When I requested this book, all I read was YA and at the time the premise was definitely up my speed. However, I picked it up a couple months ago for the first time and the more I pick up YA, the less I enjoy it, especially Contemporary YA. I did enjoy the narrator's voice but I'm at a point in my life that I'm not sure I'm the right person to review books in this genre. I DNFed it at around 46% so this review is hard to place. I'm sure a lot of reader will relate to Sammie's struggles with a rare condition and how those around her affect her/it affects them.

I thought the premise of The Memory Book was really interesting, not something I'd come across before and I think it really worked as a format for the story that the book told. I really liked Sammie's narrative voice, in the way that she told the story and also how she spoke to herself. The way that her siblings frequently appeared in her recounting of memories showed how much she truly cared about them, and it was nice to see how she made an effort to really remember them in her memory book. It was interesting to see how relationship dynamics in the book changed once Sammie's friends and relationship interest found out about her condition, and getting to read her inner thoughts and her reactions to these situations felt like a very personal insight, which I appreciated. However, I don't think this will be particularly memorable for me, especially compared to some other books from this year.

There has been a trend over the past few years that has seen YA fiction focus on life-limiting illnesses. We have had The Fault in Our Stars and Five Feet Apart among many others. Whilst these books were great I think I was a little bit unsettled by the thought that teens were being exposed to such sadness but then I had a word with myself and remembered that this is how people learn and how people are exposed in a healthy way to things that they may know nothing about and how empathy is created.
The Memory Book is about early dementia - a disease often associated with the elderly but in rare cases it can affect teenagers. Samantha McCoy has this rare condition and she is doing everything she can to fight it. The feeling you get from Samantha is that she feels that it is just so unfair. Your heart breaks for her as you see her disintegrate in the novel. It is the kind of novel that will remind you how lucky you are.
The Memory Book by Lara Avery is available now.
For more information regarding Hachette Children's Group (@HachetteKids) please visit www.hachetechildrens.co.uk.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I honestly did not know what to expect when I went into this book. I was sent a copy by the publisher, unsolicited, and a quick check online made me give it a chance, and let me tell you, I'm so glad that I did! The Memory Book follows Samantha, who had her life all planned out, until she discovers that she has a rare medical condition that will limit her life. Her condition, Niemann-Pick Type C, is a disease that affects memory and gradually shuts down the body. So, she needs a new plan. Knowing that life will never be the same again, she creates the Memory Book, where she jots down anything that she wants to remember in the future - no matter how big or small it is. As the days, months, years, progress, Sammie slowly starts to deteriorate, but so much happens, and she learns so much about herself, that she is still able to tell us about it all, in her own words.

I loved Sammie - she was so relatable, and funny, and even with this dark shadow hanging over her, she still lives her life to the fullest. From the get go, she is a planner - initially planning to be valedictorian and go off to college - and when her first plan doesn't pan out, she just amends it to fit her new plan. Because of the way that the story is written, as if it's Sammie's journal, we see even more of her than we would normally do. She pours out her heart and soul, and all of her worries, into her diary entries, and it honestly felt like we were in her shoes for most of the book. Nothing about what she was going through was sugar coated, and it was emotional raw reading at times. However, that doesn't mean everything about book was sad or upsetting.

One thing I really appreciated in this book was how present Sammie's family was in the story. In most of the YA books recently, parents are barely there, if at all, but that really wasn't the case here. Obviously with how debilitating Sammie's condition would become, the family wanted to spend time with her doing things as memories - and not just for her Memory Book, but for them all to appreciate. The family had always been an important part to Sammie's life, but now, when it's really important for her especially to try and do things as she normally would, they worked with her every step of the way. Romance isn't really a huge part to the book, but there is some in there. It was cute when I was reading them, but I cared more about Sammie herself, or her familial relationships, that I didn't really get invested in anything romantic.

Overall, this was such a good book, and I'm really glad I gave it a go. It stuck with me so long after finishing, and if I was in Sammie's situation, I honestly don't know what I would've done. Definitely a book I'd recommend to everyone!

This book just wasn’t for me. Something just didn’t click between me and this book. Didn’t hate but didn’t love

I received a copy from Netgalley.

This book was an absolute heartbreaker. And I loved it. Surprised because I really wasn’t expecting much considering I really didn’t like the last book I read by the same author, but I really enjoyed this one.

The novel tells the story of 18 year old Samantha, who has a rare disease which will cause memory loss and other nasty side effects, very few teenagers are diagnosed with the disease and very few (if any) survive. Sam is very smart and almost ready to graduate high school, with dreams of going to college in New York. Determined to survive and live her life the best she can, in spite of the horrible news she’s been dealing with.

