Review: Notes to Self by Avery Sawyer

Notes to Self

By: Avery Sawyer

Pub. Date: November 2011

Source: Author

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.

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 everything alone, while feeling guilty that she is ok and Emily isn't waking up. She also has no memories of the night and doesn't remember what happened or why they were climbing the ride in the first place.

When Robin goes back to school, she is ostracized by everyone, because they all blame her for Emily's accident. Her only friend is Reno, a childhood friend she has since lost touch with. Through her friendship with him, as well as her close relationship with her mom, Robin starts to heal and figures out what actually happened that night.

Written in present tense, as well as in flashbacks, the reader really gets a sense of who Robin is and why her friendship with Emily is so important. I loved watching Robin grow as a person throughout the story.

Notes to Self was beautifully written and it flowed nicely. Robin was hilarious and I found myself laughing so many times. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a fell-good contemporary read!