Keep Me in Mind

April 25, 2016
Ellia Dawson and Liam McPherson were madly in love until Ellia had a terrible accident while on a morning run with Liam, losing her memory and sense of identity. Now, two years later, high school junior Ellia has no idea who Liam is. In chapters that alternate between the perspectives of both teens, Reed (the Cambion Chronicles) uses Ellia's retrograde amnesia to test the depth of their romantic bond, Ã la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. As Ellia tries to move forward with her life, Liam sits down and writes the entirety of their love story, which Reed includes in lengthy italicized passages in Liam's chapters. Though there are hints of racial tension between their families (Ellia is black; Liam is white), Reed focuses more on how Ellia's parents blame Liam for their daughter's accident. With many fits and starts, Liam and Ellia eventually find their way toward a new beginning in this touching if predictable romantic drama. Ages 12âup. Agent: Kathleen Ortiz and Danielle Barthel, New Leaf Literary & Media.

Starred review from March 15, 2016
Ellia Renee Dawson cannot believe she is a junior in high school. Yesterday she was a freshman, because that's all she can remember. Ellia and her athletic, brooding boyfriend, Liam McPherson, were the star odd couple at Leon High School until a traumatic fall snatched away any memory of the past two years of her life. In alternating first-person chapters, the black girl struggles to regain her sense of self while the white boy impatiently waits for his girlfriend to reappear. Ellia's childhood best friend, Stacey Levine, and Liam's scandalously young uncle, Wade McPherson, help them confront old ghosts and their strange new reality. Reed delivers solid high school romance with a twist. It is refreshing to see two characters that are both realistic and stray from the starry-eyed, misunderstood-WASP-youth trope. Apart from diverse backgrounds, this interracial relationship is devoid of the usual pitfalls. Ellia and Liam acknowledge each other's differences, including skin tone, and deal with them; their relationship is not a colorblind fantasy. Reed injects immediacy and high-stakes emotions while sidestepping the usual angst-y histrionics teenage characters are subject to. The maturation of each character marches in time with the plot as each unexpected discovery challenges their convictions. Examining the power of memory and shifting the perceptions of teenage love, this novel delivers a powerful journey of self-discovery and rebirth. (Romance. 12-16)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Ellia Dawson and Liam McPherson are the school's "it" couple. Then one day everything changes. Ellia suffers a bad accident and loses her memory. She can remember her life growing up and her old friends, but she can't seem to place the boy who has been by her side through her recovery. The teen fights to remember two years that are lost from her memory. Throughout the story, she learns not only who she was but who she is at present, how to deal with the changes that are happening, and how to now understand the people around her. Though the pacing moves slowly at times, the narrative, told in alternating perspectives, will captivate teens and keep them reading to the end. The writing style is engaging and well-done, and the characters are memorable; young adults will be rooting for the interracial couple. This tearjerker will have emotions running-high and low. VERDICT Purchase for collections looking to fill their teary-romance shelves.-Caitlin Wilson, Brooklyn Public Library

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