The Memory Index

by Julian Ray Vaca

Overview

In this electric speculative YA sci/fi novel, the world treats memories like currency, so dreams can be a complicated business. Perfect for fans of Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick.

In an alternative 1987, a disease ravages human memories. There is no cure, only artificial recall. The lucky ones—the recollectors—need the treatment only once a day.

Freya Izquierdo isn’t lucky. The high school senior is a “degen” who needs artificial recall several times a day. Plagued by blinding half-memories that take her to her knees, she’s desperate to remember everything that will help her investigate her father’s violent death. When her sleuthing almost lands her in jail, a shadowy school dean selects her to attend his Foxtail Academy, where five hundred students will trial a new tech said to make artificial recall obsolete.

She’s the only degen on campus. Why was she chosen? Freya is nothing like the other students, not even her new friends Ollie, Chase, and the alluring Fletcher Cohen. Definitely not at all like the students who start to vanish, one by one. And nothing like the mysterious Dean Mendelsohn, who has a bunker deep in the woods behind the school.

Nothing can prepare Freya and her friends for the truth of what that bunker holds. And what kind of memories she’ll have to access to survive it.

“Vaca’s debut is a thrilling and often unsettling examination of the elusive nature of memory and truth. The Memory Index will leave you breathlessly turning pages until its satisfying conclusion.” —Jonathan Evison, New York Times bestselling author of Small World

Get hooked on The Memory Index Duology:

• Book 1: The Memory Index
• Book 2: The Recall Paradox (coming Spring 2023)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780840700728
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Series:	The Memory Index , #1
Sold by:	HarperCollins Publishing
Format:	eBook
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	143,394
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Julian R. Vaca has been a creative writer for over a decade. He's a staff writer on PBS's Reconnecting Roots, a nationally broadcast show that drew in millions of viewers over its first two seasons. He's also the co-writer of Pencil Test, a feature-length documentary that's being executive produced by Disney animation legend Tom Bancroft (Earnest Films, 2023). Julian lives in Nashville with his family. Connect with him at JulianRayVaca.com; Instagram: @JulianRayVaca; Twitter: @JulianRVaca; and Facebook: @JulianRVaca.

Editorial Reviews

**One of SCRIBD's Best Books of August 2022**

SCRIBD

**One of Book Riot's Books to Add to Your TBR - August 2022**

BookRiot

An exciting sci-fi premise with loads of opportunity for world-bending consequences that speak to the loss of privacy and proliferation of data mining that dog us today . . . Vaca capitalizes on opportunities to surprise us. He also creates a rich atmosphere that's dotted with cultural touchstones . . . a heady sci-fi tale with heart.

Nashville Scene

Vaca . . . tackles real-world issues of racism, capitalism, politics, and the exploitation of youth by those in power . . . The Memory Index actively examines its own reality . . . Vaca's storytelling is immersive, opening with a high-speed car chase reminiscent of something out of a Fast and & Furious or Mission Impossible movie.

Chapter 16

**One of Bustle's Most Anticipated Books of August 2022**

Bustle

08/01/2022

Gr 8 Up—In an alternate 1987, a disease called Memory Killer is stealing memories and destabilizing the world. To prevent permanent memory loss, everyone takes part in government-controlled artificial memory recall using technology created by a company called Memory Frontier. Fletcher is one of the lucky "recollectors" who only needs to use artificial recall once a day. Freya is a "degen," or degenerate, requiring multiple per day. The two are recruited to attend a boarding school and participate in a trial of Memory Frontier's newest technology. They and their roommates, Chase and Ollie, forge a loyal friend group and work together to question the motives and uncover the secrets of their school. An imaginative and thought-provoking premise is richly realized, and the personal and societal implications of widespread memory loss are deeply explored. Themes of grief and trauma, and their multifaceted connections with memory, add depth and complexity to an already inventive work. The 1980s setting is portrayed primarily through movie and music references, with a complete list of songs and a QR code to access the playlist included at the end of the book. Freya is Mexican American, her roommate Ollie is Vietnamese American, and they experience overt and implied racism. At times the pace is slowed down by concept explanations, and the dialogue does not always feel wholly authentic to teens, but these aspects do little to detract from the overall work. VERDICT A clever and empathetic work of speculative fiction that examines the power and fragility of memory, recommended for general purchase. Cinematic writing, teen sleuthing, and a nostalgic setting make this book a great recommendation to fans of Stranger Things.—Elizabeth Lovsin

School Library Journal

2022-08-31
A plague that distorts memory shifts the ways of the world.

It’s 1987, and it’s been almost a decade since Memory Killer swept the globe, fundamentally changing the way society operates due to its ability to leave large swaths of people without access to their own memories. Some, like foster kid Freya Izquierdo, are labeled degenerates due to their need to rely on artificial recall technology to fill in for the missing halves of their memories. Others are luckier, like ever curious Fletcher Cohen, who is a recollector—someone who only accesses artificial recall once a day to function. When Freya is invited to be a guinea pig for a new treatment at Tennessee boarding school Foxtail Academy as an alternative to getting sent to jail for trespassing as she investigated her father’s death, she has no choice but to accept. Freya finds there’s much more than meets the eye at her new school, and she joins forces with newfound friends Fletcher, Chase Hall, and Hoa “Ollie” Trang to unravel a corporate conspiracy unfolding on campus. This central mystery is fun and engaging, evoking the spirit of ’80s action/adventure movies, and the characters are intriguing, their personal development nearly as compelling as the main storyline. Freya is Mexican American, Ollie is Vietnamese American, and Chase and Fletcher read White.

Thrilling worldbuilding plus a creative tangle of mysteries mark this debut. (playlist, discussion questions) (Science fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews