Friday 27 June 2014

Amber by Julie Sykes (Young Adult, 10E/10E)

September 2013, Curious Fox, 304 pages, Paperback, Review copy   
 
Themes: telepathy, telekinesis, amnesia, regaining memories, feeling alone, feeling like an outsider, sense of belonging, summer school, being musical, having fun, feeling content

Content: lots of tension, some moderate to mild tension, some humour, happiness, tissues needed
  
Summary from Curious Fox
How do you live by the rules if you don’t know what they are? Amber has lost her memory and the only clues to her identity are a mobile phone in her pocket and a beautiful amber necklace around her neck. This intriguing and surprising novel for teenage girls will have readers gasping with disbelief as the truth about Amber is revealed ...

Nayulseka's thoughts
I love this book!!! I truly love it. I kept expecting the story to get darker and gritty, but it didn't, which is a huge deal as I like lighter reads. I adore Amber, I've always wanted a story about memory loss but most end up as gritty (yes gritty YA has been on my mind due to Jim from YAYeahYeah talking about it at the time I wrote the review).

Her confusion was loud and clear, as were her delights when she experienced something for the first time that she could remember. Her experience with music was such a joy to read, possibly because of an unknown fact about me that I was musical as a child and a teen, but stopped due to health reasons. She gets completely submerged in the music, just like I do now with anime, including the musical based Pretty Rhythm Rainbow Live where characters show their feelings through music.

I loved Amber's journey of finding out who she was, and who she wasn't. The kidnapping event was mega scary, and provided Amber with much food for thought about how she should use her abilities. I enjoyed her getting to grips with them because her delight is clear and I'd love to be able to move things with my mind like tidying my room. The friendships she makes are touching, and made her final decision at the end of the book both easier and harder. I could feel how torn she was over certain issues, which any reader can relate to complex issues that we experience in real life. Discovering who she is is just the beginning, I'm desperate for a sequel to explore her home town and all the new sights and experiences which is pretty much all I can say without including spoilers. And for more of a story to be heard about her amber necklace.

Find out more on Julie's website.

Suggested read
For another memory related read check out Forget You by Jennifer Echols (Young Adult, 9/10E)

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