False Memory (review)

Miranda's stranded in a Cleveland mall with no memory of who she is or why she's there, a situation that is further complicated when she accidentally psychically infects the entire courtyard with deadly panic. Fortunately, fellow teen Peter finds her, explains that she's one of four teens with elite psychic powers and those powers can bring memory loss, and brings her back to the secret bunker that is their home. As Miranda starts to recover a few scattered, dreamlike memories of her life, she and Peter are tasked with recovering the remaining team members, Noah and Olive, who disappeared at the same time Miranda did. From there, the plot is a wild ride of fighting mysterious doppelgangers, racing to prevent all their memories from being wiped, and uncovering the many layers of their origins. The book makes full use of its premise, building not just on Miranda's memory loss but on all of the characters' vulnerabilities to pile on twists, shifting suspicions, and game-changing reveals at a frenzied pace. The amnesia also feeds effectively into the relationship storylines, as Miranda struggles to balance abstract knowledge of past love, friendship, and trust with the blankness she now feels. Fans of Patterson's Maximum Ride series (The Angel Experiment, BCCB 4/05) will enjoy the similar dynamic here of a misfit superpowered team-cum-family on the run from inscrutable higher-ups, but anyone with a taste for paranoia- and action-packed speculative thrillers will tear through this volume and be begging for the promised sequel.