She writes The Memory Book as a guide to her future self for when her memory has been sliding and she can’t remember things. She has two younger siblings, a brother and a sister and involved parents who are reluctant about the whole college thing. She sees a guidance councillor regularly and doctors regularly. Sam is a brilliant debater, she’s off to Regional Debate Championships with her friend and debating partner Maddie, she’s set to be Valedictorian when she graduates. And the boy she’s had a crush on for years, Stuart, who went off to New York and became a published writer, has come back into town. All going pretty good. She’s going a high school party and actually talks to her long term crush.

However, it all starts to go wrong, symptoms of Sam’s illness which cause her to forget where she is, strike suddenly, and unexpectedly. Maddie freaks because Sam didn’t tell her about the seriousness of her illness, Sam is naturally crushed. Bright point of life is when she starts developing a friendship into something more serious with Stuart. At the same time her childhood friend Cooper has recently come back into her life as well, Cooper became a big baseball star in high school then blew it with a pot addiction. Sam finds an unexpected closeness with Cooper, opening up to him as they reminisce about their childhood companionship.

The novel was very emotional, I loved Sam’s voice, given what she was dealing with she was incredibly strong and very brave. Her inner monologue went from a range of emotions from excitement and swooning over her developing relationship with Stuart, funny, moody, despair. She talks about her fears, her desires, what she longs for. The struggles with talking about what she’s going through. Dealing with the fall outs when things happen.

There’s a love triangle that does pop up but it’s one that works really well and managed to surprise me. And still made me smile.

Sam’s memory book also includes input from her parents and siblings and later Cooper who all start adding to the narrative. The emotional impact was incredibly deep and moving.

By the end I was in floods of tears. I was reading the last 20% or so during a slow afternoon at work and by the time I’d finished I had to leave the office and have a cry in the toilets for five minutes. I reread the end again at home and cried all over again.

Beautiful, beautiful book. The story manages to go from cute and funny to gut wrenching with some incredibly sad moments. Even so, it was a really amazing read. I loved it so much I bought a finished copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Hatchette Children’s Group.

Samantha McCoy has her life all planned - after winning the national debate championships she's going to go to university in New York and become a human rights lawyer.
But then Sammie receives some news that could change everything - she has a rare disease that will affect her memory and body.
Can Sammie still achieve her dreams?
Can she live a normal life?

Before this book, I had never heard of Niemann-Pick Type C. It's certainly a horrible disease and it was sad to read as it affected Sammie's memory and health.
I really liked Sammie - she was awkward in social situations and referenced The Lord of the Rings, and while she couldn't wait to leave her home-town, she loved her family.
I wasn't a big fan of Stuart and preferred Coop. I would have liked to have seen more of Maddie.
I didn't mind the romance but it wasn't of my favourite things about the book.
The plot was interesting and held my attention.
I enjoyed the writing style and felt that the author handled Sammie's illness well.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

Sam is not a character that it's always easy to like. Her manner feels deliberately detached and aloof so it can sometimes be difficult to relate to her. However, her desperation to live her life and exert control over her future is something that all teenagers (and those of us who are still 16 on the inside!) can relate to. Her determination and strength of will are traits to be admired but her ability and willingness to adapt and grow is remarkable. Difficult to say it was an "enjoyable" read due to the tears I was shedding at the time, but I'd recommend <i>The Memory Book</i> to fans of <i>The One Memory of Flora Banks</i> and John Green.

This book is completely heart-breaking. There you go don't say you weren't warned! Sam McCoy is 17 and has a rare disease that will steal her memory, her health and most importantly to Sam, all the hopes and ambitions she has been working towards. Thankfully for the majority of the book Sam is relatively healthy and we really get to know this amazing young lady. A talented public speaker, responsible older sister and much loved daughter but Sam is not a boring character by any means. She makes mistakes, misjudges her friends and frequently doesn't recognise what her heart is telling her and this all combines to let the reader into her life and make you fall ever so slightly in love with her. Which is why I finished this book crying my eyes out on public transport. Highly recommended for teens and soppy adults everywhere.

Lara Emery has written a highly emotive book that tingles your heart strings throughout the book - right until the very last word. I admit that I cried at several intervals throughout the book, but please don't let that deter you from reading it. The Memory Book addresses a highly emotive illness that in it's more well known state touches so many lives. I'm talking about Dementia. But can you imagine that illness taking control of your body when you are just a teenager?

