Predictable, but still very much worth the read

I don't normally do this, but I'm going to write a short review BEFORE I read THE MEMORY BOOK by Lara Avery. I don't have much to say, but I do want to say that as I read the jacket and a brief synopsis of the book, it reminds me an awful lot of 50 FIRST DATES. I'm curious to see how this story carries itself out. I know the women in both stories lose their memories for different reasons, but the fact is that both women are losing their memories (or have lost) and need to be gently reminded on a daily basis of who they are and, as in the case of 50 FIRST DATES, that she is married and has a little girl--by the end of the movie. That is done via video tape while THE MEMORY BOOK is done in writing, but if I remember correctly, Drew Barrymore starts a journal--memory book--and even shares it with Adam Sandler. Hmmmm.....already, I'm noticing more similarities and I haven't even started THE MEMORY BOOK.....

I hope this book is as good as I think it'll be. I saw it online while shopping randomly and ordered it as soon as I could. I look forward to reading it!!

I finished it. I would have finished it last night, but my night-time medication finally kicked in and I HAD to put the book down and go to sleep. But I finished it as soon as I could this afternoon after school. Yes, I was sobbing and snotting all over my copy as I finally closed the book.

THE MEMORY BOOK ends exactly the way you expect it to end. Her disease is "inevitably terminal," after all. But that doesn't take away from the fact that as I came to the final few pages, my heart felt as if it was outside my body, weeping for me. This is a fairly simple story of a high school senior coming to terms with her diagnosis and her attempt to outrun it and then turn to stand it face it head on--as fearlessly as possible with her loved ones surrounding her and helping hold her up.

Yes, it is very reminiscent of 50 FIRST DATES as I thought before I started reading it, but it is also, very clearly, its own story....Sammie's own, personal story and it is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Thank you for writing this beautiful story, Lara Avery.

I do have one "complaint": Sammie is quite free with her use of the f-word. I knew when I first picked up THE MEMORY BOOK that it was not advertised as a Christian book. That rarely deters me from reading a book, though, if I really like the plot or have heard that it is a very good book to read. It's simply that, as a Christian, I would prefer not to have to read a book with the f-word littered throughout. It did not diminish my enjoyment of the story; I just didn't want to have to "hear" Sammie use such language. 

I definitely highly recommend THE MEMORY BOOK by Lara Avery!