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The Melancholy of Untold History: A Novel
by Minsoo KangA beautifully crafted, enriching saga inspired by East Asian mythology, The Melancholy of Untold History is Minsoo Kang’s debut novel, steeped in history like R.F. Kuang’s Babel, epic in scope like Anthony Doerr’s Cloud Cuckoo Land, and lyrically exciting like David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, interweaving four complex yet entertaining stories as they shape and create a nation’s literary narrative through the themes of love and grief.A history professor mourning his wife. His young protégé’s search for a path forward. Four witty mountain gods with much to say and not enough time to listen. A gifted storyteller bringing a world into being out of thin air...Famous for his dispelling of the national myth, the Historian understands the power of narrative. He has inspired another young professor to search for her own truths, while trying to understand the way fiction creates fact and how sometimes the past can only be understood by filling in holes with a new narrative. Which is exactly what he needs when his wife passes away to parse meaning out of a world that no longer makes sense. Together the protégé and the Historian find comfort in each other. Yet they know their time together is fleeting, as time usually is. Only the gods have an abundance of time, and yet—the two discover—even that might not be so clear cut. Part of their homeland’s myth tells of four gods who squabbled and argued and destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Or did they?Because, of course, even the gods need mouthpieces on earth. And the one the Historian knows of—the elusive Storyteller—may have just been spinning tales for his own amusement and, ultimately, revenge. By fabricating the exploits of the gods, he could have set a course for certain events to unfold and a particular story to survive today. Spanning 3,000 years and multiple voices—with tales within tales woven expertly together—The Melancholy of Untold History reveals a people and its individuals who seek to confront the hardships of life through storytelling. Mixing the East Asian mythos with a postmodern approach to standard sci-fi/fantasy narrative tropes, Minsoo Kang has created a challenging, beautiful, sad, humorous, and ultimately unforgettable novel of love, grief, and myth-making.
The Melody
by Jim CraceFrom the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Harvest, Quarantine, and Being Dead, a tender new novel about music, lost love, and the way barely whispered fears and desires push their way into the light. Alfred Busi lives alone in his villa overlooking the waves, with only his trusted piano for company. Famed in his town for his music and songs, he is mourning the recent death of his wife and quietly living out his days--occasionally performing the classics in small venues, though never in the stadiums he could fill when in his prime. On the night before receiving his town's highest honour, Busi is wrested from his bed by noises in his courtyard, and then stunned by an attacking intruder. His hands and neck are scratched, and his face is bitten. Busi can't say what it was that he encountered, exactly, but he feels his assailant was neither man nor animal. The attack sets off a chain of events that will cast a shadow on Busi's career, imperil his home, and alter the fabric of his town. Busi's own account of what happened is embellished to fan the flames of old rumour--of an ancient race of people living in the surrounding forest--and to spark new controversy: something must finally be done about the town's poor, the feral vegabonds whose numbers have been growing. Meanwhile Busi, weathering a media storm, must come to terms with his wife's death and decide whether to sing one last time. The Melody is a story about grief and aging, about reputation and its loss, and the peculiar way myth seeps into real life. In trademark crystalline prose, Jim Crace portrays a man taking stock of his life and looking into an uncertain future, all while bearing witness to a community in the throes of great change--with echoes of today's most pressing social questions.
The Melting Queen (Nunatak First Fiction Series #48)
by Bruce CinnamonEvery year since 1904, when the ice breaks up on the North Saskatchewan River, Edmonton has crowned a Melting Queen—a woman who presides over the Melting Day spring carnival and who must keep the city’s spirits up over the following winter. But this year, something has changed: a genderfluid ex-frat brother called River Runson is named as Melting Queen. As River's reign upends the city's century-old traditions, Edmonton tears itself in two, with progressive and reactionary factions fighting a war for Edmonton's soul. Ultimately, River must uncover the hidden history of Melting Day, forcing Edmonton to confront the dark underbelly of its traditions and leading the city into a new chapter in its history. Balancing satire with compassion, Bruce Cinnamon’s debut novel combines history and magic to weave a splendid future-looking tale.
