Synopses & Reviews
The Rosie Project meets Tell the Wolves I'm Home in this endearing debut about what happens when a girl who can't forget befriends a man who's desperate to remember.
Grief-stricken over his partner's death, Gavin Winters sets fire to every physical reminder in the couple's home. A neighbor captures the ordeal on video, turning this unsung TV actor into a household name. Now Gavin is fleeing the hysteria of Los Angeles for New Jersey, hoping to find peace with the family of an old friend. Instead, he finds Joan.
Joan, the family's ten-year-old daughter, was born with the rare ability to recall every day of her life in cinematic detail. In seconds, she can tell you how many times her mother has uttered the phrase "it never fails" in the last six months (twenty-seven) or what she was wearing when her grandfather took her fishing on a particular Sunday in June years ago (fox socks). Joan has never met Gavin until now, but she did know his partner, Sydney, and waiting inside her uncanny mind are a half dozen startlingly vivid memories to prove it.
Gavin strikes a deal with Joan: in return for sharing all her memories of Sydney, Gavin will help Joan win a local songwriting contest she's convinced could make her unforgettable. The unlikely duo set off on their quest until Joan reveals unexpected details about Sydney's final months, forcing Gavin to question not only the purity of his past with Sydney but the course of his own immediate future.
Told in the alternating voices of these two irresistible characters, The Reminders is a hilarious and tender exploration of loss, memory, friendship, and renewal.
Review
"Emmich captures the voices of Joan and Gavin, two such different characters, brilliantly. Actor and musician Emmich (Vinyl; Ugly Betty; 30 Rock) can confidently add "novelist" to his list of achievements. He has written a quirky, touching, and addictive read."
Library Journal
Review
"An endearing and wise novel. I adored the unlikely friendship between a gifted child who remembers everything and a grieving man who is trying to forget. Emmich brings a compassionate, often comical, and always true eye to his storytelling. Ten-year-old Joan says a good song should either make you want to dance or cry, and The Reminders does both."
Eowyn Ivey, author of The Snow Child
Review
"In a story that is both startlingly original and deeply familiar, [Val Emmich] has given literature a remarkable young heroine, Joan, and a series of seemingly small events that add up to the kind of story small classics are made of. I could not stop reading, and was bereft when the story ended." Jacquelyn Mitchard, bestselling author The Deep End of the Ocean
Review
"Val Emmich has created an indelible cast of complex and quirky characters who drew me in for an emotional and humorous ride. The Reminders is a book brimming with heart and soul-you really must read it!"
Garth Stein, bestselling author of The Art of Racing in the Rain
Synopsis
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time meets The Rosie Project in this debut novel about what happens when a little girl who can't forget befriends a man who's desperate to remember.
Overcome with grief over the loss of his partner, Gavin Winters sets fire to every reminder in the couple's home. A neighbor captures the ordeal on video, turning this unsung TV actor into a household name. Now, struggling to hold on to the memory of his beloved Sydney, Gavin flees the hysteria of Los Angeles for New Jersey, where he hoped that Joan Lennon Sully, the daughter of Gavin's friend, can connect him with Sydney's memory.
Ten-year old Joan was born with a rare ability to recall every day of her life in exact detail. Locked in her brain are memories of the half-dozen times Sydney stayed with her family. Gavin strikes a deal with Joan: in return for sharing her memories of Sydney, Gavin will help Joan write a song for a local songwriting contest. Their pact struck, the unlikely duo sets out to write the song and to remember Sydney, until one of Joan's memories leads Gavin to doubt if Sydney was actually in love with him after all.
Told in the alternating voices of Joan and Gavin, The Highs and Lows of Never Forgetting is a charming, entertaining, and heartwarming exploration of loss, memory, and friendship.
Synopsis
Named one of the 12 Best New Books of May by Harper's Bazaar, one of AM New York's "10 Books to Read in 2017," and one of "5 Hot Books" by the National Book Review.
What happens when a girl who can't forget befriends a man who's desperate to remember?
Grief-stricken over his partner Sydney's death, Gavin sets fire to every reminder in the couple's home before fleeing Los Angeles for New Jersey, where he hopes to find peace with the family of an old friend. Instead, he finds Joan.
Joan, the family's ten-year-old daughter, was born Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM: the rare ability to recall every day of her life in cinematic detail. Joan has never met Gavin until now, but she did know his partner, and waiting inside her uncanny mind are startlingly vivid memories to prove it.
Gavin strikes a deal with Joan: in return for sharing her memories of Sydney, Gavin will help her win a songwriting contest she's convinced will make her unforgettable. The unlikely duo set off on their quest until Joan reveals unexpected details about Sydney's final months, forcing Gavin to question not only the purity of his past with Sydney but the course of his own immediate future.
Told in the alternating voices of these two irresistible characters, The Reminders is a hilarious and tender exploration of loss, memory, friendship, and renewal.
Synopsis
Perfect for fans of J. Courtney Sullivan's The Engagement or Graeme Simpson's The Rosie Project, The Reminders follows what happens when a girl who can't forget befriends a man who's desperate to remember.Grief-stricken over his partner Sydney's death, Gavin sets fire to every reminder in the couple's home before fleeing Los Angeles for New Jersey, where he hopes to find peace with the family of an old friend. Instead, he finds Joan.
Joan, the family's ten-year-old daughter, was born Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM: the rare ability to recall every day of her life in cinematic detail. Joan has never met Gavin until now, but she did know his partner, and waiting inside her uncanny mind are startlingly vivid memories to prove it.
Gavin strikes a deal with Joan: in return for sharing her memories of Sydney, Gavin will help her win a songwriting contest she's convinced will make her unforgettable. The unlikely duo set off on their quest until Joan reveals unexpected details about Sydney's final months, forcing Gavin to question not only the purity of his past with Sydney but the course of his own immediate future.
Told in the alternating voices of these two irresistible characters, The Reminders is a hilarious and tender exploration of loss, memory, friendship, and renewal.
About the Author
Dubbed a "Renaissance Man" by the New York Post, Val Emmich is a writer, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has had recurring roles on Vinyl and Ugly Betty as well as a memorable guest role as Liz Lemon's coffee-boy fling, Jamie, on 30 Rock. Emmich lives in Jersey City, New Jersey, with his wife and their two children. The Reminders is his first novel.
Val Emmich on PowellsBooks.Blog
While in the act of writing, I’m trying to ignore the very things I’ve spent my entire career as a singer-songwriter paying attention to — musicality and lyrics. I’m hoping just to lose myself in a mood, energy, or feeling that matches whatever the book is trying to be...
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