The Impossible Knife Of Memory Analysis

The Impossible Knife of Memory is a modern Young Adult fiction novel. It brings to light issues such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, substance abuse and family troubles. It tells the story of a father and daughter who have been on the road for years, running from their memories. They try to settle down so Hayley can finish her senior year at High School, but their past starts catching up on both of them.

This book was definitely a representation of what some teenagers may deal with and it discussed issues present in our society, but I personally found it to be clichéd, not very well rounded, with an underdeveloped plot and frustrating characters. There were multiple grammatical mistakes and sentences that did not make sense or did not run smoothly, whilst this was partly evidence of a lack of an experienced editor, it lowered my enjoyment throughout the entire novel. Even excusing the obvious mistakes, I still found the story line to be old and repetitive. Beginning with a ‘tough’ girl, troubles at home, then meeting a boy who helps her learn and grow as a person before they part ways and go to college, all whilst dealing with her father and getting him help. The final scene in which Hayley and Finn have one more night together is very clichéd, “And when we get scared or lonely or

Whilst she loved him very much it was sometimes difficult to forgive him when he was irresponsible. I thought taking care of a man who is haunted by his own demons was a very big responsibility for a teenager and that I perhaps would not have been as mature and level headed as she was during times of stress. At a moment when her father was being difficult Hayley says “It’s hard to know how to play the game when the rules keep changing.” Then later “I patted his back. Waiting for the storm to pass.” This shows her patience and tolerance when faced with the unpredictability of her