Such an interesting concept. Totally something I'd recommend to my students.

From the very beginning this book was very difficult to read. Maybe I had too high expectations for it but I guess the plot line was too broad to ensure something great would happen. It annoys me so much how Flora keeps repeating what she says but I get why, the events just don't give back to the annoyance. I'm not sure if I'll be finishing this book, but for now it's on hold.

I received this book in return for my honest review. I picked this book up on the premise of the seeing through the eyes of someone with anterograde amnesia. I was not disappointed. Flora is a character who is meant to remain static, yet through the merits of her belief in herself, planted by her brother and a tattoo that simply says "Flora be brave," we get to see her grow and change, defying all you believe she is capable of. There are surprises, to be sure, as well as characters you find you want to punch in the throat from time to time. Yes, living and seeing and hearing things through Flora's mindset does get a bit tedious and can be difficult at times to wade through, but stick with it! You will not regret finishing this book. Will you ever re-read it? Perhaps. It is most definitely a worthy read. Give Flora and her struggles a chance. You will find yourself on a grand adventure, wondering why, if she can do this, why can't you??

Wow this has been a very strong and difficult journey, it wasn't at all what I expected, but I still end up enjoying it a lot, a roller coaster of emotions!

5/5 Stars

Flora is our main character she's a 17 year old girl who after a tragic event doesn't remember anything about her life after the 10 years old, she has a type of manesia, where she can't retain new information, whereby she can just retains information for a few minutes or maybe hours and then no longer knows where she is or what she was doing, she has created a mechanism for remembering things by writing the most important thing in her arms. One day she goes to a party in her best friend's house, a party organized to say goodbye to her boyfriend Drake who is about to travel to Norway to study, that night Flora is on the beach with Drake where they share a kiss, the kiss wich Flora continues to remember, even though they spend days and weeks and so she clings to this unique memory she possesses, falls madly in love with Drake and it's here that she will undertake a journey to find him and finally begin to heal, and all this has been more than magnificent.


I finished this book last night, and I couldn't write a review at that time, because I really didn't feel capable of, I was so overwhelmed. I was looking for a book that made me feel this way, I don't feel it's a book for everyone and that is why I understand the mixed reviews about it, even so for me it has been a great experience and a book that certainly I will not forget in a long time


Flora is such a curious and unique character, I felt so bad for her all the time, the kind of illness she has is so difficult to understand, she has so much courage and strength, I really liked her. As I have told you before Flora only remembers her life until her's 10 yeas old, so there are 7 years of her life that she doesn't remember at all, and this involves getting up every day with a body that she doesn't recognize, to see her family and to her best friend grow up,without the memories about it, is very hard guys. It would be a challenge for me to explain in words everything that she goes through the book, in her quest to be what she calls "normal", but it has made me feel many emotions and now that I think about it I think it's a journey of self-discovery, hope and growth.


The plot, the way it's told, is the best of this book, manages to keep you hooked till the end in a super intelligent way, the plot twist are incredible, I think there was a moment where I could decipher what would happen, and still, it wasn't easier for me to go through that, was impressed, I was speechless, destroyed my heart, I really felt so attached to Flora and I was as committed as she to her journey and her search, that I have suffered with her, it's weird but personally I found it fascinating


I also liked it a lot as all the stories are connected in some way, as you get to doubt to everything you're reading, to know that it was real and not. Since the book is told in first person by Flora is difficult knowing exactly if you are reading something that is real or something that is simply in her head, that has been somewhat confusing but gives it a touch of suspense and intrigue that I have enjoyed. Also the way she talks and expresses herself is so innocent and simple, she goes straight to the point. She's so honest, it's so sweet and weird to see this attitude in a 17 year old girl but then you realize she still has 10 in her mind so it's something to keep in mind

There are several situations that may seem improbable or maybe they are things that would never happen in real life I understand that this is a factor that annoys people and yes, I have seen it, although it hasn't been a big deal for me

The secondary characters are so peculiar, they all have their personalities and take life as they think it's better even if itsn't always the right way. I love Jacob, he's Flora's older brother and his personal story has touched my heart, the way he supports to his sister is beautiful and I like to read about it, I enjoyed Paige as well, she's Flora's best friend , she seems somewhat rude at first but then ends up being so important in Flora's life and despite all shows that friendship can against everything


We don't have the best parents here, but it's interesting to see how Flora's parents have handled this situation, obviously itsn't easy to have a daughter with this disease, and although I don't share her decisions I can see why they do it , and I think the mother, above all, is a very unstable woman so I don't think she knows exactly what she's doing, everyone will have their point of view about it I'm sure of that


I really love this book, I recommend it if you are looking for a different story, original, with very hard plot twists and revelation that will leave you in shock, I remind you that I think itsn't for everyone, is a book that touches a very delicate subject, a disease that I honestly don't know much about and it will be hard and crude but personally it has worked for me, it has left me amazed and it has been a roller coaster of emotions, I've been happy, then sad, then I've had hope and then I've been so angry, a great experience thats for sure

Unique story ! Ithink my teen students will enjoy it. I will be suggesting it as a good read.

