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Persistence of Memory

by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

3.64 · rating details · 1,056 ratings · 99 reviews

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe just wants to be like everyone else in her new school. But Erin has more to worry about than passing AP Chemistry or making friends. In times of stress, 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 ha...more

Library Binding, 224 pages

Published December 9th 2008 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (first published December 3rd 2008)

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Oct 15, 2008

Connie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lit

For most of Erin Misrahe’s sixteen-year-old life, she has been constantly afraid of losing control. Erin has been diagnosed with schizophrenia at a very young age and her alter ego, Shevaun is highly dangerous and is prone to violent actions. Erin never remembers what happens when Shevaun takes over her body. In fact, Erin believes Shevaun to be a product of her mind but, in actuality, Shevaun does exist apart from Erin. Shevaun is a dangerous vampire who lived for quite a long time and has some...more

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Jan 29, 2009

Jennifer Wardrip rated it

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Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com

Since she was a child, Erin has been plagued with mental illness. Her schizophrenic episodes have kept her in and out of various institutions for most of her life. Now, at age 16, Erin's therapist has decided she must re-enter the real world.

Public school is a little frightening - lots of kids, larger classes, more stimuli to trigger an outburst. Erin attempts normal teenage activities; making new friends and trying out for the fen...more

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Dec 30, 2008

Bookaholics rated it

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Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Young Adult Fantasy – December 9, 2008
3 Stars

Erin Misrahe is not a typical sixteen years old. She’s crazy. Has been diagnosed as such and has spent years in a mental institution trying to “recover”. Over time, and a good deal of trial and error, doctors have been able to get her medication under control enough to allow her to leave the institution and join the “real” world.

She befriends Marissa, a typic...more

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Jan 27, 2012

Naomi rated it

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Fencing + Paranormal + Action + Romance = My kind of read!

BTW: If you're looking for a short read, this took me only two hours to read, if even that!

Alright, it has been a long time coming since I've actually enjoyed a book this much.

Would I suggest Persistence of Memory to a friend? Yeah! The characters are well rounded and unique, the story is well written and very unique, and the overall plot was well executed. Plus, I'm a sucker for paranormal and fencing...moreFencing + Paranormal + Action + Romance = My kind of read!

BTW: If you're looking for a short read, this took me only two hours to read, if even that!

Alright, it has been a long time coming since I've actually enjoyed a book this much.

Would I suggest Persistence of Memory to a friend? Yeah! The characters are well rounded and unique, the story is well written and very unique, and the overall plot was well executed. Plus, I'm a sucker for paranormal and fencing!

SPOILERS AHEAD
(view spoiler)[
Okay, let me start out by saying the Persistence of Memories goes outside of the lines of regular paranormal YAs. There's no girl suddenly just falling instantly in love with some new guy who's paranormal in school or vice versa. No, it's a relationship that started years ago and they've been through a lot together. See that authors: Not every book has to be about love at first sight!

Erin believes herself to be schizophrenic after being diagnosed with it by several different doctors. She's been taking a rainbow of pills ever since she stabbed a nurse in the hand. The pills are supposed to help her from reverting to her alter ego Shevaun who causes havoc.

What Erin doesn't know is that Shevaun actually exists and the two of them are switching bodies during these episodes. Shevaun is a vampire, with a witch boyfriend, Adjila and she has two younger girls living with them that she considers family, Brittany and Iana.

When Shevaun finds out about the body switching, she becomes determined to get rid of Erin before Erin harms her family. Meanwhile, Erin's life is spinning out of control after she sees her best friend shapeshift into a tiger and her old boyfriend (whom she hasn't seen in 3 years) suddenly shows up out of the blue claming that she's less than human.

They all must come together to help Shevaun and Erin become two seperate people again. And this crowd is nothing short on unique. No two characters are alike. Brittany is the type to kill a person then ask questions, Iana is of Irish decent, Marrisa is an Asian who doesn't fit the Asian smart stereotype, Sassy is a pathological liar, Adjila is a witch that is wise and uses silence to scare his enemies, Shevaun has a tendency of violence, and Erin is just trying to stay sane. So in all, a very colorful crew we got here.

