The Reminders

Emmich's quirky first novel tracks the developing friendship between 10-year-old Joan and 30-something Gavin as they unite to try to win a songwriting contest. Joan, who lives with her musician dad and teacher mom in urban New Jersey, is one of a few dozen people in the world with a condition called highly superior autobiographical memory, which means that she remembers everything that has ever happened to her and on what day. TV actor Gavin has just lost his partner, Sydney, to a heart attack. He flees California to grieve at the home of his college friends, Joan's parents, who are facing their own issues about finances and career choices. When Gavin learns that Joan has met Syd, they agree that he will help her write a song, and she will recall every meeting she had with Syd in detail. As Gavin listens, he must face a mystery about Syd's last few months. Told in the alternating voices of Joan and Gavin, and illustrated with doodled line drawings from Joan's journal, the breezy novel raises intriguing questions about the nature of memory. (May)