The Membranes: A Novel (Modern Chinese Literature from Taiwan)
by Ta-wei ChiIt is the late twenty-first century, and Momo is the most celebrated dermal care technician in all of T City. Humanity has migrated to domes at the bottom of the sea to escape devastating climate change. The world is dominated by powerful media conglomerates and runs on exploited cyborg labor. Momo prefers to keep to herself, and anyway she’s too busy for other relationships: her clients include some of the city’s best-known media personalities. But after meeting her estranged mother, she begins to explore her true identity, a journey that leads to questioning the bounds of gender, memory, self, and reality.First published in Taiwan in 1995, The Membranes is a classic of queer speculative fiction in Chinese. Chi Ta-wei weaves dystopian tropes—heirloom animals, radiation-proof combat drones, sinister surveillance technologies—into a sensitive portrait of one young woman’s quest for self-understanding. Predicting everything from fitness tracking to social media saturation, this visionary and sublime novel stands out for its queer and trans themes. The Membranes reveals the diversity and originality of contemporary speculative fiction in Chinese, exploring gender and sexuality, technological domination, and regimes of capital, all while applying an unflinching self-reflexivity to the reader’s own role. Ari Larissa Heinrich’s translation brings Chi’s hybrid punk sensibility to all readers interested in books that test the limits of where speculative fiction can go.
The Memo: A Novel
by Lauren Mechling Rachel Dodes"The perfect summer read: a novel both quick and funny." —Airmail “A total joyride of a novel. The Memo is a funny, fascinating exploration of love, friendship, ambition and what it truly means to live a good life. I loved it.”—J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Commencement, Maine, and Friends and StrangersIf you could rewrite your life story, would you dare? That’s the question at the heart of this funny, sharp and propulsive debut novel about love, life, and a woman finding herself and what it means to be happy and successful.Do you ever feel like your life doesn’t measure up to everyone else’s—and wonder if you just didn’t get the memo helping you make the right choices?Jenny Green dreads her upcoming college reunion. Once top of her class, the thirty-five-year-old finds herself stuck in a life that isn’t the one she expected. Her promising career has flamed out (literally) and her deadbeat boyfriend is cheating on her (again). All her friends seem to have it all figured it out, enjoying glittering lives and careers that she can only envy from the sidelines. Did she just not get the memo they all did?As it turns out, she didn’t!When she arrives at her alma mater for the festivities, she receives a text from an unlisted number.“Jenny Green: please collect your memo.”Somewhere on campus, a discreet female-led organization provides comprehensive memos to select students, a set of instructions that are a blueprint for success.The first time around, Jenny didn’t receive hers. Now, she’s being given the second chance she wants—an opportunity to relive her life and make all the right decisions this time around. But at what price?Smart, addictive, bittersweet, and ultimately triumphant, The Memo will enchant readers of In Five Years and Cassandra in Reverse as well as fans of Emma Straub and Maria Semple.
The Memoirs of Helen of Troy
by Amanda ElyotGossips began whispering about Princess Helen from the moment of her birth. A daughter of the royal house of Sparta, she was not truly the progeny of King Tyndareus, they murmured, but of Zeus, king of the gods. Her mother, Queen Leda, a powerful priestess, was branded an adulteress, with tragic consequences. To complicate matters, as Helen grew to adulthood her beauty was so breathtaking that it overshadowed even that of her jealous sister, Clytemnestra, making her even more of an outcast within her own family. So it came as something of a relief to her when she was kidnapped by Theseus, king of Athens, in a gambit to replenish his kingdom's coffers. But Helen fell in love with the much older Theseus, and to his surprise, he found himself enamored of her as well. On her forced return to Sparta, Helen was hastily married off to the tepid Menelaus for the sake of an advantageous political alliance. Yet even after years of marriage, the spirited, passionate Helen never became the docile wife King Menelaus desired, and when she fell in love with another man--Paris Alexandros, the prodigal son of King Priam of Troy--Helen unwittingly set the stage for the ultimate conflict: a war that would destroy nearly all she held dear.
The Memoirs of a Survivor
by Doris LessingIn a beleaguered city where rats and roving gangs terrorize the streets, where government has broken down and meaningless violence holds sway, a woman -- middle-aged and middle-class -- is brought a twelve-year-old girl and told that it is her responsibility to raise the child. This book, which the author has called "an attempt at autobiography," is that woman's journal -- a glimpse of a future only slightly more horrendous than our present, and of the forces that alone can save us from total destruction.
The Memory Chamber: An elegant tale of love and loss
by Holly Cave'Vivid, compelling, and thought-provoking. Utterly original' Will Dean, author of Dark Pines 'At last a book that has it all. So beautifully written. I loved it' Amazon Reviewer**********An afterlife of your own design - what could go wrong? Isobel designs artificial 'heavens' for her clients, created from the memories they treasure most. She works for Oakley Associates, London's most prestigious firm of its kind. Her heavens are renowned for their beauty and perfection.But Isobel crosses an ethical line when she falls for Jarek, a new - and married - client. Then, in the wake of his wife's murder, Isobel uncovers a darker and deadlier side of the world she works in. As her life starts falling apart, Isobel realises that nothing is as perfect as it seems, not even heaven itself...**********'Wow! I started this book mid afternoon and finished it at 1:15 am. I just could not put it down' Amazon Reviewer'An elegant tale of love and loss, memory and murder, set in an edgy near-future' Daily Mail
The Memory Chamber: An elegant tale of love and loss
by Holly Cave'Vivid, compelling, and thought-provoking. Utterly original' Will Dean, author of Dark Pines 'At last a book that has it all. So beautifully written. I loved it'Amazon Reviewer**********An afterlife of your own design - what could go wrong?Isobel designs artificial 'heavens' for her clients, created from the memories they treasure most. She works for Oakley Associates, London's most prestigious firm of its kind. Her heavens are renowned for their beauty and perfection.But Isobel crosses an ethical line when she falls for Jarek, a new - and married - client. Then, in the wake of his wife's murder, Isobel uncovers a darker and deadlier side of the world she works in. As her life starts falling apart, Isobel realises that nothing is as perfect as it seems, not even heaven itself...**********'Wow! I started this book mid afternoon and finished it at 1:15 am. I just could not put it down' Amazon Reviewer'An elegant tale of love and loss, memory and murder, set in an edgy near-future'Daily Mail
The Memory Collectors: A Novel
by Dete MeserveOne of Goodreads Most Anticipated Books of 2025!Four strangers time travel to the past and find themselves stuck on the day all their lives were changed in this stunning speculative mystery from award-winning film and television producer Dete Meserve, perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Wrong Place Wrong Time and The Paradox Hotel.What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past? Four strangers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out. Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders—which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon&’s technology ensures time travel can&’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark&’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever. But when their &“hour&” extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history: All their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach. As they delve into the hidden truths of that pivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges. They were not alone. Someone else was present, harboring deadly intentions.The Memory Collectors is a heart-wrenching, genre-bending novel brimming with hope, grief and second chances.
The Memory Collectors: A Novel
by Kim NevillePerfect for fans of The Scent Keeper and The Keeper of Lost Things, an atmospheric and enchanting debut novel about two women haunted by buried secrets but bound by a shared gift and the power the past holds over our lives.Ev has a mysterious ability, one that she feels is more a curse than a gift. She can feel the emotions people leave behind on objects and believes that most of them need to be handled extremely carefully, and—if at all possible—destroyed. The harmless ones she sells at Vancouver&’s Chinatown Night Market to scrape together a living, but even that fills her with trepidation. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Harriet hoards thousands of these treasures and is starting to make her neighbors sick as the overabundance of heightened emotions start seeping through her apartment walls. When the two women meet, Harriet knows that Ev is the only person who can help her make something truly spectacular of her collection. A museum of memory that not only feels warm and inviting but can heal the emotional wounds many people unknowingly carry around. They only know of one other person like them, and they fear the dark effects these objects had on him. Together, they help each other to develop and control their gift, so that what happened to him never happens again. But unbeknownst to them, the same darkness is wrapping itself around another, dragging them down a path that already destroyed Ev&’s family once, and threatens to annihilate what little she has left. The Memory Collectors casts the everyday in a new light, speaking volumes to the hold that our past has over us—contained, at times, in seemingly innocuous objects—and uncovering a truth that both women have tried hard to bury with their pasts: not all magpies collect shiny things—sometimes they gather darkness.
