False Memory (False Memory #1)

This book had me reading a mile a minute. It is so face paced I finished it in one sitting. The action is exciting and well written so it's easy to follow and picture the scenes in your head. I really enjoyed this book, however:

Because it is so face paced it doesn't take enough time to slow down and get personal. The main character, Miranda, whose POV the story it told from, is great. She's smart and brave and truly a kick-ass heroine. Her character is the sole reason this book is so readable. You want to follow her.

...and then there are the other characters. Or, lack of character, characters. Hardly any of the other characters in the book are developed enough to truly care about them. Any feelings I had towards them were because of how they affected Miranda, not because I had any feelings for the characters themselves. They are so paper thin that anything could have happened to any of them and I would not have cared. Slowly, by the end, they start to grow but then the book is over, because it just does not stop moving. You would think that would be a good thing, and don't get me wrong it WAS thrilling to read, but it disappointed as a story I could emotional invest in. It is equivalent to a summer action movie, awesome to watch but doesn't really leave much to think about afterwards.

The story itself has a very cool concept with twists and turns you couldn't see from a mile away. That's another reason it was so enthralling, you couldn't predict what would happen next. When what ever happened happens another twist would just blow it away leaving you with your mouth open and turning to the next page. The author did a great job of making the book constantly readable even though it was so shallow. Same as with the characters, because he doesn't slow down the story suffers from being superficial. The world itself has an outline but never really develops into a picture.

This book is good, but it could have been great. Miranda is a great character that forces you to follow her even though everything else is lacking. Everything about it has the potential to be great if only it were a little more developed. Hopefully the sequel that I have yet to read will change that and turn the story from a popcorn movie into an epic series that you don't want to put down just because it's exciting, but because you actually care and have an emotional investment in the story.

I would give this book only 3 stars each but because it has such potential and I know that there is a sequel I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt.

If you want a quick, fun read with an interesting story then I'd absolutely recommend this book. But if you want something to delve into with all your heart, skip it.

Right now I'm on the border of wanting to start a new series but still emotionally tramatized from Allegiant that I'm not looking for anything too serious at the moment. In that case, I'm going to pick up the sequel and happily chase Miranda even further as she rides on her motorcycle, wherever it ends up going.

en romantic. I couldn't get into the romance because it all felt too fake. I believe it was real for the guys, but it was almost like Miranda was just going with the flow. In the end, I like the guy she (kind of) chose, but more for myself than for her.

And while I did like the characters, I just didn't get attached enough feel more than a little sad at the deaths. Hopefully more time with them will help me care for them a bit more.

I really liked the overall story. It was a great blend of mystery, action, and surprising reveals. I didn't feel lost or bored at any point in the story. The flashbacks were done in a way that wasn't too convenient yet still important to the plot.

One of my favorite elements was the surprising twists. Just when I'd think I was getting a hang of things Krokos would throw in something new that both explained some things and left me with plenty of questions.

I'm hoping future books focus a little more on the "science" of it all because I love fictional science. And hey, if it's realistic science but you explain it in a way that sounds fantastic, I'm down with that too. It's kind of funny how much I love that element in a story considering Science was my least favorite subject in school...

The Nutshell: False Memory is a promising start to the series. There were some aspects that didn't work for me too well (the weird romance), but the story was engaging and fast-paced. I am hoping for a little more depth (characters, relationship, crazy science, etc.) with book two, but I'm definitely looking forward to reading it.

All throughout this book, I was thinking "What will happen next?!" First we need to find out who Miranda is, then we need to find out about her "family", then we need to find out..... yep, I will stop now.

It is really easy learning about Miranda, because we are discovering it with her, since she lost her memories. That made it much easier to find out things about her. The more we find out about Miranda's life, the more fascinating it all becomes. And then there are those little twists, that just throw everything you thought you knew off track, and keep you on your toes.

Miranda North has no idea who she is. She woke up on a random park bench, unsure who she was, why she was there, and what happened before that. She asks help from a cop, but when he starts getting snippy with her, she panics and the unthinkable happens. Suddenly the mall is filled with terrified people, even committing suicide, and Miranda has no idea what's going on. And in the middle of it all is a guy called Peter. He takes her in and Miranda learns that she was part of a group of four: her, Peter, Noah and Olive. They called themselves the Roses (umm... yeah... they need a better name). And then just as Miranda thinks she might be getting a hold on things, they are plunged into chaos. And Miranda also has to deal with a boyfriend she doesn't even remember...

Miranda was a great protagonist. She was independent, yet still femminine, she might have the capacity to wipe out a whole city, but she still had girl problems, and even though she had no idea what was happening around her, she didn't cry in a corner and wait for Prince Charming to come and save her, she faced the unknown with her head held high and learned to cope with it and make new memories instead of miss the old ones. Which is what I'd like to be like if I ever completely lost my memory.

From the start I knew Peter was going to be great. He was sweet, smart and compassionate, and just lend a hand to Miranda when she needed help. Although he was a great leader to their group, when it came to personal things he was kind of shy. I also liked Noah, even though he was sarcastic, and a bit arrogant. Noah was Miranda's boyfriend before she lost her memory. It was obvious how much he worried about Miranda and how upset he was that she couldn't remember him, even though it was his fault in the first place. I also like Olive, who seemed to be just like Miranda.

