No two people are exactly alike, but Elijah Crowe is very, very different.
Elijah is on the autism spectrum, so the tasks of day-to-day life most people breeze through are a challenge for him. His career suffered because he never got the hang of schmoozing, and now his talents are being wasted teaching classes at the mall. His social circle is limited to his ex, his therapist, and a structured inclusion group at the Rec Center. The one bright spot in his life is the memory science of Mnemography. Although he loves nothing better than devouring the latest research and tinkering with all the specialized equipment, he never clicked with any other experts in the field until he met Daniel Schroeder. Daniel runs a memory palace—he even writes his own mnems—and that shared interest alone would make him fascinating. But Daniel and Elijah met under unusual circumstances, where the statement, “I like you, and I think you like me,” held some surprising nuances. Now Elijah suspects he’s gay, but the few prominent people in his life are less than supportive. Some are downright hostile. Elijah might not be neurotypical, but he’s plenty smart. Surely there’s some way to get people to accept him for who he is. If only he could figure out how. |
I liked this one more than first. I usually don't like the next book to shift to another character's point of view, but it worked this time. Being in Elijah's head was interesting and explained his standoffish attitude from The Persistence of Memory. I'm not sure how accurate it is with autism, but based on reviews, many people say it's spot on - either way he was impossible not to like.
Of course focusing on their relationship growing, it also show Elijah's strange but sweet relationship with his ex-wife, his troubles at work, being bullied, and his annoying therapist. You can't tell in the first book how kind of hooked, obsessed, he is with Daniel, but it was sweet. When starting the third book, I was bummed a little we were back in Daniel's head instead.
Their relationship is just so incredibly sweet. Sadly we never get to say certain words said to Elijah that he hears Daniel say in his memory. I wanted a confrontation or reveal about the asshole he works with Rick, but sadly...
“I rolled up my sleeve. Penned on my arm in my own writing: If I prove I’m not selfish, Daniel will love me.”
It's not as humorous as the PsyCop series, but it does have it's funny moments, especially with Gator55 in the chatroom and the pop-ups from hell.
Understanding the worldbuiling with the memory technology more helped me too, since I was sort of lost in the first book and drifting when it was over-mentioned. Side characters are still great - Daniel is a worthy main character and interest (their personalities and way of speech are so different), Big Dan is fun and a great figure for both of them, and I again was hooked by the psychological connection with the ex, Beth. Since they knew each other since they were 10, there's a lot of history and apparent guilt on her part. I would have liked more of them but unfortunately the book can only hold so much.
As a con, Jordan Castillo Price writes very short books, leaving me wanting more. Pacing and the fascinating characters blend with the small page count to make this a fast read.
