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259th out of 720 books
—
938 voters
Notes to Self
by
Avery Sawyer
Two climbed up. Two fell down.
One woke up.
Robin Saunders is a high school sophomore with an awesome best friend, a hard-working single mom, and a complicated relationship with a sweet guy named Reno. She's coasting along, trying to get through yet another tedious year of high school, when Em suggests something daring. They live in Florida-- tourist central--and Emily wants...more
One woke up.
Robin Saunders is a high school sophomore with an awesome best friend, a hard-working single mom, and a complicated relationship with a sweet guy named Reno. She's coasting along, trying to get through yet another tedious year of high school, when Em suggests something daring. They live in Florida-- tourist central--and Emily wants...more
Kindle Edition, 168 pages
Published
November 20th 2011
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After a brain injury, Robin is dealing with amnesia, having to learn her likes, dislikes, but most importantly: what really happened that night, the night she and her friend fell. A short book, but one dripping with emotions and filled with mystery.
From the very start, Robin is someone I understood. She took me in her head and made herself open so I could see her vulnerability, her worries and fears. She also has a great sense of humor that I adored. It's incredibly easy to get caught up in her...more
From the very start, Robin is someone I understood. She took me in her head and made herself open so I could see her vulnerability, her worries and fears. She also has a great sense of humor that I adored. It's incredibly easy to get caught up in her...more
11 likes · like · see review
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This book took me by complete surprise.
I started this book a little while ago and got to about 46% before I stopped reading it. i don't have an ereaders so I had to read it on my computer. I was beginning to worry that I would never read all of the fabulous sounding books I'd downloaded.
Filled with more gumption I started reading it again where I'd left off and kept reading until today, when I finally finished it. In the beginning I was a bit confused about where the line between present and pa...more
I started this book a little while ago and got to about 46% before I stopped reading it. i don't have an ereaders so I had to read it on my computer. I was beginning to worry that I would never read all of the fabulous sounding books I'd downloaded.
Filled with more gumption I started reading it again where I'd left off and kept reading until today, when I finally finished it. In the beginning I was a bit confused about where the line between present and pa...more
A fabulous read! Robin wants so badly to remember what happened to her and Emily the night they fell from the amusement park ride that they so stupidly climbed. Sadly the fall has affected her memory and there is a lot more than what happened that night that she can't remember. Robin has to face all of the students back at school without Emily, and finds that many of her classmates blame her for Emily's accident. Between the traumatic head injury and what boarders on bullying at school Robin is...more
Notes to Self is about a high school sophomore named Robin Saunders. She makes a bad decision and ends up with a traumatic brain injury. Her best friend Emily was there that night, too, and Emily is in a coma. As Robin recovers, Emily does not--and Robin has to learn to cope in the wake of the tragedy. As she tries to remember what happened, her reality and her past shift and settle as she writes a series of Notes to Self.
Notes to Self is a story about identity, family, memory, growing up in a w...more
Notes to Self is a story about identity, family, memory, growing up in a w...more
3 likes · like · see review
Well, this certainly was an emotional story. I was drawn in on the first page. It begins with a brief glimpse of what happened the night of the accident. Once Robin wakes up, she doesn't remember anything, accept that she and her friend Emily fell. This story is about how Robin puts the pieces of her life back together.
Despite the fact that Robin has a brain injury, she does heal relatively quickly. The problem is that she doesn't remember the details of the accident. Her best friend is in a co...more
Despite the fact that Robin has a brain injury, she does heal relatively quickly. The problem is that she doesn't remember the details of the accident. Her best friend is in a co...more
3 likes · like · see review
"Two climbed up. Two fell down.
One woke up.
In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed."
Robin and Emily are best friends who are very different yet not so. Emily is the daring one while Robin is the carefully crafted teenager who typically sticks to rules. Since Robin has done come up with random things, it's no surprise they end up on top of a amusement park ride. When they both fall, Emily lands...more
One woke up.
In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury, Robin Saunders has to relearn who she is and find out what happened the night everything changed."
