Carnegie/Greenaway nominations and awards for 2018 and your help is much appreciated.
As a Carnegie/Greenaway judge, I'm not allowed to comment about my opinions on specific titles so I can't offer an individual review on any title as I stated on my profile.

When I read the synopsis for The One Memory of Flora Banks I was instantly intrigued and I couldn’t wait to meet Flora.

Flora has suffered with anterograde amnesia since the age of 10, unable to retain new memories she relies on her parents and best friend Paige help and her notes on her arms to keep her safe. When Flora kisses her best friends boyfriend Drake before he sets off to Svalbard she wakes up the next day and for the first time she remembers. Flora is certain that Drake is the key to repairing her memory and she is desperate to find him as she takes a courageous journey to attempt to find him.

The opening chapter pulled me straight into the storyline and I was instantly worried for Flora who we soon learn is such a brave and loving character who I loved. The first part of the book I really enjoyed and we really got an insight into how confusing and worrying things can be for Flora when she constantly has to discover that she is no longer the little 10 year old girl she thinks she is.

Flora goes on a remarkable journey which for someone suffering from anterograde amnesia was a difficult and dangerous thing to do but her determination drove her to carry on to achieve her goal of finding Drake. She seemed to be one of these characters that everyone loved and cared for and where ever she turned she seemed to find people who would look out for her and she made some great friends along the way.

This was quiet a hard review to write and rate because I really enjoyed the plot and I loved Flora and the ending was very clever and brought a lump to my throat so this should have easily have been a 4 star read for me but for a big chunk of the middle part of the book I found my attention begin to waver and I was on the verge of skim reading which I hate but because of the constant repetition it became a bit of a chore. I can understand why the author kept writing the same things over and over again to give us an insight into what life is like for Flora who constantly has to absorb the same information continuously but for me the repletion was too much and at one point I did consider putting the book down but I am pleased I carried on as the author pulled the storyline back with the wonderful ending.
All in all this was an enjoyable read and I am sure other readers will not find the repetition a problem , one thing for sure is that everyone will fall in love for the courageous Flora.

*I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Seventeen-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 friend’s boyfriend, the night before he leaves town. Miraculously, this one memory breaks through Flora’s fractured mind, and sticks. Flora is convinced that Drake is responsible for restoring her memory and making her whole again. So when an encouraging email from Drake suggests 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 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 ever to learn the truth about herself, and to make it safely home.

Rating: 3/5 stars

I’ve heard of unstable narrators, but this is just ridiculous. This novel is very unsettling and I often felt on the back-foot throughout. The disorienting changes in time and tempo resulted in very complicated feelings about this novel. The repetitive nature of the storytelling and the way in which other aspects of the novel were only really half told made me feel like I was missing things, which was the point I suppose.

This was like a weird YA re-telling of Memento. It was a brave novel to write- there was always a chance that the reader could tire of the constantly repeated phrases and the back and forward nature of the book, but Barr gave it a good go. The issue that a novel like this just isn’t enjoyable. Interesting, yes. Complicated, yes. But enjoyable? No- this is the sort of book you read only once.

Oh, I loved this book. Flora is sweet, brave and damaged, but for the first time in a long time she has a memory. She kissed a boy (and she liked it!). Flora is seventeen and can't remember why she is at a party. She can't remember anything much following brain surgery at the age of 10 and this has left her in limbo - the mind of a young adult with the vulnerability of a young girl, Luckily, her best friend, Paige, has stayed by her side through thick and thin and always looks out for her, until, that is, we realise that the boy Flora kissed is Paige's boyfriend. '

Flora, be brave' reads a permanent tattoo on Flora's hand, and brave she is. She covers her hands and arms with writing to remind her of things and also has a book, her story, written by her mother explaining why she has no memory. But can she trust her mum?

