Rowena’s review of The Song Remains the Same by Allison Winn Scotch.

She’s a wife, a sister, a daughter…but she remembers nothing. Now she must ask herself who she is and choose which stories—and storytellers—to trust. One of only two survivors of a plane crash, Nell Slattery wakes up in the hospital with no memory of it, or who she is, or was. Now she must piece together both body and mind with the help of family and friends who have their own agendas. Although Nell can’t remember all that came before, something just doesn’t sit right with the versions of her history given by her mother, her sister, and her husband.

Desperate for a key to unlock her past, she filters through photos, art, music, and stories, hoping that something will jog her memory, and soon, in tiny bits and pieces, Nell starts remembering. . . .

From the New York Times bestselling author of Time of My Life comes a novel that asks: Who are we without our memories? How much of our future is defined by our past?

I’ve never read anything by this author before and I’m not a fan of amnesia stories so I have no idea why I agreed to read this book but I did and now that I’ve finished the book, I’m glad that I took a chance.

Nell is one of only two survivors of a plane crash and when she wakes up in a hospital bed, she can’t remember a thing.  This book journeys through her life as she tries to put the pieces of her memories back together.  Her memories don’t come back straight away, they come back bit by bit and Nell comes to realize that she wants to be a different Nell, someone who isn’t so rigid.  She wants different things and she’s got her work cut out for her.  It wasn’t an easy journey but she endured to the end and while I didn’t think that the story ended with a happy ending, I thought the ending was a good one.

The entire time that I was reading this book, I couldn’t help wondering how I would react if I woke up from a plane crash and didn’t know a single person in my hospital room.  Would I be scared?  Would I panic?  I can’t imagine going through something like this and my heart went out to Nell.  She didn’t have an easy time of it and the deeper I got into the book, the more I became invested in how it all turned out.  I mean, I like to think that I’m an independent so having to rely on so many different people to fill in the blanks of my life wouldn’t be easy.  It wasn’t easy for Nell but that was her life now and she endured it better than I ever would have.

I thought Allison Winn Scotch did a fantastic job writing this book.  It’s an emotional roller coaster of a book and it didn’t take me long to read at all.  Nell was a very interesting character and everything she went through, every emotion she felt is all laid out in this book and I’m glad that Holly asked me to read it.  I may not have been excited to read the book but I’m glad that I gave this book a chance because I ended up liking it and will definitely be reading more by this author.  I definitely recommend this book.

Grade: 4 out of 5

This book is available from Berkley Trade. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher for an honest review.