The twist at the ending, oh the twist at the ending, I never saw it coming, and that is REALLY rare with me. Actually, I think this is only the 2nd time a book has truly surprised me! I never guessed that it was actually characters' mistakes from the past that added up to make this whole mess. Every character has a part in this tale's ending, and it makes it a very well executed book.

Amelia had this wonderful idea and executed it well. There's a ton of authors with ideas, but not all can execute it as well as Amelia did in this and still make each character unique.

OVERALL: Why did I love this book?
Characters are well rounded.
It steps out of the YA stereotype, and then goes so far away from it, it will leave you wondering if this is truly YA Paranormal.
An amazing standalone (yeah, I'm sick of series too).
It includes paranormal & romance.
I'll say it again: Fencing.
Hyena shapeshifters. (Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said unique.)
(hide spoiler)](less)

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Nov 01, 2011

Tiffany Crowder rated it

· review of another edition

Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is a creative, yet twisted story of a life as a teenager; this book was published in 2008. The way Amelia Rhodes details the locations, and describes the characters is amazing. 17 year old Erin is just like any normal teenager expect for a strange Psychiatric Disability. She has been going to school in a hospital because of her disorder and when she starts a new semester at the high school, the hospital decides that she can take one of her cla...more

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Jul 07, 2011

Charleen Merced rated it

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No persistence for a good ending

Erin Misrahe is not a normal 16-year old that lives in Concord, Massachusetts. She just started going half time to public school and finally has a friend. After spending the better part of her life in institutions and mental hospitals for violent behavior, schizophrenia and dissociative personality, her doctors are finally trying to re-associate her with the world. Aside for a few anxiety attacks and being afraid that she may still hurt someone, Erin is ...moreNo persistence for a good ending

Erin Misrahe is not a normal 16-year old that lives in Concord, Massachusetts. She just started going half time to public school and finally has a friend. After spending the better part of her life in institutions and mental hospitals for violent behavior, schizophrenia and dissociative personality, her doctors are finally trying to re-associate her with the world. Aside for a few anxiety attacks and being afraid that she may still hurt someone, Erin is doing fine; that is until she suffers an anxiety attack and wakes up in France, next to a man that says they have been together for years (and since she is 16 she is slightly baffled by how many years that could be) and that she is not Erin but Shevaun (who Erin recognizes as her alternate personality). After Erin "wakes up" for her little episode strange things start to happen and an old friend comes back into her life to warn her that someone wants to harm her, Shevaun who is a vampire.

The book belongs to the Den of Shadows series by Amelia Atwater Rhodes and some of the characters present in other books make an appearance here. The book had a good premise and it was intriguing to read through the book to learn what the story was between Shevaun and Erin. It was a light book, easy to read (you can read it in one sitting) and not overly complicated (although it tried to be). The book tried to weave a complicated story full of character's back histories, some psychology (that is not really delved into, merely mentioned) and some major issues about growing up thinking you are crazy and can't trust yourself. I said that the book tried to weave the complicated story and it was actually somewhat doing that when I notice that I had less than 15 pages to read in the book. Then, I questioned how could this book possibly conclude so rapidly when everything seemed to be so messed up. The thing is that fo all the time the author spend trying to create a full world full of history, conflict and interesting character, she fails in the conclusion of the story by dismissing all the created suspense and launching into a simple conclusion of the story's events in a way that was all to convenient. It was frustrating.

The characters she presented us were hollow and incomplete, she failed to produce more complete versions of the people that were taking part in the story and thus give us a better understanding of the character's reactions, reasons and actions. I understand that there are several books through which the characters in this book are linked, and I have read some of them. But even then, having known Alexander's story (In the Forests of the Night), for example, I know that there is still a lot missing to him, as with most of the characters in this and the other books by Amelia Atwater Rhodes.

