We chose this for Book Club, having not read any YA novels since we started two years ago and the premise seemed great - young girl dealing with amnesia goes on an adventure.

I'll be honest - one of my friends in our BC told me she hated it so I literally put it off as late as I could, then ended up reading it in 2 days and I really enjoyed it.

Without going into spoilers, yes, the writing is repetitive, yes, she does kiss her best friend's boyfriend and yes, it does seem a bit gimmicky. But I've read some reviews on here that say Emily Barr exploited amnesia as a gimmick, which I certainly don't agree with. I found some of the moments where Flora was lucid quite magical, especially her sense of adventure, but also the panic she felt when she couldn't remember anything. I read Elizabeth is Missing a few years ago and felt the same as I do now, as both deal with a medical condition, but in a literary manner - it isn't meant to be a clinical paper.

To me, the repetition makes you feel uncomfortable because it is a bit of a basic fear. Who wants to think about not remembering a large chunk of their life? I did see some of the twists coming at the end, but loved how they were written, they came out at just the right places. I also liked the fact that although it seems like Flora's life is better (in her mind) because she kissed a boy, it is actually better because she is independent, and most importantly, she isn't defined by her medical condition.

This is a YA novel, so isn't really going anywhere new, but it is written with good intentions, and has a great character at its heart. I really did quite take to wee Flora!