When I first heard about the book, I thought it sounded promising – mysterious even! I had never read a novel from the point of view of an amnesiac, so that was another thing that drew me towards wanting to read this particular story. However, Flora and I, we have a difficult relationship. But let’s start from the beginning!

Flora hasn’t been able to form new memories since she was 10 years old. She remembers people she met before that, but can’t hold on to anything new for more than a couple of hours. Now she is 17. Enter Drake! I did not like the guy. Right from the beginning there was something really sketchy about him. He was Paige’s, Flora’s best friend’s, boyfriend, yet on the day of his farewell party he kissed Flora and something miraculous happened – she remembered the whole encounter. Why do I think that’s wrong? Aside from the obvious reason that he was Flora’s best friend’s boyfriend, he also kissed a girl, who at that point, was mentally at the maturity level of a 10 year old. I get that she was in the body of a 17 year-old, but it still seemed off to me. Even though he leaves the next day, Flora begins obsessing about him and how he might be able to cure her. It all goes so far that she chases after him, by herself (!!!), to the arctic circle.

I am not going to go into detail on what happens in the story, because there are a couple of twists that would be a shame to spoil. Instead I want to talk more about Flora and her way of telling the story. First, I was not prepared for the level of repetitiveness. Of course I expected some of it, but I hoped for a bit more nuance, instead of the same phrases becoming a mantra that repeated itself every couple of pages. I very much recognise and respect that this is probably a very authentic portrayal of amnesia, however, I am afraid it did not add to the enjoyment of my reading experience. At some point I just skimmed paragraphs, simply because I had read the same sentence three times before.

Flora was such a fun and quirky character. As I said before she often felt pretty young, which made sense, and the next second she goes and books a flight and hotel for the Arctic. That’s pretty adult right there. Everyone in her life, be it strangers or family, was so understanding and willing to help. I don’t feel like that’s the most realistic portrayal, because even though it’s super nice of them, no one ever got impatient or frustrated with her, which is a miracle in my opinion. Her condition was often treated so lightly and the conclusion of the story was not something I entirely agreed with. I do believe that Flora is brave and unique and should get to make her own decisions and do the exciting things in life, but I don’t think she should be entirely unsupervised because she literally couldn’t remember where/why/when she was most of the time.

Lastly, I just want to say that I appreciate the portrayal of amnesia, seen as it is something that’s rarely done. I am sure many, many people will enjoy this book and Flora’s quirky character, I just didn’t happen to be one of them.

Fazit: 2.5/5 stars! Unfortunately it was not really my cup of tea …

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr was ... a very different read. It was unexpected. And I definitely think that how different I thought this book would be is the reason that I was so attracted to reading it in the first place. And while I did like it, I wasn't entirely blown away by the story of by Flora Banks. But I wanted to be.

This is the story of Flora Banks, 17, and she is someone who has anterrograde amnesia, which means that she has no permanent memories before 7 years ago when she was in an accident. She can only hold new information in her head for a very short period of time, at the most several hours. So to get by, she writes notes on her arms and post-it notes, takes pictures on her phone, writes in a diary etc filling herself in on the events and important stuff between then and now. She's on medication, she's well looked after by her parents and her best friend. We meet Flora at a party, her hands say 'Be brave' and she goes onto leave the party and kisses a boy on a beach. Unfortunately it happens to be Flora's best friend's boyfriend who she kisses but the thing to be taken from that night is that Flora remembers the boy, she remembers the kiss, the beach, all the details of that interaction.

The thing with her memory though means that as the narrator to this story, Flora loses a lot of information. Which she then relearns shortly after and that makes Flora's story really quite repetitive in parts which felt grating in the middle. I also found Flora's voice to be hard and factual which made it difficult for me to warm to her. I also wasn't thrilled with the idea of her chasing down a boy with her 'this boy will save me' thoughts but I felt like that was at least handled towards the end. The only relationship I wanted to explore more (as I didn't love Drake with the same fervour as Flora!) is the one with Jacob, her brother. This book needed more Jacob, in my opinion.

