If you could rid yourself of painful memories, would you? What would we be without our pain? These were some questions explored in Remember Me.

I must confess, I had no idea what this book was about before I read it. I picked it up based on the author and cover without reading the synopsis. Early on, I realized it was NOT a contemporary since the story takes place in the near future. Then when all the memory stuff was introduced, I realized this was sci-fi. I don’t tend to read much sci-fi, however, aside from the mind manipulation, this read like a contemporary, and therefore, was successful for me. I have seen many compare this to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and that pretty much fits.

I was quite taken with the premise. What would we be without our pain? That was a very thought provoking idea for me, and I enjoyed exploring it via Blue’s experience. The story unfurled in such a way, that I was eager to get to know more, dig more. I felt as disorientated as Blue in the beginning, and obviously, I came up with my own explanations. I was 100% WRONG! and was quite surprised by what had happened, and after that surprise, there was an even bigger surprise (at least for me).

Laure did a fantastic job with the build of this story. There was confusion and tension. It was also emotional for me, and I appreciated the way it all came together at one point.

So, would we be better off with or without our pain? I don’t know, but I really enjoyed this interesting exploration of grief and loss. I found myself bawling a few times, and was quite moved by this tale of grief, loss, and moving forward.

Remember Me is a tale that starts the day before Blue’s birthday. She wakes up with bottles of orange juice in her backpack, feeling slightly off the whole day. She doesn’t understand why, but she does have a strange note that says to meet on a little blue bus tomorrow. When she does, she meets a boy, and the gaps in her memory unfold.

But why would she decide to give up her memories in the first place?

Plot wise, not much happens throughout the book. Half of it takes place in the past as she slowly remembers what happened. But just because this book doesn’t have a grand adventure, doesn’t mean it doesn’t still hit you like a truck with feelings. I figured out what happened before the book said it, and it still got to me.

The characters felt real. I loved that one of them is non-binary. Turtle, Jack, and Blue are great. But I also felt like there could've been more development in other characters. In the last chapter, a few characters' actions confused me because I thought they'd act a different way. I expected there to be something more going on to develop. I also felt that way with the flashbacks. There are *many* flashbacks back-to-back that present time doesn't move forward, and I wanted that to develop more.

Overall though, I did enjoy the story and its message.

This book's description did appeal to me but when I started reading I began to realize this was not the book for me. It felt very slow paced and uneventful. I did like Estelle's other work but it was a bit more fast paced for me. Maybe this is because I haven't been reading many books in this genre or because it was a fairly quick read. Unfortunately after finishing this book I just was not too impressed with the book.

Things in Blue’s life are off, and she can’t pinpoint exactly what is wrong. But when she finds a picture and a note hidden in her closet, she follows the note to see where it leads. Enter Adam. He’s incredibly charming, and they have an instant attraction. But he’s having a hard time with all of this. Why would Blue have gone through having her memories altered? He remembers everything.

I’m perplexed that people would request to review this before release day and then argue ethics when the blurb tells you what to expect. Of course it isn’t ethical, but it’s a dystopian-esque book set into the future, and you know what you’re getting into.

Remember Me is very much reminiscent of Alexander Pope’s Eloisa to Abelard, and subsequently, the movie made in its honor. After reading the blurb and having read another of Laure’s works, I expected to enjoy this. But for me, I didn’t love Blue. I can deal with unlikeable characters, but it wasn’t that Blue was unlikable. She was supposed to be feeling emotions, but we, as the reader, didn’t feel those emotions. She lacked depth and character. I loathe a decision her mother made, which made her absolute garbage. Some things in life are unforgivable, and I don’t think I would be so quick to forgive. Because of the lack of depth, I think this wasn’t wholly the right fit for me. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along.

I enjoyed the way this book explored the question of whether it would be a good thing to be able to erase bad memories. It was very engaging, and I cared about the characters. I think it'll appeal to many readers who are interested in unexpected outcomes of emerging technologies and who have wondered why people have to deal with grief or pain. I'll definitely be recommending it.

