Let me say right off the bat, there is no doubt the premise of this book is crazy good. Liv wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea how she got there. Covering her hands and arms are cryptic messages in her own handwriting, reminding her to "stay awake" and "trust no one." She goes to her apartment, only to find strangers living there. And on top of all that, someone sinister is stalking her and the police want her for a murder.
Ahh! Are you getting vibes of Memento? Yeah, me too.
So when the setup is that amazing and it seems to build into something potentially mind-blowing, the question becomes, does it actually deliver? And the answer is yes and no.
On the plus side, I found this to be a quick and easy read. I felt compelled to see where it was going, which definitely kept me turning the pages. The most enjoyable parts were the police investigation, with detective Halliday being the real highlight of the whole thing.
But the majority of this story follows Liv, and that's where it fell short for me. Liv is your standard heroine of psychological thrillers, pill-popping (in this case, caffeine), paranoid, and just plain dumb in all of her thoughts and actions. Every time she meets someone who could actually help her, she runs away. My eyes definitely got a workout from all that rolling.
If you ever lose your memory, don't do what Liv did. Don't wander around aimlessly with no sleep, acting hysterical and writing cryptic messages to yourself. Instead, leave actually useful information for yourself, or better yet, go to the nearest hospital and get checked out.
Still, I did think the story came together nicely in the end. As for that all-important mystery/twist, it was fine. My jaw didn't drop or anything, but it was enjoyable enough.
This isn't Memento, that's for sure. But Stay Awake ended up being a decently entertaining way to while away a few hours.
Readaroo Rating: 3 stars
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