The book was not bad, but I felt it was incomplete. It felt hurried at the end, as if the author rushed to finish her paper before handing it in to the teacher. Read this book if you are a fan of this author and have read the other Den of Shadows books. It was an easy book to read but disappointing in the end. (less)

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May 09, 2011

Amanda rated it

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Yo folks, long time no speak. Dropping by to tell you about Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Bought this on Saturday at a second-hand book sale dirt cheap.

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe just wants to be like everyone else in her new school. But Erin has more to worry about than passing AP Chemistry

Persistence of Memory; Amelia Atwater-Rhodesor making friends. In times of stress, she has always been overcome by her alter ego, Shevaun, whose violent ...moreYo folks, long time no speak. Dropping by to tell you about Persistence of Memory by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Bought this on Saturday at a second-hand book sale dirt cheap.

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe just wants to be like everyone else in her new school. But Erin has more to worry about than passing AP Chemistry

Persistence of Memory; Amelia Atwater-Rhodesor making friends. In times of stress, she has always been overcome by her alter ego, Shevaun, whose violent behaviour 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 then 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.

In Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' thrilling tale of love, loyalty and illusion, the waking hours are only as safe as the dreams that come before them.

Sounds a tad interesting, no? I bought it because one, I've read a book by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes before and really enjoyed it's creativity and storyline, and two, it mentioned an alter ego. And my alter ego's name is Mephtis so naturally I was interested. :P

It's only a short book - I finished it in the space of a few hours later that day. The story is good. It moves really quickly, providing the necessary background information. A-R doesn't spend long establishing the story or anything. She basically just jumps straight in there and finishes as soon as the resolution has been found. I think maybe she could have done a lot more with the idea if she'd wanted to spend longer writing it.

A-R has quite a nice writing style. Nothing amazing but it's easy to read. No convulated sentences anywhere. I think what really works for her is the creativity of her storyline coupled with a nice twist at the end. It draws people in with something that isn't going to be entirely predictable but stays within the boundaries of 'normal' fantasy so it doesn't require any extra brain power.

Overall: 3/5. Good light reading for a relaxing afternoon.
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Jan 30, 2011

(´*•.¸ღBexღ¸.•*´) rated it

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Shelves: e-books, own

The story centres around Erin, a schizophrenic teenager, with a mysterious connection to an ancient vampire named Shevaun. While the story was definitely interesting, I found both the plot and Erin and to be a little underdeveloped. Erin had such a hard time dealing with the truth. I felt that this aspect of the plot was completely glossed over. Erin didn't really deal with anything. She was just like, "Oh, everything's changed...okay." It would have helped if Erin had a more distinct ...moreThe story centres around Erin, a schizophrenic teenager, with a mysterious connection to an ancient vampire named Shevaun. While the story was definitely interesting, I found both the plot and Erin and to be a little underdeveloped. Erin had such a hard time dealing with the truth. I felt that this aspect of the plot was completely glossed over. Erin didn't really deal with anything. She was just like, "Oh, everything's changed...okay." It would have helped if Erin had a more distinct personality. She could be anyone dealing with any kind of infliction. There wasn't anything to set her apart from Jane Smith except for her mental illness. I felt like Erin's personality was most distinct at the beginning and began to dwindle as more characters entered the story.

I thought the author did a good job of explaining the paranormal world without being patronizing, but the ending was odd for me. There was a lot going on and I don't feel like I get the purpose behind some of the daydreaming going on in the last few chapters. Shevaun is supposed to be this crazy, powerful vampire, but she flips out and cries over killing "an innocent bystander." It didn't make any sense. It's like Shevaun was also suffering from schizophrenia; powerful, blow up a city Shevaun, and artistic "I hate to kill people" Shevaun. The latter is more believable. I'm more inclined to believe that Shevaun brought empires to ruin in a fit of mania, than I am to believe that she did it because it sounded like fun at the time. It's like the author wanted me to believe that she was both destructive and loving and it wasn't working. She could write a series of books off of Shevaun's mental battle alone lol.

