by Val Emmich
First published 2017
Joan possesses nearly perfect recall among only thirty people worldwide who share this condition. At ten years old, she stores every moment like footage in her mind, able to replay any conversation or experience. She fears being forgotten by others who seem to lose memories constantly. When family friend Gavin, a songwriter, loses his partner Sydney suddenly, he asks Joan to help him remember. She sees an opportunity in his grief. Joan will access her mental recordings of every interaction with Sydney, rewinding through stored moments to help Gavin reconstruct their shared past. In exchange, Gavin must help her create a song that people will never forget. Their partnership brings together someone who cannot forget with someone determined not to forget. Val Emmich crafts a story that blends family dynamics with music industry elements and explores how memory shapes relationships.
Genres: literary-fiction, contemporary, music, family-drama
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
384 pages · Hardcover · Little Brown