Unremembered

By: Jessica Brody

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the 16-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage - alive - is making headlines across the globe. Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn't on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can't be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn't know, plagued by abilities she doesn't understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can't remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she's running out of time to answer them. Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget? From popular young adult author Jessica Brody, Unremembered is the start of a compelling and suspenseful new sci-fi series, set in a world where science knows no boundaries, memories are manipulated, and true love can never be forgotten.

©2013 Jessica Brody (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Disappointing

The premise and approximately the first half of the book was intriguing, but then the book quickly devolved into silliness. To me it really felt like the author had the premise in mind and then didn't quite know where to go from there. The author didn't even try to build anything that sounded remotely realistic, and the plot twists could be seen coming from a mile away. In the end to me it seemed a book aimed at young teenagers and that's it because anyone older than that should have major issues with the story. I used to like Julia Whelan's performances but her male voices are really badly done and I thought her inflection was flat. Just not a great effort all around.

Are we more than our memories?

I wasn't expecting that much from this story..girl is rescued from plane crash, girl has no memories....I expected something predictable but this story quickly drew me in and kept me interested and was definitely not predictable. It only got better as the book went on and the story unfolded. It's a fast moving, suspenseful story and by the end I knew I had to download the second book which is turning out to be just as good as the first.

There is a romance as there are in most YA books but I would not call it a romance book as there is so much more going on in this story. It is some fantasy and also sci-fi making it a creative and interesting story.

Briefly, Sera (Serafina) is rescued from a plane crash with no memories of her past but unlike most amnesiacs she has a very select vocabulary and little understanding of everyday things. A boy (Zen) shows up at the hospital claiming to know her from her past though she does not remember him. We quickly learn there is a lot more to Sera, her unique abilities and her memory loss that don't make sense. As Sera finds clues to her past she quickly learns that she is in danger but she doesn't know from who.

Unique concept

I found the premise of this story compelling. The first half of the book was very slow-going and I had to force myself not to turn it off, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

Suspenseful!

Jessica’s protagonist is enveloped in mystery and questions. It’s a fantastic journey with surpassing twists.

Invested In the Tale

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Jessica Brody knows how to gently pull a reader into the lives of other people. I read books like this precisely because I want to share in the experience of other people. Although I am beginning to sound like a broken record, Julia Whelan is magnificent. I actually found this book by looking for works narrated by her. With Whelan behind the microphone this story comes to life flowing along with just the right amount of suspense and action. This is NOT a typical 'girl loses memory' tale at all. The twists and turns are deliciously sweet and kept me guessing all along. An author who builds lives, builds feeling and emotion, and who evokes empathy in readers automatically moves to the top of my list of authors to search for again next time I am looking for a new series.

What did you like best about this story?

The narration, as I said before, is the best. Whelan is fabulous with her timing, tone, inflection, and emotion. I loved that this tale is written from the first person point of view, from Seraphina's perspective. Without giving away too much, I can say that Seraphina's way of thinking and describing the world is completely unique in this story. Imagine that you appeared in a world in which you had lost your memories, did not understand the customs, the social mores, or even what most objects are used for. Now, imagine ways in which this could possibly happen. Brody's dishes out just the right amount of detail at just the right times to keep readers invested and guessing.

Interesting!

Narrator is not great on the men's voices. All sounded pretty much alike and not good but the book is still a good listen. At one point she comments, "his voice sounded clear as glass" (or something very similar) and then you hear him speak and it's this, NOT clear as glass voice. Not good...

Narrators can make or break a book but what bothers one person may not bother another so I'd try it, the 1st in the series and see for yourself.

To mention another book you may like that read prior, "Six Months Later"... I thought "Unremembered" may be like that one but it's not at all. "Unremembered" is science fiction but both books are good.

awesome!

I had never before heard this author she is wonderful as well as my favorite narrator Julia Weylin who always seems to pick these amazing stories.

Kept a Good Pace

The story keep me engaged and kept moving. I wasn't bored listening to this book.

As a previous reviewer noted, the reader doesn't do men's voices particularly well. However, I was satisfied with her performance of the rest of the story.

I have some critiques for the climax. Without giving anything away, there was one point where one character could have shot another to save the day, but sort of inexplicably didn't. Worse, the villain's lines were over-dramatic and stereotypical of a "bad guy." And he kept monologuing and info-dumping during the climax.

Overall, if you like YA and sci-fi, it's worth a listen.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so amazing! I can wait to see what appends in the next book 😁👍

I'm giving this book a five star review because it definitely deserves it, it was so incredible I just loved it was like you felt you were there and that you needed to help.Even though the book is science-fiction it was amazing! I'm not much of like a big reader person I don't like to read it's not my thing you know I love sports and my score is right horses you know I don't read but this book made me want to keep reading and that's incredible I love books like that I just left to read a good book

Good consept that falls short

Any additional comments?

The ideas in the story are very interesting but it moves so slowly it is hard to stick with.