The one person I really liked was Sassy, though Adjila had an appeal in a very "it's been done, but he's still SO cool" kind of way. Sassy was very distinctive, very cool. I could really picture him, probably better than I could picture anyone else.

Things kind of jumbled together in the end for me. But it was a good read. I wanted to know what was going to happen. I wanted to keep reading. I thought it was a good book until things started to unravel at the end. I really like how the climax was revealed and how everything was set up, but I'm disappointed that it wasn't something more explosive. I find it highly unlikely that a powerful witch would take as long as Adjila did to figure things out the way he had. And the way the book was set up, I was expecting a much more confrontational ending than what I ended up reading, which was pretty low key and under the radar for a novel that started out on such a high note. It was almost too "tying the bow on the present." It was too neat and it didn't feel like it should have been. It's why I couldn't rate this the 4 stars I wanted to give this book before I got to the end.

This is not in my top 10 or even 50 best books that I've ever read. But I would read it again, and I'm sure all of her fans will enjoy the ride. If nothing else, it's interesting and different. And that's something I can appreciate and enjoy reading.
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Dec 30, 2010

Karissa Eckert rated it

· review of another edition

I got this book as an Advanced Readers Edition through the Amazon Vine program. The premise sounded interesting.

Basically Erin has finally enrolled in public schooling. For the first 16 years of her life she has been institutionalized because of schizophrenia. Sometimes her violent alter-ego Shevaun takes over. Finally Erin's life is looking up, Shevaun is under control and Erin can look forward to a normal life. That is until she joins fencing club. Shevaun once again takes control an...more

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Sep 08, 2010

Shirley :] rated it

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Persistence of Memory is an unusual and twisted book about a girl named Erin who is schizophrenic and has a personality disorder. After 16 years of being on a daily basis of psychological help by all the nations best psychologists and psychiatrist she finally begins to be 'normal' and is 'normal' for about 2 years. Until she starts to have those dreams. The dreams where she appears as Shevaun, her other personality. Her other half. However, Shevaun is a vampire. Erin's other half lives...more Persistence of Memory is an unusual and twisted book about a girl named Erin who is schizophrenic and has a personality disorder. After 16 years of being on a daily basis of psychological help by all the nations best psychologists and psychiatrist she finally begins to be 'normal' and is 'normal' for about 2 years. Until she starts to have those dreams. The dreams where she appears as Shevaun, her other personality. Her other half. However, Shevaun is a vampire. Erin's other half lives in Sete, France and yearns to find a way to get to Erin. But Erin doesn't want Shevaun back in her life after being the real Erin for all this time. She knows deep down that after holding Shevaun back all this time in the walls of Erin, she wants to take revenge. In the first couples of dreams of being Shevaun, Erin hesitates. Knowing she should not give into being Shevaun for any part of the bits of dreams. But another part of her takes over and she begins to go along with the dreams. The dreams begin to get intense and she falls back into being Shevaun. They both know this cannot go well. As Erin is trying to regain a normal life she never had because of Shevaun. But Shevaun steps in once again. This time Shevaun does not want to be caged in. She searches for Erin and will try to kill her. But as she knows she is just as much Shevaun as she is Erin. They are of the same spirit, of the same body of the same soul. But since Erin feels Shevaun's presence and has these dreams she has to find a way to control Shevaun. Erin and Shevaun’s world crash and it takes over their lives and surroundings. But sometimes by knowing this and all the problems Erin has herself she cannot trust anyone and not even herself at that. But what Erin didn't know was that Shevaun is not a figment of her imagination as the psychiatrist and as Erin was pushed to believe; but Shevaun is real! She is not what Erin had thought she had been. And the story begins to unravel in mind-juggling twists and turns.I learned that things are not always what they seem also to always follow your instincts and trust yourself when your gut signals you a deep feeling when something is happening. I also learned to not let people tell to you what you should feel. And to believe and go for what you think is right in your mind.I liked this book because it was unordianry, unusual and weird. it was also very intriguing since there was so much going on that left you thinking. The writer wrote slowly and built the situation from the beginning and then the whole story unfolded. I would recommend this book to teens and people who love vampire/fantasy/paranormal romance books because they would be interested in the whole vampire parts and the teenagers in this book are very modern like us teens now-a-days.