Robin and Emily are best friends who are very different yet not so. Emily is the daring one while Robin is the carefully crafted teenager who typically sticks to rules. Since Robin has done come up with random things, it's no surprise they end up on top of a amusement park ride. When they both fall, Emily lands...more
Read the complete and original review at Word Spelunking
When I first began Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer, I never imagined how deeply and profoundly this book would end up moving me, but it did.
MY BRIEF SUMMARY
One windy night in Florida, 15 year old BFF’s Robin and Emily climb up an amusement park ride and end up falling. Robin wakes up, Emily doesn’t. Suffering from a brain injury, Robin has trouble remembering even the most basic things and cannot recall what happened the night of the acciden...more
When I first began Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer, I never imagined how deeply and profoundly this book would end up moving me, but it did.
MY BRIEF SUMMARY
One windy night in Florida, 15 year old BFF’s Robin and Emily climb up an amusement park ride and end up falling. Robin wakes up, Emily doesn’t. Suffering from a brain injury, Robin has trouble remembering even the most basic things and cannot recall what happened the night of the acciden...more
1 like · like · see review
Robin and her best friend Emily have fallen from a ride at the Fun Towne Amusement Park after climbing up the maintenance ladder to look at the view of the town. Both girls ended up falling from the ride, but only Robin woke up. With Emily in a coma, life has to go on for Robin; school, family, and learning to remember things all over again thanks to her Traumatic Brain Injury. But one thing keeps bugging Robin, she was supposed to remember something from the night of the fall, but her brain jus...more
Dec 26, 2011
Tara Calaby
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Shelves:
review-copy,
own-ebook,
friendships,
family,
romance,
injury,
disability,
coming-of-age,
contemporary-ya,
ya-fiction
My full Notes to Self review can be found at Agrippina Legit.
Notes to Self is a moving and yet enjoyable novel about a teenager's slow recovery from the traumatic incident that completely changed her life. While the content of the book is emotive and sometimes confronting, as Robin deals with the intellectual and social consequences of her injury, it is never cloying nor melodramatic. Robin is not represented as a victim to pity, or the archetypical Brave Invalid, but rather as a very normal tee...more
I was supposed to write this review DAYS ago… Crazy hectic holiday stopped that. Then every time I had a moment I was at a loss for words. How do I describe this exactly? How do I briefly review the emotional heart wrench and sorrow and anger that this book drives me to?
Robin feels that she’s broken. She knows something and can’t quite put her finger on it. I was sucked into her desperation and frustration on trying to figure out what that something is. I ached for her when she had problems doi...more
Robin feels that she’s broken. She knows something and can’t quite put her finger on it. I was sucked into her desperation and frustration on trying to figure out what that something is. I ached for her when she had problems doi...more
I saw a couple of people receiving this book for review in their mailboxes, so I decided to pick it up and give it a try. I was a little reluctant at first, since I thought it was one of those in-a-coma, out-of-body-experience types of books, but it turned out to be much better than what I expected: a beautiful story about friendship, growth, and love.
The setup for this book was unique: it was in present tense, and then it often took the reader back to Robin's old memories with her friend, Emily...more
The setup for this book was unique: it was in present tense, and then it often took the reader back to Robin's old memories with her friend, Emily...more
Wow!
Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer is Robin Saunder's story about both forgetting and remembering, even when it's tough, and true self discovery. It's about struggling to come to terms with the night of the horrific accident that changed her life, and it centers on her finally believing she should live,even though she feels guilty and undeserving of the chance she has when her best friend Emily is stuck fighting for her life.This book is unbelievable, it's the kind of story that truly makes your...more
Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer is Robin Saunder's story about both forgetting and remembering, even when it's tough, and true self discovery. It's about struggling to come to terms with the night of the horrific accident that changed her life, and it centers on her finally believing she should live,even though she feels guilty and undeserving of the chance she has when her best friend Emily is stuck fighting for her life.This book is unbelievable, it's the kind of story that truly makes your...more
When I agreed to review Notes to Self, I had no idea how much I was going to love this book. Everything about it was amazing. The characters, the writing, the story, everything was beautiful. I have absolutely no complaints!
