Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe has had a lifetime to deal with crazy and the various psychological diseases she’s been diagnosed with at birth, but now that her medication has been stabilized, she’s been significantly better. Erin is finally able to attend public school for the first time since first grade, and she hasn’t had a blackout in over a year. But just as Erin thinks she has conquered her alter ego Shevaun, she starts having strange dreams about a life her second personality couldn’t possibly be living. With the help of an old friend Sassy, Erin comes to realize that Shevaun actually exists apart from Erin, and that Shevaun and her family are determined to destroy the connection Erin and Shevaun share at whatever cost. But even if this may sound good on the surface, in Erin’s new world of lies and danger, she can trust no one—not even herself.

I was actually a little wary of reading this novel at first, because the story sounded a little iffy, but I was glad my initial reaction was proven wrong. Persistence of Memory was well-written with a mixture of reality versus dreamscape, crazy versus supernatural explanations, and plenty of danger and suspense. Erin’s character was very well-developed; her history of psychological disorders causing her to doubt the validity of her own vision helped create her unique character. However, I felt nearly all the other characters could’ve been improved. For example, Sassy’s connection to Erin seems a little out of the blue for something that ran so deep, and Shevaun’s relationship with Adjila didn’t feel as deeply rooted as I thought it should’ve been. I have no complaints about the plot until the very end when the reasons behind the whole ordeal were just all over the place and didn’t really feel plausible. Despite that, though, I really enjoyed this original and thrilling tale.

Fans of supernatural stories, especially those about vampires and shape shifters, will be drawn to Persistence of Memory. Readers who enjoyed both Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith and The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong will also like this novel.

Rating: 4.0

Review copy from Amazon Vine