Anna Priemaza’s The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass is 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. “Vera’s adept handling of tricky situations will also give teens a clear picture of how having open conversations with friends and parents can solve many problems. A fun, light mystery that will likely keep readers turning the pages until the very end.” — School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-Fifteen-year-old Vera Glass, a white Canadian and devout Christian, feels an emptiness that she can't put her finger on. Everyone in Vera's world has a small aptitude, or ability, and she wonders if someone's aptitude could somehow be the cause. When she discovers her friends are feeling the same inexplicable emptiness, she embarks on a journey to figure out why. Through the author's use of dramatic irony, readers quickly discover that Vera and her friends are forgetting the existence of multiple people, as if they were erased from the world. Readers will likely guess the culprit long before Vera makes any progress in her investigation, but the details of how and why are cleverly unfolded. Vera's religious beliefs are a little overt, but altogether not too preachy. The full cast of characters offers a little more diversity, with some of Vera's friends being Black, and her best friend the counterpoint of being atheist. Vera's adept handling of tricky situations will also give teens a clear picture of how having open conversations with friends and parents can solve many problems. VERDICT A fun, light mystery that will likely keep readers turning the pages until the very end.-Candyce Pruitt-Goddardα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "The narrative concepts are novel, and the characters are easy to feel empathy for. Vera’s devout Christianity is approached with nuance and has a strong influence on her character without being preachy (there’s positive atheist representation as well). . .A clever head trip." ― Kirkus Reviews "Vera’s adept handling of tricky situations will also give teens a clear picture of how having open conversations with friends and parents can solve many problems. A fun, light mystery that will likely keep readers turning the pages until the very end." ― School Library Journal Anna Priemaza is the author of Fan the Fame and Kat and Meg Conquer the World . The Forgotten Memories of Vera Glass is her first piece of speculative fiction. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.