Memory’s Wake by Selina Fenech
Book Review by Hush Hush Biz Book Reviewer Jamie Campbell
Dazed, confused, and completely void of her memory, a teenage girl falls through a veil into a world unknown to her. Stumbling across the girl, Eloryn promises to help find her way home and dubs her Memory.
The chance encounter plunges the girls into a fantastical world of danger, fairies, magic, and dragons. Stalked by strangers, and wanted by the King of the land, the girls are in more trouble than they realise.
Yet the key to their survival lies in Memory’s past. Without a clue of her history, but with an aptitude for magic, they stumble across the lands in search of answers and safe refuge.
Memory’s Wake is a magical story full of the meaning of friendship, what it takes to have faith in someone, and overcoming problems to fight for what you believe in.
Scattered amongst the book are beautiful illustrations by the author. They perfectly compliment the words and give you an insight into their world. For any lover of fantasy, Memory’s Wake is for you.
A fast five questions with the author, Selina Fenech.
Q: Memory’s Wake takes place in a fantasy reality, how did you come up with the world?
A: I basically just combined elements of lots of different things I love- Arthurian myth, fairies, dragons, Victorian style, and a modern main character who is a sarcastic, tough, street kid with the humour of a fourteen year old boy, wrapped around an intensely vulnerable interior.
Q: Memory is a unique character, what process brought her to you?
A: Memory was a character with a slow and complex build. Her background and story came to me bit by bit as I worked on the story, becoming quite rich by the end. I wanted a character who was deeply flawed. Not just a little bit weak in one regard, but quite selfish, rough, and emotionally injured. I wanted to take her from that flawed state through to being a true hero.
Q: Which character are you most like, if any?
A: I’d like to think I’m like Memory, but really I’m more like Eloryn- shy, proper, and too worried about what other people think.
Q: The book is scattered with beautiful drawings, how did they come about?
A: I was an artist before I was an author, and it seem like a natural step to me to include illustrations in the story. I drew all of the interior illustrations myself, as well as the cover art.
Q: What can we expect from book 2?
A: Book two of the series takes Memory to her darkest place. She’s struggling to fit into the new world she should call home, and is feeling her connection to her friends slipping through her grasp. None of this is helped by the fact she is being haunted by her past self, quite literally!