I think the thing in particular that I loved the most about Flora is that she is courageous. She really takes that 'Be Brave' on her hand to heart and instead of cowering indoors where she knows she'll be safe, she continuously tries to do different things, change herself, her circumstances and her life. Going so far as trying to track her brother, Jacob, down, as far as experiencing new things and tracking a boy down to the Arctic in order to find out more answers about why this kiss stuck in her head when other memories did not. I loved that about her. I wish more people were a little bit more Flora.

This book was a definitely interesting read. I'm glad to have to read it, I just wish things had been slightly different.

(This review for this book will go live on my book blog, Flutteringbutterflies.com tomorrow 27/1)

A sad and clever portrayal of parental desperation and a family secret.
To be lost inside your own memories or lack of them must be beyond confusing and distressing, Flora copes with this by scrawling messages on her arms and hands.
Barr offers glimmers of hope for Flora throughout this compelling read.
One thing is certain, Flora is brave.

Quite enjoyed this novel, but not sure I would read this author again.

A heartachingly beautiful book about love and friendship, about remembering and forgetting, and ultimately about what it really is to live, The One Memory of Flora Banks will stay with you for a very, very long time.
When you remember nothing of the past seven years, how do you know who you can trust? Surely your own thoughts can be relied upon? Written in the present tense, the truth is revealed to us at the same time as it is to Flora, and it might just surprise you.
The few details given to us at the beginning of the book are repeated often; this repetition allows us to feel something of what it is to be Flora, to be someone whose mind can only grasp hold of memories for a few hours before they're gone. It feels an authentic portrayal and it is one that draws the reader in until the distinction between Flora's mind and our own is unclear. This is form reflecting content and it's this complete immersion into Flora's inner world that is so artfully achieved. Here is a love story, a mystery, a psychological thriller of sorts. This is YA done right. Emily Barr has made a brilliant debut in this genre. Read this book or regret it for evermore.

Flora has amnesia. After suffering a brain injury as a child she is unable to retain new memories. Essentially she is mentally still a 10 year old child in a 17 year old body. And she is amazing. Her mother tries to keep her medicated and wrapped in cotton wool 'for her own good' but things don't go to plan, to put it mildly.

Okay, so I'm not sure how medically accurate the story is but it really doesn't matter. This is a fantastic story. It is billed as a Young Adult book but there is plenty to be enjoyed by readers of any age.

Be brave. An excellent rule for life.

Absolutely mesmerising
Brilliant loved every page albeit a little repetitive .

At first: Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the copy I received
Then: It's actually 4,5* I'd like to give :)

"The one memory of Flora Banks" deals with seventeen year old Flora, who has anterograde amnesia, meaning she does not remember things, and the one memory she keeps after kissing a boy named Drake.

CONTENTS
Flora has amnesia. Thus she remembers nothing that happened after she was ten years old, when a tumor was removed from her brain, until, one day she kisses her best friend Page's boyfriend Drake on the beach and -surprise- remembers. Her parents are, at the same time off to France to visit her ill brother Jacob, and because Flora kissed Drake, Paige does not spend those days with her, leaving her alone in her house. The result of this is, that Flora is off to the Arctic, where Drake moved to after kissing her, because she is sure, if he could make her remember once, he can do that again.

SOMETHING OVERALL
The book is told from Flora's perspective, so, although we remember what she forgets, there are parts where neither Flora, nor the reader can be sure what's going on. Additionally, Flora has the habit of writing things on her arms, which are written in different fonts (I liked that). The book can become quite repetitve, because we get to relieve her one memory several times, which per se is nothing bad- in fact it is well done, although the reason for her memory improvement is a boy she becomes very obsessed with, and reading it over and over and over again is a bit...annoying. I kissed Drake on the beach. I love Drake. Drake. DRAKE.

WRITING STYLE
Since Flora is torn between thinking she's ten and realizing she's actually seventee nmost of the time , the writing is nothing too complex. It is quite simple, with nice (not too) short sentences; I also have to mention, that when her brother writes her an email or a letter, the style changes, wich I loved.
I noticed that she referred to her parents as THE parents rather than MY parents which was interesting. It fit the story very much in my opinion.

