The Memory Jar starts out shortly after a serious snow mobile accident in which Scott suffered a traumatic brain injury and is in a coma. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Taylor, his girlfriend, who was also injured and can't remember any details of the accident.
We get a "then" and "now" perspective. "Then" being the accident and the events leading up to it. And the "now" is dealing with the consequences, trying to remember, and making some serious decisions.
In a nutshell: Taylor is pregnant, she told Scott and he didn't respond as she had hoped, she decides to break up with him, and then he asks her to marry him. The accident happens right after this.
The details are slowly revealed, and there are additional nuances and people that add to the story. In particular, Scott's brother, Taylor's best friend, and someone named Kendall who I won't say anything more about are important characters.
The Memory Jar is a very quick read, but even so, I felt it to be very slow moving and a bit repetitive. This is certainly a very dramatic and stressful situation, and Hoole does a good job depicting this aspect, but when you look back on the story it just seems like not much happened and what did happen was fairly predictable.
However, teens who can't get enough of these stories of angst will certainly be attracted to The Memory Jar. While it's not a story that will stick with me, I would recommend it to reluctant readers.
Published by Flux, April 8, 2016
ARC obtained from School Library Connection
321 pages
Rating: 3/5
I ordered this one for my library because it gave me a "If I Stay" vibe to it and I can't keep Forman's books on my shelf. Definitely sounds like a tearjerker.
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