Review: Glimmer

Glimmer
by Phoebe Kitanidis
Released: April 17, 2012
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
352 pages

Summary (from Goodreads):

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, Marsh 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: 3 stars

     I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice this one for the cover, for it is quite striking.  And I'll also admit that I didn't even notice the water effect at the bottom of the book, which plays well with the setting of the story.  Glimmer is unlike any book that I've read before, that's not a bad thing, it was just different.  I felt for both Elyse and Marshall at different times through out the book.  Each has their own past to rediscover and old demons to face, but seemed to do it somewhat realistically.  Personally I'm glad this one wasn't about zombies, as I don't do zombies.  The whole waking up and not knowing what happened seemed a little weird at first, but I got used to it.  Watching Elyse and Marshall struggle to find the answers to how they lost their memory and the secrets they uncover along the way was entertaining.  While this wasn't a "shop everything you are doing and read it NOW", I did enjoy the story.  If you are looking for a book to break up a rut you may have been in or just for a change of pace, I'd give this one a try.  Without giving much away about the ending, I did like how it wasn't just a everything is perfect kind of ending, but how those left were learning to live again.