Welcome to The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza Blog Tour!
Those of you who frequent my blog know I don’t often post tour stops that don’t involve a review, but when the publicist reached out to me about this one, the concept of the book had me so intrigued that I decided to go ahead with it. (I’ll be reading the book myself and posting a review, but there wasn’t enough time to get that done before the tour date.) And now that I’ve read Priemaza’s beautiful and thought-provoking guest post, I’m very glad I decided to join in so I could share it with you.
Make sure you also scroll down to the giveaway to enter for a chance to win a copy of the book, and then visit the other four stops on the tour as well—each stop has its own giveaway, so there will be five winners total!
But first, read on for Anna Priemaza’s thoughts on the contrasting nature of memory in the ways it can be both indelible and ephemeral.
Things I Wish I Could Remember
by Anna Priemaza
I wish I could remember what my grampa smelled like when he hugged me. Or the precise tone of his voice when he called me Annabella–the pet name only he called me, but that still feels as much a part of my identity as my given name. I wish I could remember every moment spent with him, every conversation we ever had.
Memory is a fickle, elusive thing.
For no particular reason, I can remember the name of my grade eleven history teacher, but not my grade twelve creative writing teacher–even though I loved the latter class.
I don’t remember when I lost my first tooth or got my first period, even though you’d think they’d have been monumental events, especially since I do recall that they both happened very late. But I do remember playing with what was probably my fifth or sixth loose tooth, which was hanging by a thread of gums inside my mouth, and being told by my teacher to go to the bathroom and not come back until it was out. And I remember the years of period pain, and the one night in high school when the pain got so bad that I cried out to God to keep me from killing myself.
Memory is a cruel thing, sometimes, too. The undergraduate exam I best remember writing is my third year Algebra one, because I slept terribly the night before, drank too much tea beforehand, and had to be escorted to the bathroom by a proctor not just once, but twice. And because it was, I think, the worst exam I ever wrote, resulting in a significant drop in my course grade. I remember so clearly that one undergraduate exam I flubbed up; I don’t remember the dozens of exams I know I aced.
Similarly, what I remember most vividly about my eighth grade graduation is not what it felt like to win somewhere around half the awards that were handed out, but what it felt like to sit alone on the stage at the party in the gym afterwards, when not a single boy asked me to dance.
I don’t remember the last hug Grampa gave me. I don’t remember what either of us said the last time I saw him in the hospital. I don’t even remember who else spoke at his funeral, other than me.
But here are some things I do remember: I remember that when my grampa hugged me, I felt loved and safe. I remember that he was proud of me. I remember that while he was imperfect, his love was perfect.
Memory is a fickle, elusive thing that slips away with time. But it’s a beautiful thing, too. Because no matter how many details it obscures from our minds as the years turn into decades, there are some parts of people–the very core of their being, and the love we feel for them–that it can never steal from us.
The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza
Published by Harry N. Abrams on November 16, 2021
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 304
A mind-bending YA novel about a world where everyone has a bit of magic in them—but some magic is being used to change the world in unspeakable ways
Vera has a nagging feeling that she’s forgetting something. Not her keys or her homework—something bigger. Or someone. When she discovers her best friend Riven is experiencing the same strange feeling, they set out on a mission to uncover what’s going on. Everyone in Vera's world has a special ability—a little bit of magic that helps them through the day. Perhaps someone’s ability is interfering with their memory? Or is something altering their very reality? Vera and Riven intend to fix it and get back whatever or whomever they’ve lost. But how do you find the truth when you can’t even remember what you’re looking for in the first place?
The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass is a cleverly constructed, heartbreaking, and compelling contemporary YA novel—with a slight fantasy twist—about memory, love, grief, and the invisible bonds that tie us to each other.
“The narrative concepts are novel, and the characters are easy to feel empathy for… A clever head trip.”
– Kirkus Reviews
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Anna Priemaza is the author of Fan the Fame and Kat and Meg Conquer the World. This is her first piece of speculative fiction. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
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- One (1) winner will receive a hardcover of The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass by Anna Priemaza
- US/Can only
- Ends 12/1 at 11:59pm ET
- Check out the other stops on the tour for more chances to win!
Blog Tour Schedule:
November 17th – Bookhounds
November 18th – Book Briefs
November 19th – Pragmatic Mom
November 22nd – A Dream Within a Dream
November 23rd – Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Memories are elusive for sure. My father died almost 50 years ago. I wish I could remember his voice.
I wish I could remember more about my grandma who died when I was about four years old.
Oh, so true. I have only vague memories of my grandfather, even though I was 7 when he died.
Yes, there are so many moments that we wish we could capture forever!
Well, I shed tears reading that.
I agree that it’s beautifully written!
What a beautiful guest post ♥. I’ll be looking forward to your review of her book, it sounds extremely unique and intriguing!
Yes, I’m excited to read it!
This is such a lovely post, I am glad you decided to join too! I really liked the book, so I have a feeling you will enjoy it too, because book twinsies haha.
I’m looking forward to reading it!