Joan heeft HSAM: Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. Nog nooit had ik van deze stoornis gehoord; goede insteek om hiermee een roman te schrijven. De vergelijking met Het Rosie Project snap ik ook wel; de stijl is vergelijkbaar. Vermakelijk boek. ( )

I stopped reading this book after 50 pages, I couldn’t get into it. Joan and Gavin, the main characters did not make me want to find out more about them. ( )

Gavin Winters, television star, is reeling in the wake of the sudden death of his long-term boyfriend, Sydney. When he gets drunk one evening and starts a massive bonfire to rid himself of all reminders of Sydney, one of his neighbours records footage of him and sells it to one of the news networks. When old friends of Gavin and Sydney's invite Gavin to come stay with them in Jersey City for a while, Gavin agrees. And there he finally meets his friends' daughter, Joan. Joan is ten years old and the youngest person to have Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. She remembers every detail of every day of her life from about the age of two onwards. When Gavin discovers that Joan has memories of Sydney he agrees to her deal of helping her write a song for a contest in exchange for hearing her memories of Sydney. But in the process of hearing Joan's memories he learns that Sydney was keeping secrets and Gavin now has to figure out whether he ever really knew the man he considered the love of his life.

While well-written and with an intriguing plot that really focuses on exploring the two characters of Gavin and Joan, I finished this book with the same feeling of "meh" that had me considering Pearl ruling this book initially. There's nothing wrong with the book and I think for the right reader this could be a fantastic read. I also think there's some interesting themes that would make this a great book club title selection, especially with the alternating perspectives between Gavin and Joan. But this book just didn't impress me the way it seemed to want to. Hesitantly recommended if the summary strikes your fancy. ( )

Enjoyed this exploration of memory, music, and what makes the world go round. Also a walk down Beatle Trivia lane. ( )

3.5 Sweet, a little too sweet but oh so charming and readable. Quite fell for young Joan, ten years old with a memory very few in the world have, and she the youngest by far. She literally remembers every detail of every moment since the age of three. She realizes others, including her mom and dad, don't have anything close to her memory, and she is afraid of being forgotten. Enter Gavin, whose partner Oliver has died at a fairly young age, mid fifties, of a heart attack. Gavin is a star of a television series, well known and when in a moment of extreme grief he burns all of Oliver's belongings, he is caught on someone's film. He escapes to the home of he and Oliver's old friends, whom happen to be Joan's parents.

Music is the connection, a connection Joan shares with her Dad , and the connection between her and Gavin. In the past Gavin and her dad were in a band and made music together. They all love the Beatles, Paul and John in particular. The heading of each chapter is the title of a Beatles song. This story has surprising layers and flows particularly​ well. A look at the way adults and one prococious child handle the changes in their lives as well as the many ways people show grief. Many, many good things about this book written in a light manner, a mostly feel good kind of story? Alas, a little too sweet for this reader who loves salt more than sugar. A good summer read though, or when one needs to find something lighter.

ARC from Netgalley. ( )