The Memory Detective: A Novel
by T. S. NicholsSo many memories. So little time. In an astounding thriller ripped from tomorrow’s headlines, cutting-edge technology and a pulse-pounding manhunt lead to a conspiracy of money, power, and sex. Cole remembers what it’s like to be murdered. That’s how he does his job. The operation takes eight hours with a dead body on the table next to his; when it’s over, he’s flooded with images, thoughts, recollections, some hazy, some crystal clear. They all come straight from the victim’s brain—right up until his or her final chilling moments. Cole’s career in homicide has wreaked havoc on his personal life. As usual, his new case—a young runaway battered to death with a hammer—consumes all his waking moments . . . and then some. Haunted by the Jane Doe’s hopes, desires, and fears, Cole mentally retraces her every move, from Kansas to New York City, to track down a killer. But Cole has a terrible suspicion that someone is using the same memory-transfer science for a very different purpose. In fact, he’s already being watched. Because Cole’s the only one standing in the way of a ruthless corporation that’s harvesting people for their most intimate memories—and eliminating anyone who stands in the way.
The Memory Eater
by Rebecca Mahoney&“An eerie tale offering equal measures of fright, angst, and emotional catharsis.&” —Kirkus, starred reviewA teenage girl must save her town from a memory-devouring monster in this piercing exploration of grief, trauma, and memory, from the author of The Valley and the Flood.For generations, a monster called the Memory Eater has lived in the caves of Whistler Beach, Maine, surviving off the unhappy memories of those who want to forget. And for generations, the Harlows have been in charge of keeping her locked up—and keeping her fed.After her grandmother dies, seventeen-year-old Alana Harlow inherits the family business. But there&’s something Alana doesn&’t know: the strange gaps in her memory aren&’t from an accident. Her memories have been taken—eaten. And with them, she&’s lost the knowledge of how to keep the monster contained.Now the Memory Eater is loose. Alana&’s mistake could cost Whistler Beach everything—unless she can figure out how to retrieve her memories and recapture the monster. But as Alana delves deeper into her family&’s magic and the history of her town, she discovers a shocking secret at the center of the Harlow family business and learns that tampering with memories always comes at a price.
The Memory Hunters (The Consecrated)
by Mia TsaiInception meets Indiana Jones in this cinematic, slow burn, romantic, fantasy adventure following a headstrong academic and her equally stubborn bodyguard as they unearth an ancient secret that rocks the foundations of their society…and challenges their unspoken love for one another. A sapphic, dark academia-adjacent, climate dystopia -- with mushrooms -- for readers of Blood Over Bright Haven, A Memory Called Empire, and Ink Blood Sister Scribe. Kiana Strade can dive deeper into blood memories than anyone alive. But instead of devoting her talents to the temple she&’s meant to lead, Key wants to do research for the Museum of Human Memory. . . and to avoid the public eye. Valerian IV's twin swords protect Key from murderous rivals and her own enthusiasm alike. Vale cares about Key as a friend—and maybe more—but most of all, she needs to keep her job so she can support her parents and siblings in the storm-torn south. But when Key collects a memory that diverges from official history, only Vale sees the fallout. Key&’s mentor suspiciously dismisses the finding; her powerful mother demands she stop research altogether. And Key, unusually affected by the memory, begins to lose moments, then minutes, then days. As Vale becomes increasingly entangled in Key&’s obsessive drive for answers, the women uncover a shattering discovery—and a devastating betrayal. Key and Vale can remain complicit, or they can jeopardize everything for the truth. Either way, Key is becoming consumed by the past in more ways than one, and time is running out.
