“Show me the books she loves and I shall know the woman…“

The Memory Thief

Rachel Keener

“Burning down Black Snake trailer was easy. The hard thing was walking away, when what I wanted most was to watch it die… “

When Angel sets fire to her childhood home, it isn’t the end–it’s the beginning. Left with nothing but a few memories in her pocket, Angel escapes into the fields of tobacco, the only place she has ever felt safe. Hidden by those green-gold leaves, she sets her eyes on the mountains and believes someone waits for her there. Angel will do whatever she has to until she finds her. She longs to empty her pockets, hand over the answers to what became of her, and whisper, This is my story.

As Angel journeys toward the mountains, Hannah is struggling to tell her own story. The daughter of missionaries who follow the rules of a small and strict religious sect, modesty is prized above all else. Wearing floor length polyester skirts, and never cutting her hair, Hannah is forced to live a separate life from her peers. Until the summer her family moves to James Island, South Carolina. Slowly, Hannah begins to escape the confines of her strict upbringing, and soon makes a choice that will forever change the course of her life.

As these two women’s paths connect, Hannah’s past will prove to mean everything to Angel’s future.

mythoughts

What happens when you try to take your own life and circumstances in you own hands? The better question…What happens when you try to do the same to everyone around you? The answer to that question is at the heart of The Memory Thief.

Join Hannah and Angel as they struggle for self-discovery, self-preservation and self-awareness as they journey two completely different paths to find who they truly were meant to be.

I was instantly drawn to the characters of Hannah and Angel. Rachel Keener created a intense and intriguing tale. Like a carefully spun spider’s web you weren’t sure which beginning would lead to which end. There were times throughout the book that I “thought” I knew what was coming next but happily proven wrong.

Hannah is women that has consistently struggled with who she is and where she fits in to the world. Desperate to be something other then just the “odd” kid she tests boundaries. Her family is part of an ultra-strict religious sect and Hannah’s desire to be “normal” leads her into a few life changing situations.

We journey with Angel as a little girl in a home where food is scarce and love is even less available. The only person that has ever been on Angel side is her older sister…until she leaves too. Finally, Angel is completely alone in life. It really isn’t a new situation to Angel as she has never had the comfort of home and family. She decides that is the right time to change her life and seek something better.

It was an interesting journey to take with Hannah and Angel. Both seeking the same conclusion and the same situation. A placed to be loved, accepted and to call home. Sounds like a simple enough desire and journey unless you have a mother like Hannah’s mother.

Thinking of Hannah’s mother can send chills down your spine and make you pray for any mother other then that one. Controlling, manipulative, unwavering and unemotional…she meticulously if not callously destroys Hannah’s quest for happiness. She tries to do the same to Angel as she stumbles across her homestead.

Does it work? Does the mother try and succeed in destroying all the joy around her? Do Hannah and Angel find happiness? Hmm…I know the ending! But you’ll have to get the book and all I can tell you is that you are going to enjoy the adventure. You’ll cry, cheer and get angry at all the characters and so many of the situations that they themselves create.