The book starts off with Robin and her best friend Emily climbing up one of the rides in an amusement park. What started off as something fun to do, turned into a terrible accident, which left Robin with some brain damage and Emily in a coma. Robin is forced to deal with ever...more
The book starts off with Robin and her best friend Emily climbing up one of the rides in an amusement park. What started off as something fun to do, turned into a terrible accident, which left Robin with some brain damage and Emily in a coma. Robin is forced to deal with ever...more
Read more reviews at RJ Does Books!
Beautiful and emotionally gripping, NOTES TO SELF touches base with an interesting concept—brain injury and fighting to remember the events of what happened before. It is something that is plausible and has also been a theme in several other books and films, though it does not entirely conform into those molds. It holds its own, and in some parts, reaches new heights.
Robin was an interesting character. Though some parts dragged the slightest bit, the story itse...more
Beautiful and emotionally gripping, NOTES TO SELF touches base with an interesting concept—brain injury and fighting to remember the events of what happened before. It is something that is plausible and has also been a theme in several other books and films, though it does not entirely conform into those molds. It holds its own, and in some parts, reaches new heights.
Robin was an interesting character. Though some parts dragged the slightest bit, the story itse...more
I was unexpectedly captivated by Notes to Self. Since it is an indie, I was expecting it to be a little rough around the edges, but in honestly it had the feel and flow of many published contemporary young adult novels. In fact, I’m surprised that a publisher hasn’t picked this book up yet.
On a windy evening, Robin and her best friend Emily decide to climb a ladder of a theme park ride in order to get a better view and to carry out their duty as teenagers to do something reckless every once and...more
On a windy evening, Robin and her best friend Emily decide to climb a ladder of a theme park ride in order to get a better view and to carry out their duty as teenagers to do something reckless every once and...more
Contemporary YA can be a bit hit or miss with me. Fortunately this book was a big hit for me. Robin was very likeable. I could feel how traumatized she was. I mean how could you not be traumatized after what she went through? You easily got caught up in the ‘mystery’ of what happened. You know about as much as Robin (nothing), so you’re trying to piece together clues as to what happened. I’ll admit, I got frustrated when answers didn’t come and everything was blurry. I wanted to know what happen...more
Two fifteen-year-old best friends decide to climb an amusement park ride at night. They both fall and are injured. Robin wakes up with a traumatic brain injury, and Emily remains in a coma. Robin's physical experiences recovering from the TBI were very realistic - a number of years ago I sustained a minor concussion and remember too well the room suddenly beginning to spin and the sleepiness. Fortunately, I did not have the significant memory problems Robin has, which cause her a lot of trouble...more
(Review by Lisa Metlak for Editor's Cove)
The last thing Robin Saunders remembers is being with her best friend Emily up high on the service ladder of a ride at the local amusement park . . . and then falling. She wakes up in the hospital with some of her memories missing, including an important memory that she knows will help Emily who hasn’t woken up. Robin must piece together who she was, why everyone at school is angry at her, and what really happened that night.
I thought this was a wonderful...more
The last thing Robin Saunders remembers is being with her best friend Emily up high on the service ladder of a ride at the local amusement park . . . and then falling. She wakes up in the hospital with some of her memories missing, including an important memory that she knows will help Emily who hasn’t woken up. Robin must piece together who she was, why everyone at school is angry at her, and what really happened that night.
I thought this was a wonderful...more
“Two climbed up. Two fell down.One woke up.”
That’s the tag line of Avery Sawyer’s Notes to Self, a contemporary and realistic YA novel. The girl who woke up is our narrator, Robin Saunders. Robin is reeling from an accident that’s she’s unable to remember. Robin and best friend, Emily, climbed the Sling Shot, a ride in a local amusement park. Both girls fell thirty feet to the cold pavement below and were rescued by local paramedics. Only Robin awakes with a serious brain injury, while her best...more
That’s the tag line of Avery Sawyer’s Notes to Self, a contemporary and realistic YA novel. The girl who woke up is our narrator, Robin Saunders. Robin is reeling from an accident that’s she’s unable to remember. Robin and best friend, Emily, climbed the Sling Shot, a ride in a local amusement park. Both girls fell thirty feet to the cold pavement below and were rescued by local paramedics. Only Robin awakes with a serious brain injury, while her best...more
I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for reading and reviewing it.