This new book from author Estelle Laure is the perfect mix of romance and grief. Blue wakes up one day and knows something is wrong. Her family and friends are acting weird, some photographs are suspiciously missing, and there is a room in her own home she doesn't recognize. When Blue "meets" Adam, she knows she must do what ever she can to remember him and the other mysteries from her past.

Wow I liked this book a lot more than I expected. The primary reason I picked this up was because of the similarities between it and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, so it was inevitable that I would compare the two, but I can safely say they are both great in their own regards. I was in awe of how this story dealt with grief in such an honest way. It really makes you question whether its better to live with the pain or forget all the beautiful memories. The relationship between Blue and Adam, while not my biggest takeaway from the book, was both adorable and real.

The main thing preventing me from giving this 5 stars was the organization. This book begins with Blue waking up without her memories, and halfway through switches to over 200 pages (in e-book format) of memories. I would have preferred them to be mixed together more because the big chunk of memories exhausted me in some points. I also felt like the mystery was figured out a little too quickly, but ultimately that was not the most important part of the book.

I still highly recommend anyone who is interested should pick this up. It is set to be published on March 22nd, 2022.

This is the first book I have read by this author, and I truly enjoyed it. This story grabbed me from the beginning and did not let go.

Really enjoyed reading this book. It sucks you right in from the beginning and you want to keep reading to find out everything. Would've loved to read more about Turtle and Adam but I still enjoyed reading about all these characters.

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I love the characters in this story. I love the friendships and the love interest is just the sweetest. Estelle Laure has me really thinking about the future and if I would want to forget but most importantly "Do I want to remember?".

This book was honestly just super messy to me. I had a hard time with the writing, and especially with the dialogue. I felt that one of the reveals was given way too early, and it wasn’t as big of a Ah-Ha as I was expecting, but really by the time I got to the bigger reveal, I didn’t understand what the point of anything that happened was. I also didn’t feel the chemistry between the main two. While I do think there’s some moments that leaned toward good commentary on grief in this book, it didn’t hit the mark for me. I haven’t watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but it sounds like a great movie, so I will hold out hope for that.

This just didn’t end up being a book that interested me. When I first read the premise, I was very excited and invested, but getting into it made it clear that it just wasn’t for me. Hopefully it works for others out there!

I rated this book 4 stars, but only because I wasn't a fan of the writing at times. The story was great, and it left me pondering a lot about the choices in our lives and what every moment means to us. I will definitely be recommending this to my friends. I loved it.

(slight spoilers)

The concept was perfect for me because I've always thought about how much happier I would be if I could erase all my painful memories, This book beautifully describes how each and every one of our memories shapes who we are as a person, and we shouldn't try to change that. Forgetting our past is forgetting a part of ourselves.

Another thing I loved about this book was the plot twist! I can usually see plot twists coming, but this one caught me completely off guard and I gasped out loud! The author also managed to dive deeper behind the plot twist so that our hearts ached along with Blue and understood her choice.

Overall a great book!

This was an easy read but it really grabbed you by the heartstrings and never let go. The characters in this book were so realistic that I felt like I was really running into them not some fictional characters from someone's head. The book starts out with our main character Blue waking up. Things are normal or are they? Blue keeps getting a strange feeling that something isn't right and she is forgetting something, the only problem is no one will tell her what is going on. It isn't long before she finds a strange note with a meeting time that she has no memory of writing. That is when the book really takes off and Blue decides she must find out for herself what is really missing and why no one is telling her about it in the first place. This wasn't like any book I've ever read before. This love story will turn even the most die hard cynic into a fan. The subject was very fascinating and it really makes you think if you could erase someone from your life if you would really do it? Aren't some memories worth keeping even if they are painful? And what happens when the memories that you were trying to erase keep coming back? Does that mean it's meant to be? I loved the author's take on this. Another thing I really enjoyed was how well written the story was. This was a YA novel, which I love, and I found the characters really easy to relate to, they all felt super familiar like people I deal with in the real world. Great read I can't wait till this book is released so I can read it again and recommend it to all of my friends. My favourite part of this book was that all of the twists that the author threw at us took me completely by surprise and I never saw them coming. I can usually tell a little bit but this one had a huge shock factor to it.

