The Hidden Memory of Objects

February 20, 2017
Debut novelist Amato adeptly mixes the paranormal and historical to build a page-turning mystery. When Megan Brown’s 17-year-old brother Tyler (aka Red) dies from what looks like a drug overdose, she can hardly believe it. Red, a popular star athlete, got through life with a winning smile and easy confidence. Megan, nicknamed “Brown” both for her mousy hair and her less-than-sparkling personality, is the polar opposite, finding solace in her found object art collages. When Brown begins to have visions after touching important items that once belonged to her brother, she starts to piece together what happened the night he died. Woven throughout are tidbits about John Wilkes Booth and Abraham Lincoln—Red was obsessed with Booth, and their mother works at the Ford Theater. Amid startling discoveries and an unexpected romance, Brown emerges a devoted sister who puts herself in jeopardy because she refuses to believe her brother would use drugs. Readers will gladly follow along as she inches closer to uncovering the secrets of the objects her brother held dear. Ages 13–up. Agent: Lana Popovich, Chalberg & Sussman.

January 15, 2017
Skeptical about toxicology reports showing that her brother, Tyler, died of a heroin overdose, Megan investigates. Tyler and Megan Brown, both white, attend a private school whose students' parents are "a power parade of congress members and judges, lobbyists and think tankers." Athletic and popular, Tyler seemed to have it made, so Megan can't accept the autopsy. Looking for evidence of addiction in his room and school locker, she experiences blinding headaches and visions of Tyler's life while handling some objects. Initially she believes she's having a breakdown. But she keeps going, interviewing the author of a John Wilkes Booth biography, which Tyler had heavily annotated, who reveals that he shares Megan's ability. He encourages her to trust the visions. Using the visions and with help from two friends--including Tyler's black friend Nathan, who becomes Megan's potential love interest--Megan uncovers the truth of Tyler's death. It's a fine setup for a paranormal investigation, even if the end is a bit simplistic. But the transformation in privileged private school student Tyler that Megan is surprised to discover feels forced, and Megan's ignorance of it seems hard to believe. Furthermore, Nathan's complicated family feels a bit like a prop, particularly given the narrative space accorded to Megan's musings on Booth's assassination of Lincoln. Overstuffed and requires more patience than the payoff really delivers. (Paranormal mystery. 14-18)

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January 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Fifteen-year-old Megan's older brother, Tyler, is dead. Megan knows that what the police are saying, that Tyler died of a possibly self-inflicted drug overdose, cannot possibly be true. Her brother was laid-back and fun-loving; suicide just didn't seem to make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Megan delves into the objects that Tyler left behind, and the discovered items become part of Megan's ongoing art projects. A talented collage artist, she is constantly collecting found objects as raw materials. However, instead of simply speculating on the meaning of Tyler's belongings, Megan is inexplicably transported to a moment in Tyler's past whenever she touches something that was meaningful to him. With her new ability, Megan is thrust into a world of painful memories, both personal and national. It turns out that Tyler was in possession of various stolen items associated with the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. With the help of her classmate Eric and her brother's charming friend Nathan, Megan chases the truth about her brother's death all over Washington, DC. This debut novel is fast-paced and engaging, and the diverse characters, though slightly underdeveloped, are endearing. The elements of U.S. history add layers to this unique and enjoyable read. VERDICT For general YA collections. This will have particular appeal for fans of speculative fiction and mysteries.-Ariel Birdoff, New York Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Megan Brown is devastated by the death of her beloved older brother, Tyler. The police claim that he overdosed on heroin and it may be suicide, but that doesn't sit right with her. Megan, who is a focused and gifted collage artist, discovers she has the uncanny ability to see, feel, and experience the memories that objects contain. When she begins to see snippets of memories among Tyler's belongings, she desperately focuses her efforts on finding out what really happened to him, even if it puts her in harm's way. With the help of two unlikely accomplicesone who offers romantic reliefMegan finds a surprising, and potentially dangerous, link between Tyler's and Abraham Lincoln's painful pasts. Amato's well-constructed debut novel is inventive, clever, and realistic even within the psychometric boundaries. The mixture of historical and political themes, with class and racial differences, serves up a very different type of mystery. Readers who loved Gayle Forman's If I Stay (2009) and Cynthia Hand's The Last Time We Say Goodbye (2015) will want to read this.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)