CHARCTERS
Here we go. The most important ones are Flora, Paige, the parents and probably Drake.
Flora is lovely. She is brave and she knows what she wants, if she remembers, and has found ways of helping herself remember even if her brain does not. I loved her. The only problem I had, was her huge obsession with Drake. I get that she loves him, and she remembers which is wonderful and new and so much more, but she is a little bit over the top sometimes.
Paige had no good start in this book. She was awful, abandoning a friend because of a boy, that is not even her boyfriend anymore, and not even listening to her. She knows Flora since she is four- she should have trusted her a LOT more. I'm glad to tell you, that she improves enormously and mistakes make people human, but I just can't forgive her.
The parents felt strange from the beginning to me. The book makes it clear early on, that there is something they keep secret from their daughter, and realizing what it was in the end made it worse rather than better.
Drake is an idiot. There I said it. The fact that he kisses her in the first place was not a good move, and the way he acts towards her later on -honestly, I saw that coming. No,just no.

OPINION
I liked it, I loved it, I adored it. The way everything was described, her state of amnesia, the plot twists, that I totally could not foresee (apart from Drake), it was done so well. Of course, I can't tell you if this is how amnesia works, if it was correct, but it felt right. I was just a little bit annoyed at all the "I kissed a boy at the beach. I love Drake." parts and actually carving his name into her skin was too much for me. I also did not like the ending- that is ONLY because I wanted it to be less open.

I can recommend this book to everyone who likes a good story, because it is and you can't put it down especially at the end. Even if you're bad at English- read it, it's not hard.

This is a strange and somewhat disappointing book. Flora has anteretrograde amnesia, which means she's constantly forgetting everything that's happened since she was ten - which means a lot of repetition. Flora has to be reminded constantly of her name and age, and what she's doing, which means we as readers too have to be reminded so there's a lot of telling.

The actual story is good. Flora really seems to come out of her shell and eventually goes on one heck of an adventure, but on the other hand you do see her really struggling. I liked Flora as a narrator even though she is so unreliable, but I found the repetition really exhausting. I understand what it was supposed to impart about the story but it felt like half the book was 'I am Flora and I am seventeen'. I also would have liked to see more of the side plot with Flora's parents & brother.

I did enjoy this book but in my opinion the writing let it down.

In The One Memory of Flora Banks (Penguin, released 12th January) we follow 17 year old Flora who has anterograde amnesia, meaning that every couple of hours her memory resets itself and she has to piece together who everyone is and what she was doing. To help her do so she writes reminders on her hands and arms, as well as in a notebook which she carries with her at all times. Everything changes however when one night she kisses someone she shouldn’t and the next day she can still remember it in full. Believing that he has the power to end all her memory problems, Flora is determined to keep him in her life (and in her heart) for as long as possible. There’s just the small problem of him moving to the Arctic Circle…

The book is told in first person, meaning that the reader has to rely on the narration of the protagonist. Due to her type of memory loss the book has a fairly significant mystery element to the plot, and with gaps in the narrative as well as the suggestion of false truths I decided to keep a record of all my theories as I went along (I was pretty accurate all round). I'm not really a reader of mysteries but I did quite enjoy this aspect of the story.

As is the norm with the majority of YA fiction, the book has a romance storyline that is inevitably affected by Flora's memory difficulties. Given that it is the first new memory that Flora has been able to retain for seven years it is no surprise that she is so focused on chasing a relationship with Drake. However it all starts off on a slightly unsuitable manner and as the story progressed I found myself increasingly questioning how appropriate it was (there was one particular incident which made me feel particularly uncomfortable with where it might lead). This did get resolved as the plot wrapped up but as a result I never truly bought it.

I was impressed that I was able to visualise the setting throughout and could clearly see it all in my mind. I did struggle a little with imagining the characters but then I have the same difficulty with pretty much every book I read. I also liked the hopeful ending - I'm not sure whether there's going to be a sequel but I'm happy enough to leave things where they are.

This is a beautiful book following the story of 17 year old Flora Banks, who suffers from anterograde amnesia, which means that she suffers from short-term memory loss. Despite her condition, she fights for the ability to have adventures and live her life. Flora is a unique character who is brave and determined but also relatable. The writing was repetitive due to Flora’s inability to remember, which allows us to emphasize with her condition. Although this a YA book, anyone of any age can enjoy it. It is a truly wonderful and heartwarming story that captures Flora reclaiming her life.

I have heard nothing but wonderful things about The One Memory Of Flora Banks (and not just because of the gorgeous cover). I picked up my copy straight after receiving it, and I completely agree with all the other raving reviews out there. This book is brilliant! I loved LOVED the main character and the fact that amnesia plays such a big role in the story. Sure, there is a hint of a love triangle and she doesn’t seem to care much about hurting her best friend’s feelings when she kisses the boyfriend. Sure, if you think about the plot critically it’s not exactly all that credible. But to be honest, I didn’t really care. Flora managed to win over my heart from the very first page and I loved both the writing and how Flora managed to do so many things suffering with anterograde amnesia like she does. And that ending! I’m already having a feeling this one will appear on my list of 2017 favorites.

This is such a beautiful book, I cried a little. I loved Flora and her 'one memory' and the adventure that she had - such a brave and awe-inspiring main character!

The One Memory of Flora Banks

I adored this book. I predict it will a YA hit in 2017!

Flora Banks has no short term memory, her mind resets itself several times a day ever since she had a brain tumour removed when she was ten. The tumour took with it the ability for Flora to make new memories...until she kisses Drake, her best friend's boyfriend.

I'm not going to say any more about the storyline as I don't want to ruin the book for anyone. Just know that this is one of the most emotionally captivating and unforgettable books I've ever read. 5*+++

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book, with thanks to Netgalley and the publisher.

Sadly I could not review this book, as the data file was already expired and the book archived on the same day.

Part of me really liked this book for it's interesting representation of amnesia. I applaud it for writing so deep in an amnesiacs point of view, that the story literally went in circles so many times. BUT THAT SAYING...it is extremely hard to read a book that is doing a tango in a circle. A+ for making the reader fully understand Flora's life. But also if I have to read the phrase "I kissed Drake" one more time I will lose my cool.

There ARE fantastic plot twists at the end. And even though I predicted many of them, the reveals were still intriguing and wonderful and I didn't want to put the book down. Flora has amnesia due to a tumour and can remember her childhood but nothing right now. Basically she is Dory from Finding Nemo. I really really enjoyed reading about Flora (definitely in the beginning) and I loved her voice and character. She's super sweet but has noooo idea what's going on with her life because she remembers naught.

But she kisses a boy and BOOM she remembers that memory and then chases off to the Arctic (alone) to try and find him again. I...I have problems with this. She definitely wasn't "cured" but it did annoy me that this was the ONE memory she could hang onto. A boy. A boooooy. I'm not a fan of books so dependent on boys helping girls to live their lives. She obsessed over Drake so much and literally her only thought was that she kissed him. She didn't know him. She didn't love him. She just loved the fact that she remembered something. But it was incredibly frustrating and tedious to read about unfortunately.

But hey! There were a lot of good things! Like Flora learning about herself! Flora's wonderful friendship with her childhood BFF, Paige! Flora getting in contact with her adorable and lovely older brother! Flora meeting masses of lovely people in the Arctic who literally proved that people in this universe CAN STILL BE WONDERFUL. Flora's mixture of adulting + childish wonder and adventure.

ALL IN ALL: I think it was a good story, but a bit too tedious for me. Especially since the book just spun in circles and was fairly slow.

