Reviews

Ultima amintire by Deborah Bee

aira_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

I didn't think I was going to love this. At best, I thought it was going to be a 'eh, alright' book but boy was I wrong!

The characters. The audiobook breathed the characters to life, especially Kelly but it's thanks to the author's authentic way of making 14-year-old Kelly sound so fucking realistic. Between her swearing, almost vapid personality, relationship with her mother and her sarcastic nature I was both parts annoyed at Kelly and in awe at how Deborah portrayed her.

Kelly's friend, Sarah, is in a coma and can't decide if she wants to wake up as she slowly peels back her memories and discovers her past and current crumbling relationship.

The narration flips back between these two and it was interesting to have a character who essentially cannot see or feel and you can see (or hear) the struggle as she pieces together strings of information from those around her.

cheryl59's review against another edition

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5.0

A really good read, great characters and a twist you won't see coming highly recommend.

cclarke046's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

epictetsocrate's review

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3.0

Nu mă cunoști. Nu sunt ceea ce par. Ești la fel ca toți oamenii ăia care cred că pot să arunce o singură privire unei persoane și, gata, s-o catalogheze. Pur și simplu. Doar după hainele pe care le poartă sau cantitatea de luciu de buze. Eu nu fac asta. Nu-mi dau cu presupusul. Doamna aia de acolo, de exemplu, din fotoliul ăla portocaliu din plastic, din colț, cu părul permanent și cu rujul de culoarea piersicii? Poți să te uiți la ea și să-ți spui: între două vârste, din clasa de mijloc, plicticoasă, urmărește Master Chef și ascultă Classic FM sau ceva de genul ăsta. Ia uită-te la bucățica aia de hârtie igienică roz, cu care-și tamponează ochii! O răsucește atât de tare! Cineva de vârsta mea, un tânăr, ar putea zice că doamna respectivă n-are nicio chestie interesantă de spus.
Traficantă de droguri. Pe bune! E traficantă de droguri. Tocmai au vorbit polițiștii cu ea. A fost adusă de la o închisoare de maximă securitate pentru că fiu-său și-a băgat în venă o supradoză. Îl țin în viață cu ajutorul aparatelor. Vezi?! N-ai de unde să știi. Aproape c-am făcut pe mine când mi-a zis asistenta. Eram gen: OMG1! Nu poți să-ți dai seama de niște lucruri doar pentru că fusta ei e cât un cort uriaș. Trebuie să te uiți „dincolo de haine” – așa spune Sarah. Așa funcționează.

becca's review against another edition

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5.0

**no spoiler review**

Sarah is in a coma. She doesn't know how and she doesn't know why she is there, or any of the events of her life that brought her to this moment. She is aware of the world around her and is totally concious of people surrounding her, but she can't move or show them that she can. What frightens her more than the masses of memory loss is that she can't piece together who keeps visiting her, knowing that it wasn't an accident from information around her gathered, and that whoever did hurt her, hasn't been caught.
Teenager Kelly, our other narrator, knows Sarah well, being her next door neighbour's daughter. She plays a huge part in the chapters, not only from her knowledge but as a close person to Sarah. The way their lives intertwined was peculiar at first but that outlook vanishes as the novel weaves new insight into light and through the messy, brilliant revelations, a whole world of startling discoveries and pasts come to life.
The question that hangs in the air is; will the truth ever be revealed? Sarah becomes more panicked by the second, unable to communicate her terror except with us as the readers. Whereas I felt I couldn't relate to Kelly in parts, she plays a valued part of the novel as we learn more of Sarah's story and how finally the truth can be dug up, I did find I could feel the pain of Sarah who struggled to cling onto any shred of life and hope she had for the truth to come out.
Overall, The Last Thing I Remember is a truly enthralling piece of literature. I recently heard it might be turned into a TV show or movie and I can definitely see how this is going to grip any audience. Without giving away too much (because where's the fun in that? a mystery should stay a mystery until you read it) you must read this book. If you're looking for a fast-paced, compelling edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller then you've found your new read.
read more: http://prettylittlememoirs.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/book-review-last-thing-i-remember-by.html
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