I don't read a lot of books like this one. You know the kind... The ones you KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt will make you cry. The books with cancer or some other deadly disease, the books about suicide, the books about organ transplants. I am an emotional creature, to say the least, and these books make tissues a must. I knew what I was getting myself into with The Memory Book, and this time, I just couldn't help myself. 
 Sammie is a smart girl. She has plans, she has dreams, and she has goals. She has worked toward these things every day of her life, and they are right there within reach. She can almost taste them. Then she gets the diagnosis that she has a rare disease, one that will slowly or quickly make her start to lose control of her body, her speech, her mind. She will start forgetting things, the good and the bad, and she will even start to forget the people she loves the most. But Sammie isn't a normal teenage girl, and she is determined to beat this and follow every dream she has ever had. So she starts a book, The Memory Book. It is Sammie's story, facts about her life, stories about her family, notes and reminders about who she is and what she likes and dislikes, stories about her past and her present. This book is the secret for Sammie, the cure for this incurable disease. Through it, we start to learn who Sammie is and we meet the people surrounding her, and it is a beautiful thing. 
 I don't really want to say too much more about the book, because there is something wonderful about working yourself through this one blind, only learning things as you go. I will just leave you with a couple of things, and then hope that you go out and give this one a chance. First, in the beginning Sammie isn't the most relatable, but soon you come to love her because you can't help it. She is just Sammie, who is human, and I loved reading about her and her development and growth. Her family is a small presence but such a good one. Stuart, longtime crush and finally boyfriend is pretty wonderful, and the end was hard to see because he was so good, but Cooper.... Cooper was incredible. I loved him even in the beginning. Finally, the disease itself, Niemann-PickC was something completely new for me. It was horrifying, but it was handled in the most beautiful and graceful way. 
 I take stories like this one and hold them close because there is a lesson here, and it is one we should all take to heart. There are many lessons here that we should all listen to. Lara Avery is incredibly talented, and i look forward to seeing what she has for me in the future.