The Memory Index (The Memory Index #1)
by Julian Ray VacaIn this electric speculative YA sci/fi novel, the world treats memories like currency, so dreams can be a complicated business. Perfect for fans of Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick.In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones—the recollectors—need the treatment only once a day.Freya Izquierdo isn&’t lucky. The high school senior is a &“degen&” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she&’s desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father&’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.She&’s the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she&’ll have to access to survive it.&“Vaca&’s debut is a thrilling and often unsettling examination of the elusive nature of memory and truth. The Memory Index will leave you breathlessly turning pages until its satisfying conclusion.&” —Jonathan Evison, New York Times bestselling author of Small WorldGet hooked on The Memory Index Duology:Book 1: The Memory IndexBook 2: The Recall Paradox (coming Spring 2023)
The Memory Key: A time-hopping graphic novel adventure that will take you to unexpected places...
by Nigel BainesA time-hopping graphic novel adventure that will take you to unexpected places.Lately Lily's grandad has been confused and forgetful, but Lily just knows that if she can help Grandad unlock his past, he'll be back to normal. Then Grandad's memories magically start coming to life and Lily and Grandad travel back to his childhood in Hungary. But they both get more than they bargained for when they get stuck in Grandad's darkest memory....Can Lily find the light at the end of the tunnel?
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer
by Janelle MonáeIn The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer, singer-songwriter, actor, fashion icon, activist, and worldwide superstar Janelle Monáe brings to the written page the Afrofuturistic world of one of her critically acclaimed albums, exploring how different threads of liberation—queerness, race, gender plurality, and love—become tangled with future possibilities of memory and time in such a totalitarian landscape…and what the costs might be when trying to unravel and weave them into freedoms. <p><p>Whoever controls our memories controls the future.Janelle Monáe and an incredible array of talented collaborating creators have written a collection of tales comprising the bold vision and powerful themes that have made Monáe such a compelling and celebrated storyteller. Dirty Computer introduced a world in which thoughts—as a means of self-conception—could be controlled or erased by a select few. And whether human, A.I., or other, your life and sentience was dictated by those who’d convinced themselves they had the right to decide your fate. That was until Jane 57821 decided to remember and break free. <p><p>Expanding from that mythos, these stories fully explore what it’s like to live in such a totalitarian existence…and what it takes to get out of it. Building off the traditions of speculative writers such as Octavia Butler, Ted Chiang, Becky Chambers, and Nnedi Okorafor—and filled with the artistic genius and powerful themes that have made Monáe a worldwide icon in the first place—The Memory Librarian serves readers tales grounded in the human trials of identity expression, technology, and love, but also reaching through to the worlds of memory and time within, and the stakes and power that exists there. <p> <b>New York Times Bestseller</b>
The Memory Of Earth: Homecoming Series: Book 1 (Homecoming #1)
by Orson Scott CardHaunting, compulsive, urgently readable...Storytelling genius - INTERZONECertain to be one of the most soughtafter books of the year - LOCUSThe planet called Harmony had been settled by humans nearly forty years before. The colony had been placed under the care of an artificial intelligence, the Oversoul, high in orbit. This master computer had one overriding command: guard the people of Harmony.But now the Oversoul is itself in danger. Soon, within a thousand years, catastrophic war will break out on Harmony unless the Oversoul can be repaired. The master computer has determined that it must be taken back to lost Earth; someone on Harmony must be given back the knowledge of space travel in order to save the planet from destruction. For one family, about to be caught up in an approaching civil war, life will change for ever.The first book in the brilliant Homecoming series.Books by Orson Scott Card:Alvin Maker novelsSeventh SonRed ProphetPrentice AlvinAlvin JourneymanHeartfireThe Crystal CityEnder Wiggin SagaEnder's GameSpeaker for the DeadXenocideChildren of the MindEnder in ExileHomecomingThe Memory of the EarthThe Call of the EarthThe Ships of the EarthEarthfallEarthbornFirst Formic War (with Aaron Johnston)Earth UnawareEarth AfireEarth Awakens
The Memory Painter: A Novel
