Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch - ADVISABLE

Lies My Memory Told Me by Sacha Wunsch, 320 pages. Inkyard Press (HarperCollins), 2021. $19.

Language: R (73 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Enhanced memory (EM) technology does so much good for the world, and Nova’s parents are the ones who invented it! Nova (17yo) doesn’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy it—until she meets Kade. Kade’s experiences show Nova a dark side to EM, a side of secrets that gets darker than either of them ever imagined.

Here come a couple of teenagers out to save the world from the evils of technology misuse. I appreciate the commentary on being mindful of technology addictions and making sure that we spend time living our lives beyond screentime, and Wunsch wraps all that up in a story that eventually becomes life-or-death serious. With amazing tech, amateur sleuthing, family confrontations, and questions of identity, it’s hard to put down.

Nova is White, and Kade is half Indian half English. Andie is described as “pale” and is transgender. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, kissing, illegal activity, innuendo, and mentions of drugs, pornography, and sex. The violence rating is for corpses, blood and gore, gun use, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson

A Carol for Mrs. Dickens by Rebecca Connolly - ADVISABLE

A Carol for Mrs. Dickens by Rebecca Connolly, 176 pages. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2025. $18.

Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS, ADULTS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Eight years after Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol, his wife Catherine, or Kate, is struggling to feel up to celebrating Christmas. One of her children died earlier that year, and all the commercialization of a holiday meant to mean so much more and meant to be about Christ has left Kate forcing a smile at the Christmas party she and Charles are hosting. But then she has three marvelous experiences that breathe joy back into the celebrations.

This historical fiction story mirrors some of the elements of A Christmas Carol, and it is a lovely reimagining in a realistic setting. I was a tad disappointed about the lack of fantastical elements because I wanted to see what Connolly would do for a representation of the ghost of Christmas future, but Kate’s experiences were focused on past and present. Kate’s story is about the true meaning of Christmas, choosing to start the journey to change, and the goodness that can be found all around us.

Catherine is Scottish, and the rest of the characters are implied English. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson