Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass: A Novel

This is my idea of what’s just about a perfect, well-rounded young-adult fantasy novel. Not only is the subject matter pitched perfectly for the YA market, but the tone and character voices are spot-on as well. I found the whole book as heartbreaking as I did philosophical in its ethical and logical musings.

You can definitely see the influences of fantasy writers like C.S. Lewis and Phillip Pullman simultaneously in this work, which is an interesting juxtaposition. Vera, the female protagonist, strongly believes in God in a world where everyone has a magical aptitude, while she has many friends who are either ambivalent or even outright non-believers. There are also (as there is always) outliers in Vera’s high school who practice decentralized religions like witchcraft.

You can’t help but feel a little bit gutted yourself as Vera and her friends lose more and more memories (if one can call what is happening something as succinct as “memories”) as the book moves on. You feel the harsh sting and emptiness they feel at not knowing what’s gone, but knowing that something is gone just the same. The world just doesn’t feel the same anymore.

Ultimately, when you reach toward the end of the book, Vera’s normally endearing hobby of solving logic puzzles for fun turns into a moral and ethical quandary as she tries to figure out how to undo whatever has been done.

What I love about the end of this book is that it doesn’t tie everything up in a bow. Author Anna Priemaza could’ve gone that way: she could’ve chosen to go the happily-ever-after route and chosen to have us readers not taught a lesson. But I’m so glad she took on the challenge to actually put her foot down and lay out the implications for everyone regarding their morals, ethics, and the results of the demands and choices they made just before the end of the book. The book doesn’t end unhappily, but it doesn’t end on a sweet note, either. It’s like dark chocolate: deep, some sweetness, some happiness, but those bitter notes lingering on the back of your tongue.

I’d like to thank ABRAMS Kids and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this title.