Avery Sawyer’s Notes to Self is a short, mostly introspective book, her first for young adults. The premise is straightforward – two friends, Robin and Emily climb the “Sling Shot” ride at a theme park one night. Both of them fall, but only Robin wakes up in the hospital while Emily remains in a coma. The story is told from Robin’s point of view as she tries to come to terms with her injury, its traumatic effects and...more
Avery Sawyer’s Notes to Self is a short, mostly introspective book, her first for young adults. The premise is straightforward – two friends, Robin and Emily climb the “Sling Shot” ride at a theme park one night. Both of them fall, but only Robin wakes up in the hospital while Emily remains in a coma. The story is told from Robin’s point of view as she tries to come to terms with her injury, its traumatic effects and...more
Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer gets 4 stars.
This book is about 15 year old Robin who, along with her best friend Emily, climbs a rollercoaster at a local amusement park. Robin and Emily both fall causing Emily to be in a coma and Robin to have a traumatic brain injury. While Emily remains in the hospital, Robin has to go back to her life. But life isn't so easy for Robin. She feels like she doesn't know who she is and she's not sure she knew before the accident either. So, she proceeds to write...more
This book is about 15 year old Robin who, along with her best friend Emily, climbs a rollercoaster at a local amusement park. Robin and Emily both fall causing Emily to be in a coma and Robin to have a traumatic brain injury. While Emily remains in the hospital, Robin has to go back to her life. But life isn't so easy for Robin. She feels like she doesn't know who she is and she's not sure she knew before the accident either. So, she proceeds to write...more
Notes to Self is a book that allows the reader to take a journey through the mind of a girl who recently went through a traumatic brain injury. We are able to see what this girl is going through and how her world has changed around her.
Avery is able to take Robin's character and put a perspective on it that any reader would feel utter remorse for. We are able to understand the emotions, that she as a character is facing throughout this book with the words that are full of descriptiveness and me...more
Avery is able to take Robin's character and put a perspective on it that any reader would feel utter remorse for. We are able to understand the emotions, that she as a character is facing throughout this book with the words that are full of descriptiveness and me...more
Unsurprisingly, I accepted the request to read and review this book. The concept seemed pretty simple, but the main character looked like I'd want to get to know her, and I wanted to see how her journey would end up.
I thought the notes that Robin was supposed to be leaving to herself would play a much larger part to the story, but it actually was just like the end of a flashback. The flashbacks were probably my favorite parts of the book. Since Robin doesn't really know herself anymore, this is...more
I thought the notes that Robin was supposed to be leaving to herself would play a much larger part to the story, but it actually was just like the end of a flashback. The flashbacks were probably my favorite parts of the book. Since Robin doesn't really know herself anymore, this is...more
"...Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after." - Traditional English Nursery Rhyme
Robin Saunders and her best friend Emily Sampson sneak inside the Fun Towne midway after midnight. they climb the maintenance ladder of the Sling Shot ride and are about five stories up when an accident occurs. they fall down and are rushed to the hospital. only one wakes up...
writing as Avery Sawyer, author Laura Schaefer's novel invites the reader to experience vicariously the slow and pain...more
Robin Saunders and her best friend Emily Sampson sneak inside the Fun Towne midway after midnight. they climb the maintenance ladder of the Sling Shot ride and are about five stories up when an accident occurs. they fall down and are rushed to the hospital. only one wakes up...
writing as Avery Sawyer, author Laura Schaefer's novel invites the reader to experience vicariously the slow and pain...more
Review e-copy provided by author.
Robin's memory of the accident that caused her traumatic brain injury (TBI) is hazy, which is normal. She climbed to the top of the sling shot ride with her best friend Emma. It was windy. Emma seemed a bit crazed and reckless. She asks Robin a question: What do you think will happen to us? Then Robin's in the neurotrauma center of the hospital waking up and in horrible pain, but Em is still asleep.
