The Reminder [Hardcover]

Rune Michaels (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2008

Daisy, otherwise known as Daze, keeps hearing her dead mother's voice. Sometimes it's because of her dad, who likes to watch old home movies when he can't sleep. Sometimes it's because of her brother, who was too young to remember Mom, and needs to be reminded by looking at photographs and watching videos. Sometimes it might just be her mind trying to work out what her therapist would call "issues." But this time, it is none of those things. It's something much more wonderful and much more terrifying, something Daze never thought possible. And it might allow Daze to do what she couldn't years ago: save her mother's life.

Rune Michaels, the visionary author of Genesis Alpha, plunges headfirst into the waters where science, family, and memory meet, and emerges with a powerful and fascinating story about loss and survival that challenges everything we think we know about the people we love.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7–9—When Daze discovers an animatronic version of her deceased mother's head in her father's laboratory, she sneaks in twice a week to talk to her but is quickly disappointed by the head's programmed responses. On one of these visits, she learns that her dad has a new girlfriend. When days later her mother's head goes missing, she is convinced that her dad plans to destroy it and embarks on a frantic search to save it. The story reaches a climax when Daze confronts her father and begins to deal with the circumstances of her mother's death. Realistic first-person narration draws readers into this short, fast-paced read. The author's use of technology to spark the characters' emotional revelations provides a unique plot element to this part realistic, part science fiction tale. Secondary characters, such as Daze's little brother, add to the narrative. Daze is a well-realized character, and her story gives readers the opportunity to speculate on the impact of artificial intelligence on future generations.—Kim Ventrella, Ralph Ellison Library, Oklahoma City, OK
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From Booklist

Daze is trying to be a typical teenager, but it’s difficult when her classmates keep asking questions about her mother’s death from cancer. One night, Daze is haunted by the sound of her mom’s voice and ventures downstairs to discover that her dad is playing old home movies on the computer. Things take an alarming turn a few days later when Daze hears her mom’s voice in the storeroom next to her dad’s office and discovers her mother’s head inside. Not the actual head, of course, but a robotic replica that her dad has created with a computer program simulating her mom’s voice and giving “her” the ability to respond to questions and carry on conversations. This is the second chance Daze has been looking for to come to terms with her mother’s death, which readers will discover did not occur as Daze had thought. An intriguing story about loss and survival, with elements of science fiction. Grades 6-9. --Shauna Yusko

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (August 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416941312
• ISBN-13: 978-1416941316
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,638,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rune Michaels lives in Reykjavik, Iceland, with her husband, their daughter and two cats. Visit her website at http://www.runemichaels.com and her blog at http://runemichaels.blogspot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality fiction with an enjoyably modern feel to it!, May 18, 2010

By 

Lalage (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reminder (Paperback)

I'm not sure I normally would've picked this book up from a bookstore, but I'm glad it found its way into my hands. The stage is not large, the characters aren't many but the emotions are true and the story carries an urgency that stays with you for days after reading it.

The close narrative makes the reader feel as if they've known Daze for years after only a few pages. Her matter-of-fact voice rings out clearly from every page, and in spite of the somewhat sombre subject matter, the book does not have a dreary feel to it at all. It sounds almost absurd to describe a book about grief processing as a page-turner, but this nevertheless is the case with The Reminder.

Both in The Reminder and in her earlier novel, Genesis Alpha, Michaels has shown an ability to write in such a novel and exciting way that stories that are at their core realistic read like wildest speculative fiction. She never takes the easy way out and every aspect of the story feels thoroughly thought through. Very enjoyable read about a girl tackling the most difficult of problems in an overwhelmingly modern world.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine tale of loss and survival, February 15, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reminder (Hardcover)

Rune Michaels' THE REMINDER tells of Daisy, who keeps hearing her dead mother's voice. While she's familiar with the possibilities and reasons, this time it's something different - and holds an opportunity to save her mother's life. A fine tale of loss and survival emerges.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, October 9, 2008

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Reminder (Hardcover)

Daisy has never quite come to terms with her mother's death. Though she's told the kids at school tons of stories about hospitals and chemotherapy, she refuses to discuss it with the therapist she's been seeing. And when she starts hearing her mother's voice, she can't help but hope there's some way her mother's still alive.

What Daisy stumbles on in her search is both stranger and more complicated that she could possibly have imagined. Now she has to figure out how to deal with the secret her father's been hiding, and the secrets she's been holding deep inside herself.

How far will she go to hold on to what seems to be her last real tie to the mother she never wanted to lose?

THE REMINDER captures the feelings of loss and mourning perfectly, the gloom that hangs over Daisy's life running through every page. Yet it's far from depressing -- it's a story of survival and hope, about living on and letting go. Readers will sympathize with Daisy's struggle, and follow the mystery eagerly to the final page. The revelation at the end is somewhat abrupt, but looking back, Michaels has done an excellent job of setting it up.

This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking look at how a modern family deals with the death of one of its members.

Reviewed by: Lynn Crow