The Memory Index

In this electric speculative YA sci/fi novel, the world treats memories like currency, so dreams can be a complicated business. Perfect for fans of Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick.In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones-the recollectors-need the treatment only once a day.Freya Izquierdo isn’t lucky. The high school senior is a “degen” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she’s desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.She’s the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she’ll have to access to survive it.“Vaca’s debut is a thrilling and often unsettling examination of the elusive nature of memory and truth. The Memory Index will leave you breathlessly turning pages until its satisfying conclusion.” -Jonathan Evison, New York Times bestselling author of Small WorldGet hooked on The Memory Index Duology: Book 1: The Memory Index Book 2: The Recall Paradox (coming Spring 2023)From School Library JournalGr 8 Up-In an alternate 1987, a disease called Memory Killer is stealing memories and destabilizing the world. To prevent permanent memory loss, everyone takes part in government-controlled artificial memory recall using technology created by a company called Memory Frontier. Fletcher is one of the lucky "recollectors" who only needs to use artificial recall once a day. Freya is a "degen," or degenerate, requiring multiple per day. The two are recruited to attend a boarding school and participate in a trial of Memory Frontier's newest technology. They and their roommates, Chase and Ollie, forge a loyal friend group and work together to question the motives and uncover the secrets of their school. An imaginative and thought-provoking premise is richly realized, and the personal and societal implications of widespread memory loss are deeply explored. Themes of grief and trauma, and their multifaceted connections with memory, add depth and complexity to an already inventive work. The 1980s setting is portrayed primarily through movie and music references, with a complete list of songs and a QR code to access the playlist included at the end of the book. Freya is Mexican American, her roommate Ollie is Vietnamese American, and they experience overt and implied racism. At times the pace is slowed down by concept explanations, and the dialogue does not always feel wholly authentic to teens, but these aspects do little to detract from the overall work. VERDICT A clever and empathetic work of speculative fiction that examines the power and fragility of memory, recommended for general purchase. Cinematic writing, teen sleuthing, and a nostalgic setting make this book a great recommendation to fans of Stranger Things.-Elizabeth Lovsinα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Review'A clever and empathetic work of speculative fiction that examines the power and fragility of memory, recommended for general purchase. Cinematic writing, teen sleuthing, and a nostalgic setting make this book a great recommendation to fans of Stranger Things.' -- School Library JournalAbout the AuthorJulian R. Vaca has been a creative writer for over a decade.