Sammie is a highly intelligent young lady who thrives on learning - she almost reminded me of Harriet from Geek Girl by Holly Smale - (I believe Harriet and Sammie would have made the best of friends had they been introduced to each other.) Sammie is ValeDictorian, she thrives on debates, on arguing her point, on memorising the most intricate details and statistics. But at 14 years old was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia.

The story details how she writes a Memory book so that if the dementia takes over (which she believes she can get better from) then she will have a way of remembering everything - and I mean everything!

The tender way in which Lara wrote about this topic can be only applauded, the delicate approach was clearly evident in the chapters that delved deeper into Sammie's experience. My heart slowly broke over the chapters as I felt that I was almost witnessing Sammie's battle with this rare form of dementia as it slowly took her hostage.

I urge everyone to read this book, especially if you enjoyed reading The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr (click the link to read my review). Without a doubt The Memory Book will move you and touch you deeply. This is definitely one of the books for 2017.

Congratulations Lara for not only writing a beautiful and emotionally delicate story that touches upon a very important condition, but for raising awareness of this rare form of dementia. Before reading this, I had no idea such a condition for young people existed.

Easily awarded 5/5 stars.

DNF at 70%
I feel a bit of a fraud at posting a review when I did not finish the book, but it is a requirement. I cannot begin to imagine going through the trauma of being told you will not only die in a few years, but you will lose all sense of self and control of your body, too. The heroine, Sammie, suffers from NCP which is a degenerative disease that causes not only early onset dementia, but various physical disabilities that will make it impossible for our heroine to continue on the high-flying path she had strived for.
Sam has no friends, a very poor self image (body image) and values high grades. The author has tried to make us sympathise with her - this lonely, friendless girl who spends all her time studying - but I came away thinking she was very insular and single-minded with little time for the things she ought to value the most (friendships and family and the truth). Once the true nature of her condition is revealed, her manner of dealing with it is childish in the extreme and she buries her head in the sand, pretending it isn't really happening, ignoring warnings and safety precautions her parents try to put in place. She take terrible risks, imperiling others, doesn't medicate, and only 'comes clean' to her only friend when she has to. For a bright and intelligent girl, she behaved very irrationally and perhaps that was something the author was trying to convey as the natural reaction to her condition..

The Memory Book (Quercus, released 26th January) is exactly what the title suggests – a book which 18 year old Sammie is writing to her future self in order to deal with her recent diagnosis with Niemann Pick Type C. The debilitating disease not only affects her memory but also causes body tremors, slurred speech and problems with vertical eye movement. Despite all this Sammie is unwavering in her belief that she’ll still be able to attend NYU in the fall as part of her journey towards becoming a human rights lawyer. She just needs to win the National Debating Championship first, whilst trying not to get too distracted by the return of her long-time crush.

The book is told in first person, meaning that the reader has to rely on the narration of the protagonist. Whilst there were moments where it was clear that Sammie’s memory was failing her (especially when it was happening in real time), the reader still has a fairly concrete idea of what is going on. Her memory problems occur increasingly as the story progresses and so it gives the reader a good idea of how the disease is affecting her life more and more.

As is the norm with the majority of YA fiction, the book has a romance storyline that is inevitably affected by Sammie's memory difficulties. It was interesting to see how the romantic relationship between Sammie and Stuart unfolded as her condition worsened, even if I was left frustrated for quite a while in how honest Sammie was being. I found Cooper (Sammie’s childhood friend) to be a better/more nuanced character than Stuart and so I was much more invested in her relationship with him than I was with Stuart. I enjoyed the slow establishment of their rekindled friendship but did consider things to escalate quite rapidly towards the end, which I found a little difficult to believe (in fact the whole ending seemed to happen a bit quickly which left me somewhat disappointed, although I suppose it didn’t help that I had to speed-read it in order to finish before the series finale of Sherlock started).

I liked Sammie's personality and there were instances where I identified with her quite strongly. Given the nature of it being written as a sort of journal it reminded me of Mia's voice in The Princess Diaries. I also liked her younger siblings and so it was nice when Sammie was considering the type of people they would become when they grew up. I did struggle though to picture all the characters as well as quite a lot of the setting which was a shame.

All in all it was a fairly enjoyable quick read but it probably won't be a book that sticks in my mind for too long (pardon the somewhat tactless pun).

Damnit. This book got to me. And that took me by surprise. I even nearly abandoned it when I was about half way through. Because the original Sam, the one that writes to Future Sam? I really didn't connect with her. I thought it was the diary format at the time, but now I've finished the book and am blessed with the benefit of hindsight, I've realised I was never meant to connect with her. It wasn't until things became more difficult, and she was forced to abandon Future Sam and just become Sammie, that Bam! I connected majorly. To the point that I just finished the book, actually crying. Not just a siffle, not just a lump in the throat or burning eyes - proper crying. It was never going to be an easy story, but I didn't expect it to get to me this much. I need to go and find a cheesy happy-ever-after now to dry my tears on.

The Memory Book by Lara Avery ended up being an incredibly quick book to read that was emotional but not overwhelming. I'm glad I gave it a chance and I loved how sweet the book ended being.

I was a bit conflicted about reading The Memory Book by Lara Avery. The cover itself makes it look like a book I'd want to pick up and flick through... but once I found the story revolves around 17 year old Sammie with a rare disease, Niemann-Pick Type C, a genetic disease similar to dementia in which Sammie will slowly lose her memory as well as other cognitive functions, I was a little less keen. Only because a member of my close family suffers from dementia and I worried that this book would feel like too much.

Luckily for me, this book is very readable. There were moments of heart-break, but the overall tone of the book is very positive and hopeful and that comes across very well within this book. It's essentially Sammie's diary as she tries to make sense of this condition she's living with, trying to record the important events but also as she's trying to work towards her goals, her new relationship and the rest of her life as it is becoming.

I think the fact that Sammie is quite young and dealing with this disease and also her character's approach towards it made it far easier to read her experiences. Yes, she's going through something awful, but she has such a good attitude about it that it felt harder to feel sorry for her and I think even her denial that she might not achieve some of her goals is what helped create some distance in the emotional aspects of the story line.

Because Sammie is such a driven character. She's determined to do All The Things: win the national debate championships, be valedictorian, go to New York for university. She realises that Niemann-Pick will affect her life in some ways but she's determined to live out her goals anyway. I also enjoyed her burgeoning friendship with ex-friend, Cooper, and new love interest, Stuart. It was nice to see that this book was very much about the experiences of a teenage girl with romance and troubled friendships. I loved everything else going on in Sammie's life.

But I think ultimately what I enjoyed the most about this book is that it is a very life-affirming story of hope and love and slowing down and treasuring the things most important to us.

What to say? The thought of losing your memories is, perhaps, the cruellest illness many of us can imagine. Generally, dementia occurs in the elderly but to read about Sammie's diagnosis and to watch as she experiences the symptoms of her condition worsen was upsetting. As a character she was a little snarky, goofy on occasion and yet there was something compelling about watching this determined teen fight to maintain a sense of her normal when it would have been all too easy to give up! The focus itself is compelling, but Avery really played a blinder with Coop-fab read.

Full review to come on mygoodreads.co.uk

This book broke my heart. It set up Sammy as this determined girl with a clear idea of where she wants to go in the future. She is so ready to go to University, to change her life completely. But right from the start, it tells us exactly why she can't have that future. And we, the reader, despite everything, want her to succeed.

At first, it was impossible to see Sammy succeeding in her goals. The stark realities of her illness were spelled out in front of us on the page and all that Sammy is doing is forcing her way through it with denial and ambition. But as the story progressed and more of Sammy's personality is revealed, I felt myself caught up in her determination and her very practical way of dealing with it. It made it seem entirely plausible. Of course she was going to get to NYU. Of course she'd manage to defeat this.

And then the illness starts to progress.

It's a story that's heartbreaking, tragic and so beautiful, It may be about a terminal illness and Sammy fighting to keep a hold of herself, but really, behind all that, it's about a girl who is learning how to live.

This is not normally the type of book I’d have chosen to read, but I received it as an ARC and it sounded interesting enough so I thought I’d give it a read. I’m not a big fan of contemporary YA (If I read YA, it’s usually Sci-Fi/Fantasy) but this book just blew me away.

The main character, Sammie, has been diagnosed with Niemann Pick Type C which is a condition where she will slowly lose her memories. Because of this, she decides to keep a journal as a “Memory Book” so that she can read it to remember who she is.

The book takes the format of a diary in first person, and is very much what you’d expect the diary of a typical teenager to be like. She talks about being on the debate team, about her future plans for college and how she’s never been to a party. However, as the book goes on, you can see her condition slowly worsen starting with one-off instances where she forgets where she is then more severe instances. Some of these occur while she is writing her Memory Book and so you can see her confusion and struggles with the condition represented as they happen.