With her friendship in tatters following her beachside betrayal of Paige and her parents rushing away to see her sick brother, Flora finds herself home alone. Using her messages to herself, the internet and more gumption than a party full of 17-year-olds, she sets of to Arctic Norway to hunt down the love of her life who she believes can restore her memory.

This is one of those truly life affirming stories that make you smile from ear to ear. It's not all plain sailing for Flora, far from it, but she is brave, she is clever and most of all, she is magnificent. In her second hand fur coat and her spanking new snow boots, she sets about melting the hearts of the good people of Svalbard, just like she melted mine.

Once again, YA fiction proves that it makes marvellous reading for all. Emily Barr is a genius author. Read it, you won't regret it.

The one memory of Flora Banks is a strange but delightful book. Full of not only teenage angst but also the fight for life and whatever that throws at you.

Flora has amnesia and at 17 lives at home with her overprotective parents but she kisses a boy on the beach and remembers it, so she travels to seek him out. Along the way she experiences a strange and wonderful journey.
I really enjoyed the story, most of all the characterisation of Flora. She is a protagonist that I immediately liked and felt for. Following her along her journey allowed me to feel all sort of emotions for her welfare whilst also wishing her the best of luck.
Reading this book has certainly taken me on an emotional journey, enabling me to imagine life as both the Flora and her parents and the situations that arise.

Flora Banks is 17 but her short term memories only last 1-3 hours. All her long-term memories are from when she was 10, or younger. So she uses a system of writing words on her arms and leaving herself notes to try and remember where she is and how old she is.
Perhaps there is a limit to how many books in the genre of "first person POV from someone with amnesia" I can read. Because I found the repitition of facts irritating. Just like in [book:Elizabeth Is Missing|18635113] I wanted to scream at the MC and those around her a number of times.
And even at the end, I didn't find many of the characters actions believable. I won't go into detail as they are spoilers, but those closest to Flora made really dumb and seemingly out-of-character decisions that enabled the book to have a plot. So when the plot rests on actions I don't beleive in, and I find the main character irritating... well... you can see where this is going.
The end of the story I really enjoyed. Loved how it came together and the potential for the future for Flora, and for that it gets 3 stars.
If you haven't read much in this genre, then you may really enjoy this story! And it is a fast read ; only took me about 2.5 hours.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Very believable account of a girl with short term memory loss. Flora is a character so easy to sympathise with in in her attempts to overcome problems that would be bad enough without the obstacle of having to remind herself who ore where or who she is and, more importantly, why. A tough challenge for the author, but she really pulls it off and it's a great read.

Right from the very beginning I knew this book was going to be completely unlike any other book I have ever read, the story is told from Flora's POV and since she is unable to remember anything for longer than a few hours she often finds herself confused and disorientated when she forgets, and this is how her story unfolds. At first I thought it may be quite jarring, but I was wrong. It gave me a greater understanding of Flora, of what her every day life is like. She is an unreliable narrator since she often forgets what she is doing or has just done, but that is what makes her story all the more interesting.

Just a few pages in and I began to feel really sorry for Flora, she was wandering around a party, not knowing why she was there. I was both happy for her and angry at Drake for kissing her. Flora isn't your average seventeen year old, she needs to be looked after... but she also has the right to be kissed by handsome boys. I was so happy when she remembers her kiss, first kisses are supposed to be remembered. It wasn't long before I realised Flora doesn't need me to feel sorry for her. Flora is brave, so much more than many of us. She knows she has problems with remembering, but after she remembers her kiss with Drake she is convinced that he may just be the cure for her memory loss and she sets out on an adventure to find him, and she doesn't let her memory problems stop her.

I so hate leaving spoilers and I am completely unable to talk about the ending of this book properly without spoilers so I will say only this.... Flora's story doesn't end the way I thought it might, although I'm not entirely sure how I saw it ending, I spent the last pages in tears as we discover the bits and pieces that Flora doesn't know, so much so that when I was finished I needed a hug from my husband. But please don't take that to mean that Flora needs your pity, Flora is brave. And Flora wont let her problems with memory hold her back.

