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Title: The Memory Hit
Author: Carla Spradbery
Narrator: Melody Grove
Format: Unabridged
Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
Language: English
Release date: 08-18-16
Publisher: Jammer Audio
Genres: Teens, Fiction & Literature
Publisher's Summary:
Nostalgex: a drug that stimulates memory. In small doses, a person can remember the order of a deck of cards. In larger doses it allows the user detailed access to their past, to focus on previously unnoticed details.
On New Year's Day, Jess' and Cooper's worlds collide. They must work together to look into their pasts to uncover what really happened on that fateful New Year's Eve. But what they find is that everything is a lie....
Critic Reviews:
"A pleasingly dark teen thriller with fun, fresh characters. Spradbery is a debut author to watch." (James Dawson)
Members Reviews:
Time moves in one direction, memory in another. - William Gibson
This YA thriller that takes place in the East End of London, England started out a bit disjointed for me, the middle was excellent, and then the ending came out of the blue. So, I enjoyed the middle parts and the characterization. I especially liked protagonist Jess (and that she had the guts to kick her abusive boyfriend to the curb).
I wish there had been more about the memory drug Nostalgex in the story. Rather than just talking about the dealers of the drug so much, I wish there had been more about the effects of the drug.
This is a fairly dark story so be forewarned; it's not a light feel-good story. Drug abuse, physical and emotional abuse are all part of the book.
It did keep me guessing right up to the very last page and that's a good thing to me. Did I enjoy the book? Yes and no - that's why the three star rating.
NOTE: I received this book from Hodder Children's Books through Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.
Some good and not so good
In The Memory Hit we see the dark side of being a teenager in England. Typical teenage issues are mixed in with more sinister topics, including murder and drug abuse. I did really like the mystery element and how Carla Spradbery kept us guessing as to who was orchestrating events.
The concept was good and fairly simple. Nostalgex is a popular drug which allows you to relive your memories, good or bad, in their full technicolored glory. Imagine the potential for good and bad with this! It's a memory so you cannot change events, but it does have the bonus of being able to provide answers to certain questions, or to help you remember loved ones.
I did find the pacing a little slow and a lot of the book was taken up with Jess worrying about her clearly abusive and undeserving ex-boyfriend Luke. With friends like Luke and Scarlet who needs enemies? Sam/Cooper was my favourite character and I kept trying to work out why Jess would ever have prefered Luke. A lot of the plot deals with back story , with the characters thinking about past events (hence the Nostalgex). Whilst I'm all for learning more about characters I did find it a little distracting having the other POVs apart from Jess and Sam.
In terms of genre, The Memory Hit is a YA mystery/suspense story. It is probably worth noting that it's quite dark and the characters are faced with traumatic events. If you're a fan of lighthearted and sweet HEAs this probably isn't the story for you. I actually liked the grit and depth. I don't mind darker issues in YA books, if they serve a point. I wanted to love this book and from the blurb I really thought I would.