I enjoyed the mystery of Gram's background and the way Olivia and Max banded together to help Lulu solve it. Lulu's family situation broke my heart and I just wanted to give her a big hug. I would have liked a little more of the family stuff resolved at the end but life is messy and the ending makes sense for the book. Good read.

This is such a great story of love and how a girl and her grandma never gave up hope. This is such a sweet story of how a young granddaughter can show her love just by listening. Must read!

Did I cry through a lot of this book? Yes, I did. It was such a beautiful story about a young girl with an exceptional memory. The juxtaposition between her struggle with having a mind that won't let her forgot anything and her grandmother's mind that seems to be losing everything. The love the two have for each other shines through this story.

An engaging middle grade mystery with good themes about family and interesting information about memory and the brain. Could engage young readers in learning more about their family history, though it overstated the simplicity of finding information online about one’s ancestors.

I received this ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I read this in January, and I'm not quite sure how the review didn't make it up here. Lulu has Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM), though she doesn't realize that's what is happening to her. Lulu's grandmother is the only one who has any understanding of what Lulu is experiencing, and yet she herself is losing her memory.

This book is a sweet story that many middle grade readers will enjoy. The relationship between Lulu and her grandmother is an admirable one, and Lulu's quest to help her grandmother is extremely relatable.

I wish I had read this book sooner as I love stories with a strong grandmotherly character. Lulu lives with her family which includes her grandma. She is very close with her grandma who begins to struggle with memory problems. This is something I am going through with my own mother currently, and I think it’s a great topic for MG readers. I thoroughly enjoyed this MG! Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster.

I never got to read this one. Maybe some day but I just never got to it. Sorry for requesting it. Sometimes life just gets in the way of being able to read all the books you think look interesting. I will never be able to finish my to read list.

This was absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking, and deep. I was hooked from the very first page and devoured every word. To read about how Lulu tried to protect her grandmother and collect her memories to help her continue to be independent really struck a chord with me. I've known a few people who have battled Alzheimers and to see it in this story just brought back all those same emotions that I have previously felt. The mystery that Lulu and her friends are trying to solve help in a way to keep bits of the story lighthearted but in the end the depth of this story moved me so much. The openings of each chapter were so informative and I was just absolutely amazed with how great this book was.

Lulu can remember everything that's ever happened to her. Her memory is perfect. Unfortunately, her grandmother is beginning to forget things. Lulu is covering for her because Gram is the one person Lulu knows she can rely on and she doesn't want her parents to put Gram into a nursing home. In covering for her Gram, Lulu uncovers a secret. Her Gram is from Russia, not France, which is the story her dad and she had been told. Why had Gram lied about this? Lulu's friends believe Gram might be a spy. Lulu isn't worried about Gram being a spy, she wants to find the bad memory that might help Gram get better if she just faces it. This is a wonderful story of love, family, friendship, and being there for people when they need it the most.

The Memory Keeper
by Jennifer Camiccia

Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing

Aladdin

Children’s Fiction

Pub Date 15 Oct 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Memory Keeper through Simon and Schuster’s Children’s Publication/Aladdin and Netgalley!

Lulu Carter is different from other girls her age she has a rare condition called HSAM which means she remembers most all the details of her life, but it does not bring her popularity in school and her parents are off in their own world so she doesn’t get much recognition from them.

Gram is the only one who knows about Lulu’s Memory and loves her all the more for it. Gram has started to become absentminded and the more lost she gets the more she finds herself depending on Lulu…But Lulu soon realizes that her HSAM may be the key to helping her Gram. Once Lulu learns that trauma can cause amnesia, all she needs to do to cure Gram is hunt down that one painful moment in Gram’s life.

Olivia digs into her Gram’s mysterious past. But they soon begin to realize that some secrets need to stay buried. Lulu starts to wonder if she ever truly knew her Gram. It’s up to Lulu to uncover the truth before the only person who truly sees her slips away.

I give The Memory Keeper five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

I think the combination of issues in this book are handled well and the characters are well represented. The mystery is both romantic and traumatic.

The Memory Keeper is a wonderful novel about a young girl with an incredible memory. Lulu, the main character, is dealing with a grandmother who is battling Alzheimer's as well as parents who seem to have forgotten about her. As an adult reading this book, I struggled with the parents' treatment of Lulu and her brother. It definitely bordered on neglectful. However, the rest of the book was wonderful. The intrigue as Lulu and her friends try to uncover the truth about Lulu's grandmother's past kept me turning pages and trying to figure out what was really going on. I highly recommend this book for any elementary school library, and I will certainly purchase a copy for my school library when it becomes available. I anticipate it will be a popular one to check out. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Very sweet story of a girl and her grandmother. Lulu remembers everything while her grandmother is beginning to forget things. Interwoven brilliantly in this story is information about the brain and how it works. Very clever! This book will make an awesome addition to a classroom library.

The Memory Keeper has a mysterious quality that kept me curious and reading to find out the secrets right up until the very end. The contrast between the memory conditions the granddaughter and grandmother experience balance rather nicely, to help the reader get a picture of their circumstances. The friendships of the children, as well as the friendships between the elderly, were written realistically and in an interesting way.