[ARC Review] The Impossible Knife of Memory

Monday, January 06, 2014



Title: The Impossible Knife of Memory
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Genre: YA Contemporary
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for honest review

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For the past five years, Hayley Kincaid and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq. Now they are back in the town where he grew up so Hayley can attend school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy’s PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over? The Impossible Knife of Memory is Laurie Halse Anderson at her finest: compelling, surprising, and impossible to put down.



Honestly, I have no  idea where to start in terms of reviewing this book. It has been weeks and I still cannot stop thinking about this story and its characters. Laurie Halse Anderson has been a staple in my literary life since I picked up Speak in middle school and saw my name in the book. This is momentous for me because my name was very rare in the 90s/00's so seeing it made me kind of freak out. But Speak also spoke to me on a level that no other book did, and I have to thank Laura for that because it was the first time I had really related to a book.

The Impossible Knife of Memory follows Hailey who is struggling to keep her life together. Her father is a war veteran, and has some serious post traumatic symptoms that are tearing Hailey to pieces. Reading this book was very hard for many reasons, because Hailey was such a real and flawed character and dealt with things that were way beyond her years, because her father was not perfect, very far from it actually and the way he treated her was something i had a very hard time dealing with. But what I loved the most about this book was Haileys relationship with Finn. He was the catalyst to everything in her life and I loved seeing how she changed around him.

Laurie Halse Anderson has a talent for writing heartbreaking characters and this story is no different. Hailey will stay with you for days after you finish reading this book, and much like my experience with Speak, this nook will stay with me forever. The subject might not be the same, but the feelings are the same. The feeling of being forgotten, of being left alone to fend for yourself, and the feeling of not being loved by the people you want the most to love you back.

This book will change you the moment you read it. It is for everyone and anyone who has struggled in your teen years, it is for all who love real and flawed characters that you cannot help but root for. It is amazing and a must read for 2014.


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