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Jun 09, 2010

Denise rated it

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3.0 out of 5 stars There's a vampire in my head.............., November 5, 2008

This review is from: Persistence of Memory (Hardcover) YA FICTION

I'm a bit surprised by all the negative reviews. I found the book rather interesting and unusual. At least with this story, you know right away its fantasy - not like with some teen books that are supposed to be realistic and yet are not. I don't read much in the way of vampire and shape-shifter lore, so I was trying to figure ...more

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Mar 08, 2009

Kate rated it

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Shelves: 2009, age-ya, vampire-books, signed-copies, psychological

I probably would have read this book anyway, because I read all of her other vampire-world books (I can't pronounce the name of her other series so I really can't even imagine trying to read it), but Amelia came to our local Toadstool Bookshop and what she said about this book really intrigued me.

She got her undergraduate degree in psychology (like me) and the psychological aspects of the story - a girl who has spent her life in and out of mental hospitals due to hallucinations and ...more

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Dec 04, 2008

Rachel rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: those who like a girl-finds-out-she's-special fantasy but don't mind some over the top-ness.

I'm wavering between three and four stars on this one, but I think I came down on the side of three. It had many elements of a likable fantasy--strange happenings, vampire women, sexy wizard men, action and confusion, and also some interesting commentary on the mental health industry. My issue with it was that it was too short to contain all of that. I didn't get to spend enough time with the main character, or with any of the other characters, to get to like them or understand them. As a re...more

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Jun 23, 2010

Erin Ashley rated it

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Shelves: vampires, romance

Honestly, I picked up this book because the title and cover interested me and on reading the blurb and finding out the main characters name was the same as mine I read on and decided to pick it up. I thought it might be a treat to read a book with my name in it as the main. After reading it and discovering it written in second person it took away some of the appeal, so it lost a star for that seeing as second person has never been a favourite of mine. The story line was consistent but sometimes ...more

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Jan 14, 2010

Grace rated it

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Shelves: paranormal

Well, this was somewhat of a letdown. I love Rhodes's other series The Kiesha'ra, so Persistence of Memory seemed kind of flat in comparison. Yes, I know Persistence of Memory isn't part of a series, but still. The plot seemed nonexistent. The characters were somewhat... boring. Sassy was the only character I really really liked. And the whole werewolf/vampire thing wasn't underlined as much as it should have been...

Also, at some points, it got a bit confusing as to what 'she' the st...more

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Jul 02, 2010

♥Xeni♥ rated it

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Shelves: werewolf, shapeshifter, high-school, romance, time, otherworld, vampire, psychology, mystery, favorites

I very much enjoyed this story! It didn't exactly help with the time zone adjustment, but staying up all night to read was amusing.

This story is very well written, thought-out and realistic. There are shapeshifters and vampires and witches and humans but no clear cut lines between them (something I appreciated). Erin is an interesting character with her psych-ward past. The plot is feasible and enjoyable (but I won't go into details here).

Needless to say, this is one YA / h...more

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Oct 02, 2009

Sarah rated it

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If ever you feel the need for a book that is filled with action, complex twists, and subtle yet prevelant illusions about societal mentalities, this would definatly be a great choice. Admittedly, the dialogue and introduction are bit poorly written, but it is made up for by the swift and enticing plot that always keeps you thinking- wondering actually. Is the protagonist, Erin, crazy or is she brilliant and gifted? Is the antagonist, Shevaun, really an antagonist at all, or is she simply a victi...more

