The Memory Thief

by Lauren Mansy

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Pub Date Oct 01 2019 | Archive Date Jan 28 2020

Teens & YA

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Description

This thrilling YA fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Etta Lark as she navigates the underworld of Craewick to pull off the heist of a lifetime. A YALSA (The Young Adult Library Services Association) Teens' Top Ten Book for 2020, Mansy crafts a grim reality where memories are worth their weight in gold.

In the city of Craewick, memories reign.

The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.

Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but she grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city's asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a "criminal's" memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.

To rescue her mother, Etta must prove her allegiance to the Shadows by stealing a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. Etta faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past as she uncovers a conspiracy that challenges everything she knew about herself and the world around her.

In a place where nothing is what it seems, can Etta ever become more than a memory thief?

Perfect for fans of high-stakemagical heists such as:

Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows)
Victoria Aveyard (Red Queen)
Roshani Chokshi (The Gilded Wolves)

"Mansy's debut will delight fantasy readers who revel in fully developed settings and unusual powers."- Booklist

"A welcome addition to the YA fantasy canon, The Memory Thief is a suspenseful page-turner, delightfully chock full of unexpected twists and turns."- Shelf Awareness

This thrilling YA fantasy debut follows seventeen-year-old Etta Lark as she navigates the underworld of Craewick to pull off the heist of a lifetime. A YALSA (The Young Adult Library Services...

Advance Praise

“A compelling, darkly fantastic tale … Though Mansy builds an expansive fantasy world all her own, her tale uses dystopian motifs to great success, such as the corrosive effects of an overabundance of power falling into the wrong hands and her stern commentary on the divide between the haves and have-nots. Readers, like Etta and her fellow citizens, will be challenged to contemplate the nature of truth, considering the unique role that memories play in the Realms. Mansy also delivers a fine romance, made all the more gratifying by the difficulties sustained along the way. A welcome addition to the YA fantasy canon, The Memory Thief is a suspenseful page-turner, delightfully chock full of unexpected twists and turns.” --Shelf Awareness

“A thought-provoking and unique YA fantasy, THE MEMORY THIEF is a engrossing and lovely story. Twists and turns keep the reader guessing as they follow Etta on her physical and mental journey.” --YA and Kids Book Central

“As evidenced by "The Memory Thief", author Lauren Mansy has a genuine talent for narrative storytelling and an authentic flair for originality. A riveting great read with more plot twists and turns than a Disney Land roller coaster, "The Memory Thief" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly popular addition to school and community library YA Fiction & Fantasy Fiction collections.” --Midwest Book Review