→ 5 stars
★ ★ ★ ★ ★

tw: death, grief, mental illness, su*cide mention

i have SO many feelings about this book that i won’t be able to express them all in this review, but here we go.

immediately i was intrigued by the plot, which unique and genuinely thought provoking! if i could choose to remove painful memories, would i?? the synopsis of the book gives away the first part of the story, and since you know what happened before Blue does, it was interesting to see how she finds out for herself. the second part of the book is Blue reliving her memories through flashbacks in her head to retrieve them. i really enjoyed the way this part of the story was laid out and how everything slowly fell into place.

i think the characters of this story were SO well written, and i really liked the inclusion of a non-binary main character. Turtle, Jack, and Blue’s friendship was definitely one of my favorite parts of this book (also LOVED Dr. Sweet). and obviously another favorite part of mine was Adam and Blue’s relationship. getting to see them fall and in love was so sweet, seeing the trauma they each went through and how it effected their relationship was heartbreaking.

the ending was honestly pretty satisfying. Blue is dealing with her trauma in a normal way, her and Adam have reconnected, and finally her mother. I really enjoyed the open ending aspect. overall this was an amazing and emotional book that i totally recommend.

I really enjoyed this story. It was one of those stories where everything ties together at the end where you close the book and just say "Wow."

The characters were really well developed and everything flowed well. This is the first time I have read something by Laure and I'm for sure looking for more in the future.

"Wouldn't you like to forget every bad thing that ever happened to you?"

An opening line that pulled me in and kept me wondering what Blue was trying to forget. As I joined her on her journey to discovery, I found myself emotionally invested in her choices, her past, and her future. This book was an emotional rollercoaster that made me feel for Blue. It also made me reflect on my own life to realize that all of the things that have happened, led me to where I am today.

In a side note, I loved how diverse and inclusive the characters in this book were. Although intense at times, I think this would be a great book for an older teen to read.

This did not live up to the hype at all. Grief is not easy to handle. Being presented with the ability to forgo experiencing it by erasing the memory causing the grief may sound appealing. But unintended consequences will occur. Sounds like a good story, right? But this is slow to start, way too over the top with contrived plot twists, and very unsatisfying.

This books description seemed quite similar to “The Program” series which I enjoyed so I knew I would enjoy this book and nevertheless I was correct! This book was captivating and well paced, I could not put it down.

Book synopsis in a one or two sentences:
Blue realizes she has asked for some painful memories to be erased. She realized that she made a mistake and tries to convince the doctors to retrieve those missing memories.

My Thoughts:
I did not enjoy this book at all. The premise of the book was intriguing but it was poorly executed. I wanted more character growth, especially in Blue, who suffered a pretty traumatic experience that she wanted to forget. For a large portion of the book, Blue was recovering her memories and it didn't allow for her to process the trauma in a meaningful way. Nor did she really learn anything from her experience. Also the idea of just being able to go to a doctor and have things wiped from your memory does not seem like a good way to treat mental health concerns. There is one thing I liked about this book, I loved that the author included a non-binary side character. That's about all I liked, unfortunately.

Have you ever wanted to erase your memory no matter the consequence? Well, this is what we find out what happens to one of our characters. I will be honest as I started the book, I was starting to think, uh, this may not be the book for me. I was starting to lose interest, but thank goodness I kept reading. I started to become invested with our character Blue. It all starts with a note about a little blue bus at 7:45, but what does it mean exactly? Why does she need to drink all this orange juice? As our story unfolds, we get further involved with Blue and what is going on inside her mind. We see why Blue wanted her memories gone, but we can not just run away from difficult things at the end of the day. We have to face what is given to us even if, in the end, it is something horrible. There is talk of suicide and death, so please be warned on that as I know some people get trigger easily. But, I can say I enjoyed watching Blue recover over time and come to terms with her life. I loved her grandmother and how willing she was to protect Blue and take her side when things went down.