The One Memory of Flora Banks Synopsis
How do you know who to trust when you can't even trust yourself?
Flora is 17 and has anterograde amnesia. She lost the ability to make new memories when she was 10 and has been stuck in her past since. She can't remember anything day-to-day: the joke her friend made, the instructions her parents gave her,
how old she is.
Then she kisses someone she shouldn't – and the next day she remembers it. It's the first time she's remembered anything since she was ten. But the boy is gone – she thinks he's moved to the arctic. Could he somehow be the key to unlocking her memory?
A message from Emily Barr : As I’ve been writing for years and have thirteen books out in the world, I never expected that I’d be announcing a debut all over again.
However, here it is: The One Memory of Flora Banks is my debut book for young adults. I started writing this as a thriller for adults, but as the story unfolded I realised that it was actually something quite different from anything I had previously written.
I wrote it over the course of a couple of years, entirely as a labour of love as I had no idea whether anyone would ‘get’ it or want to publish it. My fantastic agent Lauren pushed me to make it as good as it could possibly be, and to my absolute delight, Penguin came on board to publish it.
The One Memory of Flora Banks follows Flora, a teenage girl who lives with anterograde amnesia and has to re-remember her life several times each day. The book is set against the backdrop of obsessive first love, with a setting that moves between Cornwall and the midnight sun of the Arctic summer. Although it’s a YA book, it’s very much a novel for readers of all ages.
I’m now working on my second YA novel, set in Rio, which will also be published by Penguin.
THE ONE MEMORY OF FLORA BANKS Promotional Trailer #1 from Emily Barr on Vimeo.
The new YA sensation you won't be able to forget. The One Memory of Flora Banks is an incredible page-turner of a novel, full of twists and turns, against the backdrop of obsessive first love. It will appeal to fans of We Were Liars and readers of all ages who enjoy gripping commercial thrillers like Before I Go to Sleep.