I really liked the characters in this book, they all seemed very well fleshed out and realistic. I don’t have a favourite as they were all so great. I was slightly disappointed that the book features a love triangle as they are one of the things I just really do not enjoy. However, I will admit that it was very well written and handled well. Finally, I was quite pleased that there were quite a few diverse characters. Sammie’s best friend, Maddie, is in a lesbian relationship with another character and one of her love interests, Stuart Shah is Indian-American.

I ended up giving this book 4 stars, since although I really enjoyed it, it just lacked that special something to give it five. I would definitely recommend it though but I suggest making sure you have tissues handy as it gets very emotional.

I have wanted to read The Memory Book by Lara Avery ever since I first heard about it, sometime last year. How intriguing to read about someone who would lose their memory? Someone young even? I was gripped by this novel, but I finished with mixed feelings.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, I did. I just don't think the way the story was told worked well for me. The book is Sammie's document where she writes about all that has happened as her life changes after being diagnosed with Niemann-Pick Type C, like a diary, rather than us reading things as they happen. For me, this caused a distance when it came to getting to know and caring for other characters. Because she's writing the book, there's a lot more internal monologue than actual action (by which I don't mean fight scenes, just things happening, rather than just Sammie's thoughts).

However, The Memory Book is still an interesting story. Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC) is a disease down to mutated genes, and it affects more than just memory. It can affect movement, speech, movement of eyes, can cause tremors, seizures, dementia, hearing loss, hallucinations, and so much more - and it's terminal. But all Sammie really cares about is her memory. She actually talks about how it can do what it wants to her body, as long as she has her memory. Sammie has dreams - no, more than that, Sammie has plans. She's going to ace her exams, and be Valedictorian. She, and her friend and debate team mate, Maddie, will win the Nationals, which will get her into NYU, and become a human rights lawyer. All of this, all of it, requires her memory. She needs to remember the answers in exam questions, she needs to remember what to say during her debates, she needs to remember her speech for graduation. She needs her memory. And, because she's a rare case in that she's been affected by NPC at an older age (most children start showing the affects of NPC under the age of ten), she's convinced herself that she'll live longer than other suffers, that it won't affect her as badly, and she can still do everything she wants. She's in massive denial for such a long time, and is so stubborn and determined to do all she wants to. It was completely understandable - how do you come to terms with having a disease that is going take away your control of your body and eventually kill you? - but it was also so frustrating. NPC will kill her, and her family just want her to slow down, accept that she won't have the life she wanted, but enjoy whatever time she has now, rather than push, push, push herself.

But when things do start to go wrong, it gets heartbreaking. Again, it's mainly the affects on Sammie memory that she writes about. When she forgets where she's going, how to get there, or where she is. When she forget her youngest sister. They're episodes, ones she can recover from and remember again, but in the moment - as at these times, Sammie is writing as they happen rather than after - they are so upsetting, both for Sammie and the reader. As sometimes goes hand in hand with episodes of memory loss, she also experiences what is medically described as mild retardation - basically, she reverts to a child, a child who is scared and confused and doesn't know what's happening. This is shown through how she writes; the run on sentences, the lack of punctuation and capitals, the actual thoughts she has that she writes being the thoughts of a child. It's just so terrible.
'No Matter what plans I make, no matter how much I help my parents,, I feel like my body is failing me, and I don't know how to stop it.' (35%)
Running alongside her trying to cope with NPC is a romance. A love triangle even. There's Stuart, an Indian American she has had a crush on forever who is back in town during Summer break at NYU, and then there's her old school friend Cooper who is suddenly showing an interest. I didn't really care about her relationships with either of them, but that's because of how the story was written, as I said at the beginning. There's more internal monologue and telling us about her time with each guy, rather than seeing it happen, and that distance meant I didn't really feel like I got to know either of them. To me, it felt unnecessary to the story; not to Sammie, because of course she's going to be interested in guys and that's not going to stop because she has NPC, but to the story that Avery was trying to tell, it just felt extra, something added - because of how the story was told, there wasn't enough for me to feel that the romance was pivotal to Sammie's story.

The ending kind of came out of the blue, also because of how the story is told. Sammie wasn't writing about every bad day or bad moment, so what seems kind of gradual to the reader isn't so gradual for her. So we're seeing only every now and then a episode of some kind, but then all of a sudden, boom, things are really, really bad. It happened so quickly, and then it ended. And again, because of how it was written, I was as affected emotionally as I would have expected - and wanted - to be. There wasn't really enough time to be. I would much prefer this was being told in first person narration rather than being the actual book she was writing, I feel I would have got a lot more out of it and enjoyed it more if it was.

Even so, The Memory Book is really gripping, and gave such an insight into a disease I had never heard of before.