Granted, the brain injury of self-(re)discovery is quickly becomi...more
Robin's memory of the accident that caused her traumatic brain injury (TBI) is hazy, which is normal. She climbed to the top of the sling shot ride with her best friend Emma. It was windy. Emma seemed a bit crazed and reckless. She asks Robin a question: What do you think will happen to us? Then Robin's in the neurotrauma center of the hospital waking up and in horrible pain, but Em is still asleep.
Granted, the brain injury of self-(re)discovery is quickly becomi...more
As Robin wakes up in the hospital with a brain injury the only thing she repeats over and over is "we fell" we spend the rest of the story piecing together what happened and wondering if Emily will ever come out of her coma. Robin decides to go back to school, maybe sooner than she should have. By writing little notes to herself to help her remember how to do things, because her brain is having a hard time making connections as easily as the process of showering and remembering her locker number...more
"Why don’t they let you sleep if you’re supposed to sleep? Nurses kept coming in to check on me. All I wanted to do was pass out, because every time I opened my eyes, everything was too bright, too loud, too painful. I didn’t want food. No, I don’t want a drink of water. Yes, my head still hurts. Yes, I still feel like puking my brains out. When will this all stop?
Please, just leave me alone.
I fell.
I fell."
--p.8
Beautiful cover, no?
I have to admit I refuse most self-published requests that come m...more
Please, just leave me alone.
I fell.
I fell."
--p.8
Beautiful cover, no?
I have to admit I refuse most self-published requests that come m...more
As i read the synopsis of the book, i knew it was going to be a very touching story that i'll remember. I enjoy reading real-life stories tremendously. To know that this story can actually happen in real life, or has happened to someone in this world, breaks my heart.
Robin and her best friend Emily fall, and only one of them wakes up, which is Robin. Robin struggles between praying that her best friend Emily wakes up from a coma, and remembering how to do simple automated activities, such as how...more
Robin and her best friend Emily fall, and only one of them wakes up, which is Robin. Robin struggles between praying that her best friend Emily wakes up from a coma, and remembering how to do simple automated activities, such as how...more
There really aren't enough good words to say about this YA contemporary story. Notes to Self tells us about Robin Saunders who suffers a terrible accident and sustains a traumatic brain injury.
Our narrative starts from the accident to the aftermath in the hospital as Robin begins her life again having forgotten the accident itself. The only thing is she's forgotten portions of her life also, and the ability to form sentences, put her jeans on before her shoes, and deal with the kids from school...more
Our narrative starts from the accident to the aftermath in the hospital as Robin begins her life again having forgotten the accident itself. The only thing is she's forgotten portions of her life also, and the ability to form sentences, put her jeans on before her shoes, and deal with the kids from school...more
I really wanted to love this book. The more I read it, the more I wanted to love it. The concept of a person recovering from a traumatic brain injury and having to re-learn basic things like how to take a shower was absolutely fascinating to me. The story flipped back and forth between the present and the past as Robin struggles to regain her memories and figure out exactly what happened the night she and Emily fell..
The reason why this book was a like, but not a love, was the main character, R...more
The reason why this book was a like, but not a love, was the main character, R...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notes to Self now at BN.com, iTunes | 1 | 2 | May 12, 2012 05:51pm | |
| The ending of the book (spoiler alert) | 2 | 20 | Feb 15, 2012 09:55am | |
| Robin at school | 1 | 7 | Feb 07, 2012 04:43pm | |
| The Indie Exchang...: Giveaway of Notes to Self | 1 | 8 | Jan 02, 2012 09:15am | |
| ♥!The Young Adult...: Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer | 1 | 3 | Dec 09, 2011 08:51am |
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“I think insomnia is a sign that a person is interesting.”
—
150 people liked it
“I don't believe everything happens for a reason. But I still search for reasons anyway. It's like I don't want to admit that maybe everything really is totally random...that people are just molecules in the air, bumping into each other and floating away again."
-p150, NOTES TO SELF”
—
20 people liked it
More quotes…
-p150, NOTES TO SELF”
