The Memory of Things

The Memory of Things by Gae Polisner
On Sale September 6, 2016
Published by St. Martin's Griffin
Rating: ★★★★★

September 11, 2001. Kyle is part of the human stream flowing over the Brooklyn Bridge: to safety, and away from smoldering, smoking Manhattan. As he's crossing, he notices what looks like a giant bird perched at the edge of the bridge. Then he realizes it's not a bird. It's a girl. She looks lost and scared. She looks like she might jump. Kyle convinces her to follow him to the safety of his family apartment. He discovers she doesn't know who she is or what happened to her. And on top of dealing an amnesiac stranger (who he's quickly developing a bit of a crush on), his first-responder father is not answering his phone, he can't get a hold of his mother and sister who were supposed to fly out from LA that morning, and there's a disabled uncle who needs care. What happens over the course of the next 3 days changes Kyle forever.

For the most part, this book is everything a YA novel should be. It's been a couple of days since I read it, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Kyle is mature without coming off like a twenty-five year old. I'm in love with the boy he becomes by the end of the story. I liked the realistic relationship he had with his parents and Uncle Matt. This is exactly the type of book I'd want my teen to read, and I enjoyed it a lot myself.