Review: Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ novel Persistence of Memory tells the tale of 16-year-old Erin Misrahe, who wants nothing more than to be a normal teenager. But that’s easier said than done for a girl that has spent the last eight years of her life in a psych ward. For years, she has always been overcome by her alter ego, Shevaun, whose violent behavior wreaks havoc on those around her. Erin can never remember anything about these episodes, and she’s grateful to have been spared them for a while. But when a protective friend comes back into Erin’s life, he insists that Shevaun is a vampire who actually exists apart from Erin. Shevaun has dangerous allies, like the handsome witch Adjila – and they’re determined to sever Shevaun’s connection to Erin once and for all.

I have been a huge fan of Amelia’s for years and I have to admit that I was surprised by this book. She has stepped up her game big time, she is no longer the 13-year-old writing simple (yet awesome) vampire stories. Persistence of Memory has a level of depth and intelligence her past books lack. She’s an adult now and it shows in her latest work.

Not to sound all lame and cliché, but this book is a major page turner. One of the many things I love about the author’s books is that she never bores you, she never goes off topic or rambles on, she sticks to the plot and fills every chapter with so many twists and turns that you are reading as fast as you can to learn what happens next.

On top of great unique vampire story, Persistence of Memory also has amazing characters that you can’t help but love. Sassy had me literally laughing out loud countless times and Shevaun, in spite of her violent vampire personality, made me want to jump inside the book to comfort her.

My only issue with the book was the ending. I would have loved to have learned more about what happened to Adjila, Shevaun, Sassy and Erin after everything they all went through. But the story ends rather quickly, which was disappointing. I was expecting one of those “3 months later” type of epilogues, but I didn’t get it.

Overall, I would give the Persistence of Memory 4 out of 5 stars. It gets major points for being one of the rare young adult vampire novels that isn’t a cheesy romance – it’s a full blown vampire story full of mystery and intrigue, not an overdone story on forbidden love. I highly recommend the book to any age, it’s the type of story both teens and adults can enjoy.

– Moonlight

By Moonlight

Moonlight (aka Amanda) loves to write about, read about and learn about everything pertaining to vampires. You will most likely find her huddled over a book of vampire folklore with coffee in hand. Touch her coffee and she may bite you (and not in the fun way).

2 comments

  1. Pingback: vampires

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: