” A] gripping, emotional story set in the part of history we ll never forget.” – New York Daily NewsOn the morning of September 11, 2001, sixteen-year-old Kyle Donohue watches the first twin tower come down from the window of Stuyvesant High School. Moments later, terrified and fleeing home to safety across the Brooklyn Bridge, he stumbles across a girl perched in the shadows, covered in ash, and … the shadows, covered in ash, and wearing a pair of costume wings. With his mother and sister in California and unable to reach his father, a NYC detective likely on his way to the disaster, Kyle makes the split-second decision to bring the girl home. What follows is their story, told in alternating points of view, as Kyle tries to unravel the mystery of the girl so he can return her to her family. But what if the girl has forgotten everything, even her own name? And what if the more Kyle gets to know her, the less he wants her to go home? The Memory of Things tells a stunning story of friendship and first love and of carrying on with our day-to-day living in the midst of world-changing tragedy and unforgettable pain it tells a story of hope.
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The Memory of Things is told in alternating points of view, going back and forth between Kyle and The Girl. When Kyle is in the narrator role, the form is traditional, but when it switches to The Girl, the narrative changes to a more poetic form. This form perfectly suits the state of mind for the character. It allows her to convey her thoughts in a manner that is disjointed and emotional, but still coherent. As the story progresses, the reader is able to track the changes in The Girl’s emotional state through the growing cohesiveness of her narrative. This book conveys emotion without being heartrending or morbid. On top of everything else that’s going on, in the aftermath of the attacks, Kyle has no adults to rely on, since his father is at Ground Zero helping with the rescues, and his mom is in California with his little sister. This leaves him as the only one in position to take care of his Uncle Matt, who was seriously injured in a previous accident. Having Kyle learn to not only take care of his Uncle Matt, but to see him as the same uncle he loved before he was injured, adds a complexity to his character that would not have been apparent otherwise. Because of The Girl’s “amnesia” her character is not as well-developed until later on in the story, but this is a necessary aspect of this particular story. She learns to open her heart to Kyle, and by doing so, she begins to heal herself.
Gae Polisner takes you into the thoughts and feelings of two teenagers on 9/11, letting you experience their fears, worries, confusions, and hopes.
Kyle, the boy, tells his story through traditional prose, whereas the girl (she is unnamed for most of the book) tells hers through poetry. This choice of Polisner’s underscores the differences between the two kids: Kyle is a vertical, traditional thinker, yet when it comes to processing what he sees and endures, his orderly nature helps him. He thinks in steps: get home, check on his disabled Uncle Matt, make sure his mother and sister are safe (they were supposed to fly home to New York from California that morning), help the girl he stumbled over on the Brooklyn Bridge as he tried to walk home, and, perhaps most urgently, find his father, a first responder who works in the area of the Twin Towers.
The girl, on the other hand, has been rendered almost catatonic. She can’t remember her name, much less other important details, and she lets those worries nearly incapacitate her. She observes rather than acts, which could be construed as a means of self-care. Her mind can’t let her dwell on the horror.
You will worry and fret for Kyle and the girl. Where is Kyle’s father? What about the girl’s family? The almost frantic claustrophobia in the apartment where Kyle lives imbues you with the anxiousness many of us felt that day, even as Polisner makes sure to give you hope.
That sense of hope builds to a crescendo at the end, which … I’m thankful that Polisner didn’t take this down a darker path, but … it feels almost hokey, almost contrived. So much of this book feels genuine, but the ending for one of the characters doesn’t quite meet that.
Still, though, I enjoyed Polisner’s story, mostly because Kyle had my heart. I love him.
Let me know what you think of this book.