Unremembered by Jessica Brody

No one expects to find any survivors in the wreckage of Freedom Airlines flight 121, so it’s a strange shock to everyone when they find her. She’s a sixteen-year-old girl, mysteriously uninjured from the plane crash. She doesn’t remember anything, not her name or even that she was on that flight. What’s eerier is that no one else remembers her either—the airline has no record that she was a passenger. Unfamiliar with the ways of the world and unsure of who she can really trust, Violet, so called because of the color of her eyes, is determined to piece together her forgotten past. But the more she learns, the more she realizes that maybe there was a reason she needed to forget—and that some things can never be truly forgotten.

Unremembered is a difficult novel to summarize, partly because so many crucial plot details are also spoilers but mostly because the plot is just so complex to begin with. While I normally love complex and interwoven plotlines, especially when they are done well, I have to say that I had a sort of strange relationship with the plot of Unremembered. I spent the first portion of the novel questioning the science surrounding the main character’s condition, only to find out later that I had predicted a major plot revelation. This was unfortunate, because I would have liked to have been more surprised. Ultimately, even though I felt that some of the scientifically-based explanations weren’t quite sufficiently developed, I did quite enjoy this story’s clever plot. I am pleased to say that despite a few bumps, Brody has handled the transition from her usual contemporary stories to science fiction rather well.

Unremembered is sure to appeal to readers who also enjoyed False Memory by Dan Krokos, Altered by Jennifer Rush, and Adaptation by Malinda Lo.

Rating: 3.75

Review copy from publisher Macmillan