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Aug 06, 2009

Lilibeth rated it

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How refreshing. Somehow I managed not to skim more than three pages on this one. I think because, it was to interesting to accidently skip a detail of importance. As I told Alea from Pop Culture Junkie on a Twitter message, "it reminds me somewhat of The Host." Which seems, frankly, I was wrong about. Admittedly, the alternations in reality taken in stride are very comparable; but that has more to do with the concept of the book, not the background details, or the characters for that m...more

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Jan 08, 2010

Stacey rated it

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Not great, and also a little weird. Although Atwater-Rhodes was considered a wunderkind when she wrote (and consequently got published) her first book, all of her books feel almost-but-not-quite-fanfic (not nearly as bad as Twilight, of course)... The underlying problem (and she did avoid this a good deal in her Kiesha'ra series), is that she has this established world in her head that doesn't quite make it out onto the page. Instead we get a shit-ton of information about psychological treatment...more

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Oct 18, 2011

Jessica RiffeKincaid rated it

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Shelves: paranormal-romance, young-adult

Trapped in her own mind, consisting of it's own world that is different to the normal world around her, a young lady is forced to battle the demons running rampant inside her own head. Trying to exist in a public school setting and aviod her past violent behavior, suffering from a strange form of multiple personality disorder, she tries to battle her own mind that takes her to another person, another being..a vampire! The battle between both personality comes to an end like no other.

Ho...more

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May 02, 2011

Cyna rated it

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I have to start by saying I absolutely worshiped her when I was growing up, cause, y'know, 13-year-old author, wrote about vampires, etc, etc. Her fictional world shaped mine as a child, and still kind of does, to some extent. Anyway, that being said, Persistence of Memory was kind of disappointing.

I mean, the premise was promising - a girl who all her life has believed that she is schizophrenic and has a violent alternate personality named Shevaun, comes to find out that her alter is ...moreI have to start by saying I absolutely worshiped her when I was growing up, cause, y'know, 13-year-old author, wrote about vampires, etc, etc. Her fictional world shaped mine as a child, and still kind of does, to some extent. Anyway, that being said, Persistence of Memory was kind of disappointing.

I mean, the premise was promising - a girl who all her life has believed that she is schizophrenic and has a violent alternate personality named Shevaun, comes to find out that her alter is in actuality a real person vampire who occasionally inhabits her brain. It's a very unique way to approach the usual human-gets-introduced-to-supernatural-world plot point.

And I liked that her illness was taken seriously and dealt with (as far as I can tell) realistically by the character and the author. You can see that Amy did her research, or maybe she knew someone with similar problems. I believed it, anyway.

Still, there were issues. I mean, coming on the heels of the massive world-building she did in the unique and immersive (if overly edited) Kiesha'ra, the setting and situations in this story come off a little bland and boring. We're back to plain old vampires and plain old humans, and while there are shapeshifter and witch characters in this book, it feels...less imaginative. The only bit of interesting mythology we get in Persistence of Memory deals with the Triste witches (basically immortal psychic vampires with magic powers), and most of that you can learn from her website, blog, and message board, which I happened to spend my early teen years living on.

I suppose all that is forgivable, since the point here is the story and characters, not the world. But...well, the characters aren't that great either. Erin is boring, basically the same heroine Amy has in all of her books - an attractive, sarcastic loner. Even her mental health issues don't affect her personality enough to make her interesting, or even all that different.

Her alter's lover, Adjila, suffers from the same problem. You could call him Zane or Jaguar or Nikolas or Christopher, or hell, even Aubrey, and never know it should have been different...

Read more at You're Killing Me.(less)

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Jul 29, 2010

Amber rated it

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Recommends it for: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes's fans!

