Becky's View: Unremembered by Jessica Brody

Unremembered by Jessica Brody
♦publisher: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
♦release date: March 5, 2013
♦hardcover, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Unremembered, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe.

Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them.

Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

Review: Thanks to a really well done cryptic description, the reader goes into Unremembered pretty much in the dark---which I loved.  I really had no idea what kind of mystery would be unveiled that would land a girl in the middle of the ocean, the only survivor of a plane crash, full amnesia, and no one can figure out who she is.  The beginning of the story is played out beautifully, really keeps you on the edge of your seat and keeps you guessing.  I have to admit that the prologue foreshadowing got me really excited for a certain kind of story---then it turned out to be something else. While the unpredictability was a welcome thing, the big picture was a little more sci-fi than I'd hoped for.  Still, the concept was interesting, the story was incredibly face-paced as Sera races to find answers and safety, and the love story was good, so I still enjoyed this one quite a bit.

Sera is quite a fireball from the very beginning. Her frustration and harshness to everyone around her is understandable in the situation she was in.  When she moves in with a foster family, you can see her really trying to get her bearings, while still trying to figure out the truth about what happened.  I loved the relationship she built with her 13-year-old foster brother, Cody, though I couldn't help thinking a few times how reckless she was about putting him in danger.  

The love story had a good spark to it. I loved how they had a connection through poetry and Shakespeare, and how he uses that to jog her memories of him.  Their whole escape plan kind of hinges on their shared love of poetry and I thought that was kind of sweet.  

There are some characters that really keep you guessing about which side they are really on.  And then there were also obvious bad guys that were a bit cliche for my tastes.  Great hulking goons all dressed in black clothes and smirks, and an antagonist that I couldn't help but picture with the smooth mocking voice of Jeremy Irons.  He also has the classic super-dramatic villainous monologue scene to wrap things up. A bit cheesy, but it served to answer a few questions.

Despite a few additional quirks I had with this one (i.e,a character that jumps into the story, does a major info dump, and then her part is seemingly over.), I enjoyed the way it started out as a mystery and turned out to be a fun, action-filled sci-fi story.  

Give this one a try---I wouldn't say I loved it, but I definitely found it a fun, entertaining way to pass the afternoon.

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