Glimmer (review)

When Marshall and Elyse wake up naked in bed together, they're disconcerted, to say the least. What's worse is they don't know each other or remember how they get there; in fact, they don't remember themselves—not their names, their histories, their families, anything. They decide to stick together and soon discover that the town where they apparently live is an odd place indeed. Anyone there who suffers an unpleasant experience immediately falls into a deep sleep and awakens a few minutes later completely happy, with no memory of the argument, accident, or other mishap that preceded the nap. Elyse, however, can see the ghosts who seem to be responsible for the naps, and Marshall has a strange tattoo that repels the ghosts from touching him; in fact, they have been on a mission to free the town from its enslavement to a malevolent occultist. Clever plotting enables readers to consider both the costs and benefits of living with only pleasant memories; the town's happy zombies are frighteningly weak in their passivity, but the number of tourists looking to forget their histories highlight the temptation of losing the pain of the past. Perceptive readers will thus find thematic shades of The Giver here, even though the story itself is very different, as Elyse and Marshall must use a combination of magic and self-sacrificing heroism to fight a mythic foe. Both Elyse and Marshall are feisty and flawed, making for a satisfying and romantic action-adventure with the by-now-obligatory supernatural twist, perfect for a quick summer read.