Wow, what a rollercoaster of a read. I flew through this book in one go and I found the unique writing style created empathy for Flora. As a reader you're able to discover all the aspects of her life past and present at the same time she does, which really draws you into her world.
The narrative, which is from Flora's perspective, not only develops her character, but helps the reader gain an insight into her thought process, how she works through her struggles and how formidable she is, as she's able to be brave, even at times where she doesn't have a clue where she is or how she got there.
In addition, telling the story this way gave the book a mysterious edge because you never knew which parts could be trusted.
However, for me, it did have its drawbacks. Since Flora's memory resets itself every few hours, I found that in some places, the repetition of events was a little intense. I think that this would vary from person to person though, and some people wouldn't be bothered by it at all.
Although I liked the way the ending was heading, I would've loved just a bit more information as I felt there were just one or two things left unanswered.
Overall, I'd give 'The One Memory of Flora Banks' 4 out of 5. It was moving and enlightening with a touch of intriguing uncertainty to keep the pages turning.

I haven’t read an Emily Barr book for years, the first book of hers that I read was Backpack, a book that I loved back in 2001. After that, I read a few more books by the author but then she seemed to disappear under my radar and I actually thought that she had stopped writing. A look at the author’s page on Amazon tells me that she hadn’t disappeared at all.

I heard a bit about The One Memory of Flora Banks and when I realised who the author was I requested it to read on Netgalley and was happy to be approved. This was Emily Barr’s first book aimed at young adults, but as I enjoy reading that genre it didn’t put me off, and I hope that it won’t put you off either. When a friend told me how much she’d enjoyed this book I quickly bumped it up my tbr pile and I’m so pleased that I did.

Seventeen year old Flora is a wonderful character, she copes with short term memory loss by writing on her arms and hands, making sure that when she suddenly finds herself somewhere believing she is ten years old she can quickly see the information that she needs to know. As well as writing on her arms Flora has one tattoo, it says ‘be brave’ which becomes Flora’s moto and at times, her mantra.

Understandably, Flora’s mum is very protective of her but when Flora’s estranged brother is suddenly taken very ill in France her parents decide to leave Flora at home with her best friend while they go to be with him. Unknown to Flora’s parents, her best friend is no longer speaking to her after finding out that Flora had kissed her boyfriend at a party.

Suddenly alone in her house Flora appears to go slightly crazy. She remembers kissing the boy so clearly, yet she has no other memories at all after the age of ten. Believing that only true love would cause her to remember something she becomes obsessed with Drake and determined to find him, even though he is now at university in Norway. Flora proves to be remarkably resourceful and thanks to numerous post-it notes around her home she remembers to keep up the pretence to her parents that she is not alone and all is fine.

I loved the character of Flora, she is so strong and capable, it would be so easy to give up in her situation but instead she fights and she finds ways to get around her short term memory loss. The way that she is written is so believable and real, I have no idea how Barr managed to portray such a complex character so well.

Flora is clearly a special person, everyone she meets seems to be endeared to her and wants to help. This proves particularly useful when Flora manages to get herself to Norway, determined to find Drake. In a completely unknown and foreign world, Flora struggles, the constant daylight confusing her body as well as her mind and unlike home, where she has memories from before the age of ten, here she remembers nothing, relying on the writing on her arms to guide her. She meets some right characters along the way, they soon realise that there is something different about Flora, but they see her spirit and so endeavour to help her where they can.

I could go on and on about the book, the storyline and Flora but I don’t want to give too much away. The book is a joy to read, I just loved Flora’s fighting spirit and how with the help of other’s she is able to overcome her difficulties and fight against her mothers’ control. Flora really has to be one of my favourite ever characters in a book and I hope that I remember her for a long time. Be Brave might just become my new moto too.

I received a copy of The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr from Netgalley but I was under no obligation to review it.

I ended up really enjoying this book after being sceptical about its (seemingly) simplistic nature at the beginning. Flora's only memory is the notes she writes for herself, so there is a lot repetition of the reading of these notes. But I loved the unreliable narrator of Flora - the book from her perspective plunges you straight into her world, and you immediately begin to question if what she writes is true, and if there are things she's forgotten to write too. The ending was so much more delightful (and almost sinister) than I'd expected, and as a Cornwall regular and an Arctic lover, I adored the two settings for this novel. Like a cross between Bridget Jones and Patrick Ness's More Than This. Would definitely recommend for an easy but intriguing YA read!

A really unique and intriguing read. This was such a great look at mental health too. I absolutely flew through this in a day. Such a page turner and great writing. A must read, all in all.