The Memory Thief by Emily Colin
Ballantine Books
Contemporary
ISBN: 978-0-345-53039-4
Reviewed by Vanessa







Madeleine Kimble doesn’t want her mountain climbing husband to go on his latest trek.  She is NOT having good feelings about this expedition.  However, Aidan feels she is over reacting and makes her a promise: I will come back to you.  Unfortunately, Aidan dies in an avalanche on that mountain, and Maddie is left to care for their young son.

John “J.C.” Cultrano, who survived the venture with Aidan, must return and give Maddie the devastating news.  To further complicate matters, J.C. has loved Maddie for as long as she has been with Aidan.  Yet, he never wanted her at Aidan’s expense.  Now J.C. has to deal with his guilt of surviving as well as the now free Maddie.

Nicholas Sullivan awakens from an accident with his memory stolen!  He pictures a young woman, a small child, and a large mountain as though they are part of his memory, but he doesn’t recall them.  However, they appear in his memories while he can’t remember other personal details about his life.  Nicholas soon believes that these people may hold the answers for him, so he sets out to reclaim his memories via these strangers and find a future for himself.

Upon meeting all their lives will be changed, but will they be changed for the better, and will the participants have faith in the impossible?

The Memory Thief is a fabulously heartwarming, tear-jerking read that will leave you deeply touched and contemplating the boundaries we are placed within.  The Memory Thief had me feeling bad for some of the characters and how they were manipulated in order to fulfill a vow, yet seeing that things altered for them as well.  I came to believe that some weren’t really hurt in the exchange, that they grew further into what they were to be if they hadn’t been sidetracked so easily and rerouted on life’s paths.

Maggie and J.C. seemed to have realistic emotions that definitely moved me.  I was a bit surprised as I was beginning to wonder if a book could touch me again.  The Memory Thief seemed to show what true love was all about…seeking true happiness for another.  In seeking to complete a task, there was the added bonus of giving back to Nicholas as well.  The Memory Thief didn’t have everything tied up with a neat little bow when the last page was turned, either.  However, you walk away feeling that everyone will be okay with the paths that they are now traversing.

The Memory Thief was incredibly sad and yet so thought provoking and enlightening that I found myself pondering things several days after reading this story.  I even went in search of the poet who was mentioned in The Memory Thief to see how it fit with the story…it worked beautifully!  I was NOT happy with Emily Colin for making me weep, but I thoroughly enjoyed the journey that I took with her story.  So I have to Joyfully Recommend The Memory Thief!