Arg! Love triangles are so difficult! It's really hard to decide between Noah or Peter. Both guys have their own reasons for being with Miranda, and they are both great in different ways (at least it's not like those love triangles where with one guy you're just like "ewww... don't you dare choose him!") Actually, scratch that, I've decided. I want her to be with Peter. It seems that Noah is really just grasping at the past, and not really seeing what the new Miranda is like.

I liked all the twists of the plot. They were unanticipated, for me, which was great. There was also a balanced mix between action, suspense and romance.

Krokos nailed the female voice on this one. Sometimes male authors don't quite get the narrating female voice right, which is really annoying. But with Krokos, it's like it was written by a female, Miranda's voice is so genuine.

This book is really great and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a fast paced interesting novel. I can't wait for False Sight!!!

I wanted to read False Memory because Dan Krokos was going to be at the Austin Teen Book Festival and I wanted to be familiar with as many of the authors as possible (and also my sister had an ARC). What I was not expecting is that I would sit down and read this entire book without stopping!

Right off the bat, I was pulled into Miranda’s situation, wondering what the heck was happening right along with her. I loved it because she and I were learning about her together, and I think it did well to really suck me in. It also helped that she was apparently a very interesting person living an exceptional life.

Miranda quickly met up with her family and things started to get crazy. I seriously don’t want to give any spoilers beyond this point, because the synopsis is so perfectly intriguing as it is. The secondary characters were interesting, diverse, and despite Miranda’s lack of memory, each one of them grew on her (and subsequently on me) as time went on. I was impressed by Krokos’s ability to foster these relationships, explore a range of personal questions, and put Miranda to the test, all while keeping the story moving at a quick pace.

Sometimes when you read a book in one sitting, it’s over before you really had a chance to digest it fully. The thing that sticks with me from False Memory is how much it explores existential issues. Who do you trust when you don’t remember anything? Where do you go when you don’t know who you are? How do you know if your memories are real? How do you know what your own convictions are? What do you do when things aren’t how they seem? How hard will you fight to preserve your self? How well do you even know yourself? Is what you know about yourself even true?

I enjoyed reading False Memory, and I look forward to its sequel, False Sight. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting, quick read.

As is often the case, I had no clue whatsoever what False Memory was actually about when I started. Other than possibly, if the tag line was any indication, Mufasa.



My only real expectation was lots of action, because of the male author. Honestly, I probably didn't expect there to be much more than that, but, actually False Memory deals with identity, individuality and how our memories affect our personalities. Krokos' new series brims over with action scenes, badass characters and clever world building.

For the first few chapters of False Memory, I was pretty bored. Miranda's in this mall without a memory, and weird things are happening. Enter mysterious hottie to say enigmatic things and tell her to follow him. Sigh, I thought, another one of these?, but, thankfully, Miranda, despite her initial behavior, is NOT the kind of girl to take someone else's word just because they say so. If you struggle with the opening section, do push on, because once some of the questions were answered, I got all kinds of sucked into this book.

Miranda learns that she is a member of a group of four teens, The Roses, imbued with mind control powers. Two of the others escaped at the same time as she disappeared, memory gone. The team leader, Peter, found her and brought her back to their home. The Doctor in charge sends them to find the other two. When they do, they discover that their might be more to their powers (they can make people feel fear with their brains) than they ever expected. The world building was so cool, and I really hope to learn more about the scope of their power in the next book. Also, I would like to know why their power smells like roses...

There seems to be a new trend in dystopian fiction: male authors writing powerful heroines. I am seriously loving this; False Memory is at least the fifth book that fits that description I've read so far this month. Miranda really appealed to me. I love the logical way she focuses on what's important and practical, rather than letting the eerieness of her situation keep her from doing anything. Plus, she has crazy awesome fighting skills.

Oh yeah, those of you who love action scenes in your books will definitely want be all over False Memory. It is readily apparent that Krokos loves him some fight scenes. Honestly, I'm not that huge of a fight scene person, but his were really well done. I pretty much always had a very clear image in my head of what was going on at any given time, though not so detailed as to bore me. He kept up a quick pace throughout.

Love triangles are totally played out and awful, right? Well, not really, no. They can be THE WORST, when done incorrectly, but the reason people keep writing them is that they can be realistic and powerful. Krokos' love triangle (errr...square? pentagon? hexagon?...I can't keep track by the end) totally worked for me. Miranda, before her memory loss episode, was dating Noah, but, now, she feels much more pull towards Peter. Olive, the fourth member of the group also has a really obvious (to me from the first scene she was in) crush on Noah. What made the hackneyed and predictable relationships more interesting was the fact that Miranda was new. She was in a love triangle without any intention to be. As she is now, she would choose Peter without any difficulty, but flashes of memory and the knowledge of the others push her towards Noah. Without her memories, is she the same person? Will she recall everything and fall for Noah again? These dynamics kept me rapt.

After a skeptical start, Dan Krokos held me in his thrall. False Memory is a fast-moving book that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Also, if you like twists, get excited.