What would you do if you couldn’t remember what you did yesterday? Or the past few week? Or the past few years? You wake up and remember yourself as you were ten years ago. What would you do?

Flora is staying brave! Flora is vivid, life-loving and shy, but also determined person. Even though she can’t always trust her memory, she will do anything to get where she wants to be. I loved the “Flora, stay brave” tattoo, maybe it’s even something all of us should have to remind ourselves to take all the chances the life throws in our way?

I gave it full 5 stars after reading it in one sitting. After few days of constantly thinking: “Was it really that flawless?” I had to change it to 4 stars. Why?

A lot of people commented on repetitiveness in the story. And that is true. Flora loses all of her short-term memories every few hours, therefore we go through a vicious circle of reading the same bits of information over and over again. But I actually enjoyed it! It was a little bit annoying, but then it got to the point where I just got used to it. Besides, it was an incredible way of putting us into the Flora’s head and understand what she went through every single day of her life.

Might be a surprise for some of you, but I didn’t like Flora that much. Not her personality, but more how everything she did was categorized as “brave and incredible”, when some things were just plain crazy and obsessive. I think this is the only remark I have to make.

Would still recommend to anyone seeking for new contemporaries to pick up this summer!

THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS by Emily Barr is her first novel for young adults and it is one that I have been thinking about quite a bit. Seventeen year-old Flora has Anterograde Amnesia which means she can remember events until she was 10 years old when a head trauma occurred, but more recent happenings quickly fade from her memory. As a result, she has become adept at writing notes to herself – on Post-its and her hands and arms. She writes MANY of them when her older brother, Jacob, becomes ill and her parents travel to Paris to be with him.

They had agreed that Paige, a lifelong friend of Flora's, would watch over her in their absence. In their grief over a serious illness what the parents don't realize, however, is that Paige and Flora are no longer friends. Flora is on her own even though the townsfolk in Penzance (United Kingdom) where she lives near the sea know and accept her. Flora finds the strength to "be brave" due to an amazing new memory that does "stick:" being kissed by a boy on the beach. She clearly struggles with the ideas of independence and coming of age in a unique way and author Barr convincingly repeats parts of the story so that the reader senses Flora's disability and frustration.

I liked Flora, especially her moments of introspection: "probably told me a million times already. I must be annoying to live with" and adaptation: "I write a long message to my future self about where I am going and why and what I need to do when I get there." Still, I think the necessary repetition in the story will be off-putting for some less patient and thoughtful students. THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS received a starred review from Booklist.

The One Memory of Flora Banks is the kind of book that will keep you hooked. This story is about a girl who is unable to create new memories and travels to Norway in hopes of restoring her memory. I loved the suspense that comes along with the unreliable narrator and the bond between Flora and her brother. I absolutely recommend this book!

This book has a concept that drew me in right from the beginning. Flora Banks is a girl with amnesia who is unable to create new memories for herself. She has to remind herself who she is and what she’s doing every few hours. However, after kissing her best friend’s boyfriend, she is able to retain that memory, so she secretly follows him to Norway where he is studying. As Flora frequently forgets her identity, she has to give herself reminders often, which took a bit of getting used to. Getting a recap on everything Flora knows about her life does get a bit old. Nevertheless, the content of the book is still amazing, and there are some epic plot twists.

Because of Flora’s amnesia, she is a very unreliable narrator. I love the suspense that comes along with these types of narrators, so I really enjoyed Flora’s character. She is also so determined to find Drake and hopefully remember more about herself, which I admired. I really sympathized with Flora because of her inability to make memories, but also because others know more about her than she does. I can’t imagine a life that resets every day, but Flora is good at enduring that and staying strong. Her personal motto is “Be brave,” and she definitely abides by it during her adventures.

Another aspect of the book that I adored is the bond between Flora’s brother, Jacob, and herself. Jacob is the ideal brother. He is living in another country, but is still so supportive. He is patient with Flora when she forgets who she is and is protective of her despite being severely ill himself. I can’t say much else about Jacob’s efforts to help Flora for fear of spoilers, but prepare yourselves for a super emotional ending.