by Gwendolyn WomackTwo dreamers discover a connection that reaches across history in this award-winning sci-fi romantic thriller: “A mind-explosion of a journey” (Refinery29).World-famous artist Bryan Pierce never reveals the secret to his success. His paintings are all inspired by strangely vivid dreams that he believes to be memories from another life—and he hopes his art will lead him to an answer. And when he meets Linz Jacobs, a neurogenticist who recognizes a recurring childhood nightmare in one Bryan’s paintings, he is convinced she holds the key.Their meeting triggers Bryan’s most powerful dream yet—visions of a team of scientists who, on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer’s, died in a lab explosion decades ago. As his visions intensify, Bryan and Linz start to discern a pattern. But a deadly enemy watches their every move, and he will stop at nothing to ensure that the past stays buried.Winner of the RWA Prism Award
The Memory Painter: A Novel of Love and Reincarnation
by Gwendolyn WomackWhat if there was a drug that could help you remember past lives? What if the lives you remembered could lead you to your one true love? What if you learned that, for thousands of years, a deadly enemy had conspired to keep the two of you apart? Bryan Pierce is an internationally famous artist whose paintings have dazzled the world. But there's a secret to his success: Every canvas is inspired by an unusually vivid dream. When Bryan awakes, he possesses extraordinary new skills...like the ability to speak obscure languages and an inexplicable genius for chess. All his life, he has wondered if his dreams are recollections, if he is re-experiencing other people's lives. Linz Jacobs is a brilliant neurogeneticist, absorbed in decoding the genes that help the brain make memories, until she is confronted with an exact rendering of a recurring nightmare at one of Bryan's shows. She tracks down the elusive artist, and their meeting triggers Bryan's most powerful dream yet: visions of a team of scientists who, on the verge of discovering a cure for Alzheimer's, died in a lab explosion decades ago. As Bryan becomes obsessed with the mysterious circumstances surrounding the scientists' deaths, his dreams begin to reveal what happened at the lab, as well as a deeper mystery that may lead all the way to ancient Egypt. Together, Bryan and Linz start to discern a pattern. But a deadly enemy watches their every move, and he will stop at nothing to ensure that the past stays buried.
The Memory Police: A Novel
by Yoko OgawaFinalist for the International Booker Prize and the National Book AwardA haunting Orwellian novel about the terrors of state surveillance, from the acclaimed author of The Housekeeper and the Professor.On an unnamed island, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses. . . . Most of the inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few able to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. When a young writer discovers that her editor is in danger, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her f loorboards, and together they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past. Powerful and provocative, The Memory Police is a stunning novel about the trauma of loss.ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEARTHE NEW YORK TIMES * THE WASHINGTON POST * TIME * CHICAGO TRIBUNE * THE GUARDIAN * ESQUIRE * THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS * FINANCIAL TIMES * LIBRARY JOURNAL * THE A.V. CLUB * KIRKUS REVIEWS * LITERARY HUBAmerican Book Award winner
The Memory Spinner
by C. M. CornwellA luminous fantasy debut about a young girl who must choose between staying immersed in a magical past with her deceased mother, or saving those she loves most in the complicated, yet real present. A JLG SELECTION!"Emotions bubble like potions: Grief, anger, jealousy, and regret simmer beneath the surface of richly drawn characters with complex motivations....A heartfelt story that will leave readers hoping for more from this promising new voice."--Kirkus Reviews Since her mama died, thirteen-year-old Lavender has a disastrous memory problem. She forgets her lessons with her papa, an apothecary. She develops elaborate evasions to hide her lack of memory of the herbs and remedies she must learn to attain her dream of being an apothecary apprentice. Worst of all, she forgets memories of her mama.Despite her papa&’s disdain for magic, Lavender seeks a memory remedy from a clothing enchantress named Frey. As the two develop a friendship, Frey uses her spinning magic to help Lavender re-experience past moments with her mama. Lavender hears her mama&’s laughter again, her singing voice, and how it felt to be wrapped in her hugs.But when Lavender discovers the truth about Frey's magic and its vengeful purpose she must decide whether to stay immersed in beloved memories with her mama or save the people she loves most in the present.
