An original and interesting read that had great characters

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

A delightful book! Original, captivating, and although it is rather sad, it is also wonderful.

It is a shame that NetGalley requires longer reviews, sometimes short and sweet is better for the reader!

After reading The Sleeper, I was intrigued by another book by this author and I was not disappointed.

Flora has amnesia and one day she actually remembers something! Twists and turns ensue to make this a cracking little read!
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an arc in exchange for my honest review

This book was quite simply not for me. I can appreciate why many people would like it but I found it lacking on too many levels.

Anterograde amnesia and she just remembers a kiss? I know it sounds super cliché but, as a psychology student, I was really excited for this book. Unfortunately, it was not for me. I didn't liked the writing style nor the pacing of the story.

I have such a backlog of galleys that I want to get to, but I feel such pressure to read all the new releases first! This was one that had interested me for a while but unfortunately it fell just a bit flat in the end. At times this was quite difficult to read because of the nature of Flora's memories (or lack of); I found it jarring to never really know what was true and what wasn't. Most of the time while reading I could guess what was going to happen next but I have to say I was genuinely surprised by some of the twists at the end which was impressive. The pacing of the story was mostly good, but I do think too much time was spent abroad and more of a buildup could have been created towards her time after. I did initially think that the whole premise revolving around Flora holding onto a kiss with a boy was a bit childish, but Barr did exceed my expectations with the whole overall story.

I'm really sorry but i just did not get on with this book at all. The main character and her friends and relatives all just annoyed me. They all seemed to do such daft things that made no sense just so the protagonist could end up doing what she did. This was a waste of my reading time.

Great idea for a book and really well executed. A thoroughly good read. Highly recommended. .

Wow this book was special. Flora Banks was such a unique character, I feel like she’ll be sticking with me for a while. I really liked that the writing style reflected her memory loss so you never felt like you could completely believe what was going on. Also the discovery about her family and her past was beautifully told.

The first thing I will say is that this book got a little out of hand at first; undoubtedly throughout the reading it reached a point where, although I knew from reviews and from a synopsis of what the plot was more or less, I still felt a little out of place with how things were developing.

We know one thing about Flora, and it is something that she has to learn from herself from time to time: She can't remember. Yes, the facts of his childhood are still in his mind, but his long-term memory is damaged, due to an accident at ten years old, and the reminders written throughout his body, in his room and at home. they are the only thing that makes her feel safe and help her understand who she is every time she has those episodes of amnesia.

And if Flora can't retain new information ... why is there an image that doesn't come out of her head? It comes and goes, and it does not stop invading her senses, if so, why the image of a boy kissing her, the rocks and those eyes that watched her haunt her? It is complicated, since that boy is Page's boyfriend, his best friend, and Flora knows it well, Drake went away, to study in a cold place, full of snow.

Drake is the love of her life, they are in love, she must find him.

I will release it at once. This may seem repetitive to some people. The fact that every time your mind restarts we must read the same thing over and over again is a bit tedious, but you have to highlight something, that makes you feel that we are there, it is really a beautiful story, the way we it is written makes us really wrap ourselves, and makes us feel that we are in the mind of Flora, and that although her brain tricks her she does not give up. We read the same thing over and over, but also little by little we began to feel empathy for her, because for Flora that is her day to day.

The only memory of Flora tells us about hope, about going for something we know to be ours, for something we long for, even facing our greatest fears, leaving everything behind. This is not a love story, this is the personal journey of a girl who wants to break free from her bondages and enjoy her life, and I rather see the context of the story as a metaphor where the impulse is not the love one has for another person, but by oneself.

I really couldn’t get into this book, like other reviews I’ve seen the writing style is difficult to get into. Not a book I’d recommend unfortunately. Even though I thought I would enjoy it.

The one memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr.
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHO TO TRUST WHEN YOU CAN'T EVEN TRUST YOURSELF?
I look at my hands. One of them says FLORA BE BRAVE.
Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn't, and the next day she remembers it. It's the first time she's remembered anything since she was ten.
But the boy is gone. She thinks he's moved to the Arctic.
Will following him be the key to unlocking her memory? Who can she trust?
A good read. Likeable story. I liked the cover. 4*.

I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this book on NetGalley and I was certainly intrigued by it. I love books that feature characters with challenges that I can’t imagine and Flora Banks certainly fits that bill.

