Teen Memoir

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

I enjoyed Zevin's first novel, Elsewhere, quite a bit because I thought she did a nice job exploring the afterlife. In Memoirs, she again imagines a fanciful, though appealing, scenario: what if you banged your head and couldn't remember who you were. That's what happens to the protagonist, Naomi Porter. She's at the beginning of her junior year, doing some early extracurricular yearbook work with her best friend Will, when she tumbles down the school's front steps, knocks her noggin and can only remember her life up to about seventh grade. Interestingly, she can remember math and science, but not French! Even more interesting are the insights she gains into herself as she discovers--and questions--her previous self's thoughts and actions. I think this is what makes the novel so fascinating and what will most engage teen readers. Highly recommended for grades 7 and up. Sexual situations, language.