The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno
Published July 8th by Harper Teen
Source: Hardcover
Godreads link: (click here)
What's it about?
Molly Pierce has lived her life knowing that something about her was not quite right. Little bits and pieces of her life seem to disappear. Time seems to occasionally move on without her and she wakes up later, aware that the time has passed, but with no idea what she's been doing. At first, it's not that big of a deal, she's managed to live with it and has been able to hide that it happens to her. For the past year, though, it's gotten worse. Sometimes she blacks out for hours and wakes up with scratches or even regains consciousness while driving her car, miles away from home. It's happening more frequently and for longer periods if time. Molly has been seeing a psychiatrist for other reasons, but has never had the courage to mention these time lapses. She wants to figure out why this is happens but she's afraid that there is something horribly wrong with her, or worse, that nobody will believe her. She's dealt with it on her own for the past seventeen years, so why involve others now?
One fateful day, as Molly wakes from one of her black outs, she witnesses a terrible accident involving a motorcycle and a truck. She stops to help the man thrown from the motorcycle and when she removes his helmet, he's covered in blood and definitely dying. Here's where it gets weird; the young man, a complete stranger, knows her name. He tells her his name is Lyle and asks her to just pretend she knows him. He asks her to stay with him while he slips away and begs her to get in touch with his brother, Sayer. She does it, but she's not sure why. For some reason, she feels like she has to do this. This accident and the events that follow are a tipping point and Molly's brain begins to unlock. The memories of the past year slowly unravel. They return to her as if in rewind, backwards, as if she's living them all for the first time, filling in the gaps of her incomplete life. Somehow, she knew Lyle and Sayer, and for some reason, she thinks she loved them. As she discovers the truth about herself, she must also be strong enough to accept it.
What's it about?
Molly Pierce has lived her life knowing that something about her was not quite right. Little bits and pieces of her life seem to disappear. Time seems to occasionally move on without her and she wakes up later, aware that the time has passed, but with no idea what she's been doing. At first, it's not that big of a deal, she's managed to live with it and has been able to hide that it happens to her. For the past year, though, it's gotten worse. Sometimes she blacks out for hours and wakes up with scratches or even regains consciousness while driving her car, miles away from home. It's happening more frequently and for longer periods if time. Molly has been seeing a psychiatrist for other reasons, but has never had the courage to mention these time lapses. She wants to figure out why this is happens but she's afraid that there is something horribly wrong with her, or worse, that nobody will believe her. She's dealt with it on her own for the past seventeen years, so why involve others now?
One fateful day, as Molly wakes from one of her black outs, she witnesses a terrible accident involving a motorcycle and a truck. She stops to help the man thrown from the motorcycle and when she removes his helmet, he's covered in blood and definitely dying. Here's where it gets weird; the young man, a complete stranger, knows her name. He tells her his name is Lyle and asks her to just pretend she knows him. He asks her to stay with him while he slips away and begs her to get in touch with his brother, Sayer. She does it, but she's not sure why. For some reason, she feels like she has to do this. This accident and the events that follow are a tipping point and Molly's brain begins to unlock. The memories of the past year slowly unravel. They return to her as if in rewind, backwards, as if she's living them all for the first time, filling in the gaps of her incomplete life. Somehow, she knew Lyle and Sayer, and for some reason, she thinks she loved them. As she discovers the truth about herself, she must also be strong enough to accept it.
The Half Life of Molly Pierce is an intense, mind-boggling, psychological mystery that reminds me of the movie Memento. It runs backwards to move forward. I was intrigued by the concept and when I picked it up to read it, I was absolutely hooked from page one. It's hard to talk about without revealing too many spoilers, though. One of the things I loved about this book is the writing. I loved how it flowed and how as Molly's memory came back to her, she got a new voice (I guess that's one way to put it). I thoroughly enjoyed how the story unfolded and I kind of want to read it again.
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<3 Michelle
Oh, Michelle! You have got me going mad to read this one. I have had it for a while and it's been calling my name (our name) to read it! I really think I'm going to have to set everything aside and read it one day! It sounds super-intriguing and I'm always looking for a new voice in characters! Beautiful review!
ReplyDeleteThank you :) It's a really quick read, too. Once you pick it up you won't be able to put it down.
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