This book was pretty magic. Flora is seventeen, and when she was 10 she began to suffer with anterograde amnesia. She can hold memories from before she was ten, but other than that, after an hour or two, her memory resets.

She writes reminders everywhere. All over her arms too, to remind her who she is and why she doesn't remember.

Floras parents want to protect flora. But flora wants adventure!

Due to the amnesia theme, this book is repetitive. Like really repetitive. Yet I didn't mind. I still turned pages. I still grew fond of flora and was rooting for her.

Very clever topic that's executed really well. I think this will be big when it's released

Flora is brave, though she needs a tattoo on her arm to tell her so. She can accomplish anything, though she needs to read it in her book to remember. She is 17, but she still feels 10 and wouldn't remember if she didn't see her 17 year old face in the mirror.
Flora has had amnesia since she was 10 and can only remember things from before that time. Anything that happened after, she can only retain for a few hours at most... until she kisses a boy on the beach one evening and then next day she can still remember it! She is sure this is the answer she's been waiting for and she knows if she goes to find him she will be able to remember again. When she finds her hidden passport it seems like a sign that she is meant to do this. So off she goes on an adventure across the world where she will see wonderful things, meet new people and find out that she is truly amazing herself.

Almost a four and a half, but to tip my hat to the originality, cleverness and audacity here, this gets rounded to five stars. Flora is literature's most unreliable narrator, as she has no memory of anything of the last six years, except for that she kissed a hunk who had just stopped going out with her best friend. Needing Memento-styled clues written on her own arms and hands, she tries to make it a relationship – well if he's that good that she can remember it, it's for real, right? But it's certainly not easy – this is a suspenseful, twisty read to show the emotions of first love, the problems with being declared different and/or disabled, and so much more. And it's very good – although I didn't like a copycat-friendly piece of self-harming which added nothing to proceedings, and I have to take issue with all the puff pieces written by Penguin staff in my proof copy – did NONE of them work out the truth? Really? I took the mystery side in my stride more than them, it seemed – OK I was caught out a little here and there, and it is a very clever piece of mystery writing, but to say it was full of twists is very naïve. What it is, however, is rich enough, characterful enough and certainly distinctive enough, to leave any genre trappings behind and become a universally likeable read. So it's not as perfect as many people are declaring it to be, but it is still darned good.

An interesting concept which I though was tackeled well. I was diappointed with ending, unless of course it is leading up to the further adventures of Flora. I have to say it is very lucky Flora didnt meet any truly unscrupulous charcters who took advantage of her. But for escapism as a reader it is good to see only the good in people.

Flora suffers from amnesia, she remembers things from before, when she was 10. Her parents are very protective and she'll never leave Penzance where everyone knows her and where she is safe. She can remember things for a few hours but forgets things and people. She writes things down so she doesn't get panicked when she can't remember. Then she suddenly remembers kissing a boy, on a beach. The book follows Flora as she embarks on an adventure to find the boy who made her remember.

I found Flora engaging but I did find the repetitiveness slightly frustrating. I understand that this was to make the readers feel how Flora did, but after a while I found it annoying.

I liked how bits of Flora's back story were scattered throughout and that you found out exactly what happened at the same time as Flora.

This book was a completely mess. The plot had a lot of potential but the writing was lacking. It got repetitive and boring and not even the plot twists could save it. All in all, I found it to be a ridiculous story.

Very hard to review without spoiling but a very enjoyable read. I can't even begin to imagine how frustrating it must be to be in Flora's situation where she remembers nothing since she was 10 years old and she has to write notes on her arms and in a notebook to remind herself of who people are and what she has done.
That all changes when she kisses a boy and actually remembers it later which makes her embark on a dangerous journey around the world to find him. There are many twists and turns especially towards the end of the book and I thought it was incredibly well-written.