The Memory Theater: A Novel
by Karin Tidbeck***One of Buzzfeed's 21 Fantasy Books to Get Excited About This Winter*** ***One of Tor's 30 Most Anticipated SFF Books of 2021***From the award-winning author of Amatka and Jagannath—a fantastical tour de force about friendship, interdimensional theater, and a magical place where no one ages, except the young In a world just parallel to ours exists a mystical realm known only as the Gardens. It&’s a place where feasts never end, games of croquet have devastating consequences, and teenagers are punished for growing up. For a select group of masters, it&’s a decadent paradise where time stands still. But for those who serve them, it&’s a slow torture where their lives can be ended in a blink. In a bid to escape before their youth betrays them, Dora and Thistle—best friends and confidants—set out on a remarkable journey through time and space. Traveling between their world and ours, they hunt for the one person who can grant them freedom. Along the way, they encounter a mysterious traveler who trades in favors and never forgets debts, a crossroads at the center of the universe, our own world on the brink of war, and a traveling troupe of actors with the ability to unlock the fabric of reality. Endlessly inventive, The Memory Theater takes us to a wondrous place where destiny has yet to be written, life is a performance, and magic can erupt at any moment. It is Karin Tidbeck&’s most engrossing and irresistible tale yet.
The Memory Thief
by Lauren MansyIn the realms of The Memory Thief, memories are currency that can be traded for goods, services, skills, and experiences. A group of people—the Gifted—can steal and redistribute memories. Etta is secretly one of them, but she hasn’t used her Gifted abilities since she left the rebel Shadows following her mother’s accident two years ago. But when her mother is again in danger, Etta has no choice but to return to the underground group in order to complete her greatest heist and save her mother’s life. Etta faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and above all, her own past as she uncovers a conspiracy that challenges everything she knew about herself and the world around her.In a place where nothing is what it seems, can Etta ever become more than a memory thief?“Readers, like Etta and her fellow citizens, will be challenged to contemplate the nature of truth … A welcome addition to the YA fantasy canon, The Memory Thief is a suspenseful page-turner, delightfully chock full of unexpected twists and turns.” – Shelf AwarenessThe Memory Thief:Is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Victoria AveyardBrings readers on an unforgettable journey during which Etta must learn—often the hard way—just what it will take to save her city and her motherIs a clean, coming of age YA fantasy, with unexpected romance by up-and-coming author Lauren Mansy
The Memory Thief (Thirteen Witches #1)
by Jodi Lynn Anderson&“This expertly crafted story thrums with magic, love, and tense action.&” —Booklist (starred review) Perfect for fans of The Girl Who Drank the Moon, this fantastical and heartfelt first book in a new trilogy from critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson follows a girl who must defeat thirteen evil witches.Twelve-year-old Rosie Oaks&’s mom is missing whatever it is that makes mothers love their daughters. All her life, Rosie has known this...and turned to stories for comfort. Then, on the night Rosie decides to throw her stories away forever, an invisible ally helps her discover the Witch Hunter&’s Guide to the Universe, a book that claims that all of the evil in the world stems from thirteen witches who are unseen...but also unstoppable. One of these witches—the Memory Thief—holds an insidious power to steal our most precious treasures: our memories. And it is this witch who has cursed Rosie&’s mother. In her quest to save her mom—and with her wild, loyal friend &“Germ&” by her side—Rosie will find the layers hidden under the reality she only thought she knew: where ghosts linger as shades of the past, where clouds witness the world, and a ladder dangles from the moon leading to something bigger and more. Here, words are weapons against the darkness, and witch hunters are those brave enough to wield their imaginations in the face of the unthinkable. The knowledge of her beloved stories is an arsenal in this world, but to unlock their power, Rosie must dare to have hope and believe in herself in the face of daunting odds.