The Memory Bank
Gr 4-8–This combination of prose and pictures tells an unusual tale of dreams, memories, and separated sisters. After her awful parents abandon Hope's little sister, Honey, the older girl winds up at the “Memory Bank,” where dreams and memories are catalogued and counted. A prolific dreamer herself, Hope is fascinated by the strange workings of the bank and hopes to find something there to reunite her with Honey. While details of the bank's workings are a bit confusing and not especially engaging, it becomes clear that the bureaucracy stifles freedom and creativity. Honey's story, told mostly through pictures, is more compelling as she joins a gang of joyful, mischievous children intent on bringing chaos to the repressive world of the Memory Bank. More than half of the book consists of full-page pen-and-ink and pencil drawings that propel the story as much as the text does. Each short section finishes with a dramatic sequence of illustrations depicting Hope's dreams and Honey's parallel adventures, most ranging from four to eight pages. Varied use of shading, line, and perspective makes each scene distinct as the plot progresses visually. As the parallel narratives begin to merge and the sibling reunion approaches, events become more involving. The novel ends with a dream shared by the two sisters, satisfyingly depicted through a 16-page series of illustrations. The format clearly recalls Brian Selznick's The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Scholastic, 2007) in its use of extensive illustrations, though in this case the story lacks the impact of the images.–Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR. (c) Copyright 2010.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.