I want to start off by saying that I love all of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’s books. I have read both her Den of Shadows series and her Kiesha’ra series. In fact, much like with Twilight, I found her first book, In the Forests of the Night when it was her only published book. All of her books are incredibly short reads. I would have finished this one in only a few hours if I had not started it on a weekday evening and had been too tired to keep reading. I own all of Atwater-Rhodes’s books, except thi...more

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Sep 19, 2010

Nancy O'Toole rated it

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Shelves: paranormal, young-adult

Persistence of Memory, the tenth novel by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, takes us away from the fantasy world of The Kiesha’ra Series, and back to the modern vampire world created in her first four books. Our main character, Erin, is a teenage girl who grew up believing that she was schizophrenic. She is prone to “episodes” where she seems to be taken over by another personality, a violent woman name Shevaun. At the beginning of the book, the heavily medicated Erin has not had an episode in a while. Her...morePersistence of Memory, the tenth novel by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, takes us away from the fantasy world of The Kiesha’ra Series, and back to the modern vampire world created in her first four books. Our main character, Erin, is a teenage girl who grew up believing that she was schizophrenic. She is prone to “episodes” where she seems to be taken over by another personality, a violent woman name Shevaun. At the beginning of the book, the heavily medicated Erin has not had an episode in a while. Her therapist is hopeful that she will be able to re-enter the public school system and function as a normal teenager. The only problem? Erin isn’t schizophrenic. Shevaun is not an alternate personality, but a deadly vampire, centuries old, who shares a psychic link with young Erin. Until this link is severed, Erin will never be able to live the normal life she desperately wants.

I was very excited about reading Persistence of Memory. I found the concept behind it fascinating. I can only imagine the struggle of someone who had grown up thinking that she was crazy only to discover that everything she thought was a hallucination was real. Also, as someone who has read all of Amelia’s books, one of the things I found frustrating about her older vampire books was I often felt as if she was drawing a little too much from LJ Smith’s Night World Series. Fortunately, Persistence of Memory seems completely original to me. It was great to get a story that was purely Amelia, with no outside influences.

Unfortunately, the execution these great ideas are rather uneven. At times, the writing is absolutely fine. The scene where Erin first wakes up inside Shevaun’s body is particularly riveting. Other time, the writer falls into the mistake of “showing, not telling,” which is not something I’d expect from an experienced writer with ten years in the field. As a result, the characters, besides Erin herself, often come off as feeling underdeveloped. I felt as if I was struggling to make emotional connections with them, but was constantly coming up against a glass wall. Side characters, like Marissa, are never truly fleshed out. I found I couldn’t even care about a twist that involved her character, even though it was important to the plot. Most frustrating was the character of Shevaun. Despite scenes of painting, and tidbits about her past, I put down this book feeling as if knew very little about here, and she’s one of the most important characters of the book!

The book did have its satisfying moments. I liked the character of Sassy, and there was a cameo from a character from In the Forests of the Night that was unexpected and very welcome! Still, I could not help but feel as if there should have been more to this book. I was excited about the idea of reading a young adult vampire novel that was less about the romance, and more about a character’s personal journey. Instead, I got story that should have been interesting, and characters that should have resonated with me, but in the end, just fell flat.(less)

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Jun 25, 2009

Miss Clark rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fairytale-fantasy-sci-fi-mythology

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 12, 2008

Rachael rated it

· review of another edition

Sixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe has had a lifetime to deal with crazy and the various psychological diseases she’s been diagnosed with at birth, but now that her medication has been stabilized, she’s been significantly better. Erin is finally able to attend public school for the first time since first grade, and she hasn’t had a blackout in over a year. But just as Erin thinks she has conquered her alter ego Shevaun, she starts having strange dreams about a life her second personality couldn’t pos...moreSixteen-year-old Erin Misrahe has had a lifetime to deal with crazy and the various psychological diseases she’s been diagnosed with at birth, but now that her medication has been stabilized, she’s been significantly better. Erin is finally able to attend public school for the first time since first grade, and she hasn’t had a blackout in over a year. But just as Erin thinks she has conquered her alter ego Shevaun, she starts having strange dreams about a life her second personality couldn’t possibly be living. With the help of an old friend Sassy, Erin comes to realize that Shevaun actually exists apart from Erin, and that Shevaun and her family are determined to destroy the connection Erin and Shevaun share at whatever cost. But even if this may sound good on the surface, in Erin’s new world of lies and danger, she can trust no one—not even herself.