Since she was ten, seventeen-year-old Flora can’t form new memories. To combat this, she writes down everything that she needs to know about her life and the situations she is put in. Her best friend Paige has always been there for her but at Paige’s boyfriend Drake’s going away party, Flora commits the ultimate betrayal by kissing him -and remembering it! Desperately holding onto this one memory, Flora follows Drake to Svalbard, Norway with the belief that she’s in love with him. With nothing but the words “Flora, be brave” written on her hand, she is about to embark on a huge physical and emotional adventure all on her own.

Due to the nature of Flora’s condition, there is a lot of repetition within the text. We are constantly being told facts over and over again, as Flora is relearning them, which can be jarring at times. However, it is very effective in helping the reader get an idea of what it’s like to be around someone like Flora. I found her confusion endearing and it was very easy to empathise with her.

In her head, Flora is ten years old. She has to remind herself of her age and it’s easy for the reader to forget too. She has a childish quality that means she reads like a pre-teen rather than a typical YA narrator. Her actions and the way she talks about Drake appear immature but it’s an accurate reflection of her headspace rather than bad character writing.

There is also a family drama at the centre of the book. This slowly starts to unravel in the second half and I was horrified at its conclusion. As Flora makes the physical journey from Penzance to Svalbard, she also unknowingly goes on a spiritual journey to discover the truth about herself and her family. In the final chapters, I was willing her to get away from her home and grow into the brave intelligent girl she is.

The love and admiration she has for her brother Jacob, who has moved away, is what spurs Flora to spread her wings and find herself. While his life is beautiful and free, it is also tinged with tragedy. Jacob’s story actually really hit home for me. Although Flora’s life is so different to mine, her brother’s relationship with his family is exceptionally relatable.

There were multiple twists towards the end of the book. Some of them I saw coming and others I didn’t. It’s fairly common for books to reveal everything at once but I appreciated that this one kept uncovering the truth slowly. Right until the end, I was still guessing the whole truth. It had a similar tone to Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon, so if you like that kind of emotional, mysterious YA story, The One Memory of Flora Banks is definitely one for you.

DNF; felt very reminiscent of every "memory loss story solved by love" I've ever seen/read. 50 First Dates, Before I Go to Sleep, etc.

It was a good book, great writing style and a quick read. It just wasn't fully for me unfortunately.

I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

Flora goes to the Artic to solve a mystery but she can't remember anything. This is the first of this author's YA novels and very strong. She has created a memorable character in Flora and the plot defies easy categorisation.

What’s it About? Flora has anterograde amnesia. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her, how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn't, and the next day she remembers it. It's the first time she's remembered anything since she was ten.
But the boy is gone. She thinks he's moved to the Arctic.
Will following him be the key to unlocking her memory? Who can she trust?
What I liked I flew through this book – I think I read it in a day – which is always a good sign. It’s a clever twist on the Never Been Kissed trope, which, I love that movie, and a really interesting look at amnesia. There are excellent plot twists and Flora is lovely and her friendship with her bestie Paige warmed my heart and there were parts in the Artic which were lots of fun.
What I liked Less I wasn’t much of fan of the fact that the one thing she remember is kissing a boy, like kissing a boy has started to fix her. Yak. And that whole romance story dod not do it for me anyway which is a shame since that’ what the book was about. Whoops. Also – so much repetition, obviously, but still it was a lot and a lot of it felt massively unrealistic to me.

One of the most fascinating books I’ve read in a long time. Reminded me a little of a YA version of Before I Go To Sleep.

I’ve had The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr on my Kindle for what seems like forever, thanks to Netgalley and it’s “Read Now for X amount of readers” emails. I must try to resist them more. In order to make myself finally read it, I borrowed a copy from the library. The One Memory of Flora Banks tells the story of Flora, a teenage girl with a form of amnesia following an accident as a child. She can only remember her life before the accident; anything new is forgotten. At a party, she kisses a boy, and she is surprised that she can remember it the next day. When he leaves town to study in a remote state in Alaska, she follows him there (yes, really), determined to be with the boy that she remembers. Will he make her remember other things, too? I have read plenty of reviews of The One Memory of Flora Banks over the years, and seeing as the reviews are so divisive, I went into it with low expectations. I am not sure what I was expecting, but oh boy I did not like this. One thing I realised from reading this book is that I need to be more ruthless and DNF books I do not enjoy, as I didn’t enjoy this one at all. I found it incredibly boring and repetitive, and I didn’t like any of the characters, including Flora. If anything, reading this book just made me want to listen to the music of a certain Canadian rapper. If you’ve read this book you’ll know what I mean. *wink* This book had the potential to do something different, with the amnesia aspect of the plot, but the final “twists” fell flat for me and overall I would not recommend this book.