Five of the best books that use amnesia effectively

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and We Are Not Good People from Pocket/Gallery. He has published over thirty short stories as well.

At B & N Reads Somers tagged five books that use amnesia effectively, including:

I Am the Cheese, by Robert Cormier

When used poorly, the big mistake made with amnesia is having the character be totally aware of their memory loss—this makes the amnesia the focus. In I Am the Cheese, Adam’s amnesia only becomes obvious as the story grows increasingly disturbing, and the facts stop adding up. One of the most complex and challenging young adult novels ever penned, Cormier’s use of amnesia doesn’t just provide cover for plot trickery, it serves to treat the reader like the proverbial boiling frog, with tension rising by almost-unnoticed increments until the mind-blowing resolution.

Read about the other entries on the list.

I Am the Cheese is among Anthony Horowitz's 6 favorite books for teens.

--Marshal Zeringue