Glimmer by Phoebe Kitanidis - Review

Glimmer by Phoebe Kitanidis

Published: April 17, 2012

Publisher: Harper Collins

What if you forgot your identity and had to rely on other people to tell you who you were?

And what if to discover your true self, you first had to unravel a mystery so big and terrifying you were not sure you’d survive solving it?

When Marshall and Elyse wake up in each other’s arms with zero memory of how they got there or who they are, it’s the start of a long journey through their separate pasts and shared future.

Terrified by their amnesia, the two make a pact to work together to find the answers that could jog their missing memories. As they piece together clues, they discover they’re in the idyllic mountain resort town of Summer Falls, where everyone seems mysteriously happy, but as Marshall and Elyse quickly learn, darkness lurks beneath the town’s perfect facade. Not only is the town haunted by sinister ghosts, but none of its living inhabitants retain bad memories of anything—not the death of Marshall’s mom, not the hidden shame in Elyse’s family, not even the day-to-day anguish of high school.

Lonely in this world of happy zombies, Marshall and Elyse fall into an intense relationship...but the secrets they uncover could be the death of this growing love—and the death of everyone, and everything, they love in Summer Falls.

My Review:

In the beginning of Glimmer, we meet two characters who wake up naked in a bed together with no memory of who they are or how they got there. The story alternates being told from the point of view of both of them, who are at first simply referred to as "Her" and "Him" until they learn their names. They are suspicious of each other at first, but they quickly realize that they need each other to discover what is going on around them. We follow along with them as they remember their past and figure out what is going on in their town. 

I was very intrigued by the concept in Glimmer - two people who have no knowledge of their past, and an entire town of people who do not retain any bad memories. I must admit that this plot went in a direction that I was not expecting, and it did lose me a little at the end. However, I was quickly pulled into the lives of Elyse and Marshall and wanted to keep reading to find out more about them, and there were enough surprises along the way to keep me hooked. Overall, Phoebe Kitanidis has an engaging writing style and created some interesting, complex characters. It is difficult to say much more than that without giving any spoilers, so I will just end with saying that I would recommend Glimmer if you are a fan of YA paranormal fantasy.

Reviewed as part of a SBB Traveling ARC Tour.

About the author:

Phoebe Kitanidis is a Greek-American writer, author of the YA novel Whisper. Phoebe grew up in a variety of places, including Athens, Greece; the American Midwest; and the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended five elementary schools and has moved more than twenty times. After her graduation from U.C. Berkeley, she taught Language Arts, then worked in a few high-tech corporate offices. In 2004, she earned her M.A. in Communication from San Jose State University. That year, she also traded the Bay Area sunshine for cloudy Seattle, where she began her writing career.   

You can find out more about Phoebe Kitanidis and how to connect with her on her website. 

Glimmer is her second novel.