Review: The Memory Book

The Memory Book by Lara Avery
Grade: C-
Release date: July 5, 2016
An ARC was provided by Poppy in exchange for review consideration.
Summary: Sammie was always a girl with a plan: graduate at the top of her class and get out of her small town as soon as humanly possible. Nothing will stand in her way--not even a rare genetic disorder the doctors say will slowly start to steal her memories and then her health. What she needs is a new plan.

So the Memory Book is born: Sammie's notes to her future self, a document of moments great and small. It's where she'll record every perfect detail of her first date with longtime crush, Stuart--a brilliant young writer who is home for the summer. And where she'll admit how much she's missed her childhood best friend, Cooper, and even take some of the blame for the fight that ended their friendship.

Through a mix of heartfelt journal entries, mementos, and guest posts from friends and family, readers will fall in love with Sammie, a brave and remarkable girl who learns to live and love life fully, even though it's not the life she planned. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: If you've been following my blog for about a year now, you'll know I read and reviewed Lara Avery's debut, A Million Miles Away, and I quite enjoyed it! Unfortunately, my feelings for The Memory Book were not the same.
I felt bad for Sammie, I really did. But the first part of her story was quite boring and felt rather typical, and I didn't connect to really any of it. Her relationship with Stuart lacked the depth I wanted, and there was relationship drama, the kind that I'm sick of reading in books. 
I think the latter third of the book, once her memory problems really start to kick in, was done realistically but I'm not sure prose was the right medium. The short scenes would almost be better suited to a movie. Sammie's friendship with Maddie was realistic and it went through appropriate ups-and-downs.
There's a fair amount of casual underage drinking and foul language.

The Verdict: If you like illness books, you'll probably like The Memory Book. Otherwise, I'd pass on this one.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble

Will I be adding this book to my library?: No.