The One Memory of Flora Banks is a story about a girl with amnesia. The main character is brave and creates so much suspense. I loved the strong relationship between Flora and her brother, as well. This is such an incredible novel that I would definitely recommend, even if it is a bit of a tear-jerker.

Flora Banks doesn't remember what happened this morning, or yesterday evening, or the day before. Flora has no short term memory meaning she hasn't formed new memories in years. Then one night her best friend's boyfriend, Drake, kisses her and she remembers it. Flora remembers everything about their encounter and she wants to relive it but Drake has literally moved to the end of the Earth (or at least the arctic). Flora knows that she needs to find Drake because he may just be able to fix her brain. Flora must screw up her courage to follow the boy who may save her to the end of the world. Will Flora find love on her journey or will she find herself?

This book hooked my from page one and just didn't let go! Banks' nailed the Flora's narration, it is repetitive and slightly confusion but that's Flora's confused and convoluted brain. However, this narration may not be perfect for someone looking for an easy breezy teen love story. This book can be confusing and hard to follow but it all makes sense because this is just Flora's mental floundering. My former psych major self found something charming and wonderfully refreshing about Flora. She is simple and lives her life by very basic terms because she is forever stuck in a version of her younger self. All of her mental gymnastics made perfect sense to someone who spent years of their life studying the human brain. I happily followed Flora on her journey in search for Drake which turned out to actually be a journey of self discovery. "The One Memory of Flora Banks" could have easily felt like a boring retread of many of amnesia book however Barr is able to make a fresh original story with a wonderful main character for who the reader will root.

This sounded like a really great story but I had a hard time sticking with this book. The repetitive lines the character kept telling herself and crazy storyline turns had me jumping ahead just to finish it. If it was tidied up I think it would be more readable.

Very compelling story of Flora who has a type of amnesia /no short term memory. The method of telling the story is unique because details have to keep being repeated because Flora cannot remember them. A story about friendship, love, betrayal and self discovery and learning to live one's life to its fullest

A fresh read. Just slow moving and not for me. Full review on goodreads.

At moments I really liked this book, then I didn't like the book, then I liked it again. Flora Banks has no short term memory and she been dealing with this since she was 10 years old after she had a surgery on her brain. After she remembers kissing her best friends boyfriend, she starts to think maybe she can change. My issues with the story are not about Flora, I was drawn into her plight and challenges as a person suffering from amnesia. My issues are with her parents and her brother. As a parent, I didn't feel like Flora's parents were being parents and that drove me a little nuts. Overall, I enjoyed the story and I didn't feel like the repetition was distracting, instead it truly added to the understand of Flora's mental issues. Flora shows strength and courage, following her own tattooed advice to be BRAVE. Very creative book and again I really liked it, most of the time.

This just seemed to go in circles. It was very frustrating. I'm sure having the short-term amnesia is frustrating but the book didn't need to be written in a way that brought the same set of facts up over and over again.

I really enjoyed the film '50 First Dates' and thought this book might be something similar, except in this story, our heroine cannot retain a memory more than a few hours old and has to write everything down.
The story is slow to build and, because of Flora's condition, repetitive, but it works. I cannot begin to imagine becoming aware of a lack of information, of having to relive traumatic moments over and over again. An aunt of mine recently suffered a terrible accident when she was knocked over by a van and when she came to in the hospital, she was still concussed and her memory seemed to have been knocked to the point where she believed two of her daughters and her husband were still alive. How devastating to go through the loss again.
Flora, brave Flora, remembers nothing from the age of ten to the current time and we visit her in the book at the age of seventeen. Obviously there is some subconscious memory processing going on as she has a better command of the English language and computer skills than a ten-year old.
I eagerly followed Flora's journey out of her controlled environment into the unknown world, armed with a credit card, a single memory of a boy and a journal detailing everything she needs to know. She has, naively, convinced herself that the boy, the hero of her sole memory, is the key to releasing her mind, the genie that will open (sesame) it up for more memories to come and reside beside the single one.
But there is more going on in the story than this one journey and it isn't until we are at the last 10% of the book that all is revealed.
You will shed a tear for Flora, her brother, her father, her best friend and even her mother, but more than anything you'll be urging Flora to 'go', to wake up and get better.
This is a book of promise, of never giving up, of believing in yourself when all others doubt you. It is a story of bravery and fear, a story of second chances and overcoming disappointments, of making mistakes and struggling through. But, more than anything, it is a story of family and friendship.

I have conflicted feelings about this book, but it was fascinating to be in the mind of Flora, who has amnesia. I don't know the degree to its accuracy, but it was engaging. That Drake, though. :/