I was actually a little wary of reading this novel at first, because the story sounded a little iffy, but I was glad my initial reaction was proven wrong. Persistence of Memory was well-written with a mixture of reality versus dreamscape, crazy versus supernatural explanations, and plenty of danger and suspense. Erin’s character was very well-developed; her history of psychological disorders causing her to doubt the validity of her own vision helped create her unique character. However, I felt nearly all the other characters could’ve been improved. For example, Sassy’s connection to Erin seems a little out of the blue for something that ran so deep, and Shevaun’s relationship with Adjila didn’t feel as deeply rooted as I thought it should’ve been. I have no complaints about the plot until the very end when the reasons behind the whole ordeal were just all over the place and didn’t really feel plausible. Despite that, though, I really enjoyed this original and thrilling tale.

Fans of supernatural stories, especially those about vampires and shape shifters, will be drawn to Persistence of Memory. Readers who enjoyed both Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith and The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong will also like this novel.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com (less)

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Dec 30, 2010

Amanda rated it

· review of another edition

Once again, Amelia has failed to disappoint me. With her excellent use of the english language and her vividly intense imagination, she has wowed me once more. The story was a mix between Vampire Academy and The United States of Tara. Amelia managed to combine two of my favorite genres of writing: vampire/horror and teen problems. In the end the teen problems turn out to be just as sci-fi as the rest of the story. I applaud Amelia and cannot wait for the release of her next book.

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Sep 07, 2010

Ruby rated it

· review of another edition

I've been wanting to read Amelia Atwater-Rhodes ever since I found out that she was thirteen when she published her first book ("In the Forests of the Night"), as I've always been interested in young writers. I was worried that she might be another 'clique-y' vampire novelist, but I have to admit that I definitely wasn't disappointed with her work, and hope to read more soon! She's one of those writers that I had a lot of trouble forcing myself to put down.

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Jul 19, 2009

Donna rated it

· review of another edition

Erin has been institutionalized as a schizophrenic and a dissociative since her early childhood. She is now a teen and the attempt is being made to transition her into public education. Erin thinks she has made a slip back when she finds herself in Shevaun's bedroom with Aubrey. She faints and comes back as Erin and is certain that she is on the path back to the hospital until she meets Aubrey in town several days later. Suddenly, all her beliefs about her life are in doubt.
Vampires, s...more

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Dec 05, 2010

Erin rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult

I came across this book in my quest to read 10 books in which there was a character named Erin. It is a Young Adult fantasy novel about vampires, witches, and shape-shifters. Erin is a 16 year old girl who thinks she is schizophrenic. Turns out, not so much, and her friends aren't what they seem either. It was a ok book. I'd like it to be a little longer, go into more detail about the characters. Still better then *shudder* Twilight.

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Jul 08, 2009

Sharon rated it

· review of another edition

Erin is transitioning back into high school after years of therapy. She still dreams of herself as another person living another life, but the new medication helps her to suppress those thoughts during the day. Atwater-Rhodes surprised me with this book, the writing was very good and a few unexpected twists and turns made this a great read. The cover is not catching the teen's attention. Looks like a 1940's murder mystery.

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About Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

I grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, where I matriculated through the public Concord-Carlisle school district from kindergarten until my graduation in 2001. The best part of school, from fifth grade until the year I graduated, was definitely chorus. I love music, and I love to sing, and though I never had the courage or the talent to participate in any of the high school plays as a performer, I en...more

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In the Forests of the Night (Den of Shadows, #1)

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“White pill, blue pill, yellow pill, purple pill; its like swallowing a rainbow every bedtime.” — 52 people liked it

“The first time I kissed you, you had just cut off your hair with a plastic knife. You were in restraints and your lips were completely chapped and dry from the tranquilizers. The next day you tried to kill me with a torn-off piece of bedsheet. I've seen you at your worst. You hardly need to dress up for me.” — 16 people liked it

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