Meet Me at Blue Hour

by Sarah Suk Narrated by Felisha Wong, Nick Martineau, David Lee Huynh

Overview

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets Past Lives in this gripping, emotional story of two childhood friends navigating the fallout of one erasing their memory of the other, from acclaimed author Sarah Suk.

Seventeen-year-old Yena Bae is spending the summer in Busan, South Korea, working at her mom's memory-erasing clinic. She feels lost and disconnected from people, something she's felt ever since her best friend, Lucas, moved away four years ago without a word, leaving her in limbo.

Eighteen-year-old Lucas Pak is also in Busan for the summer, visiting his grandpa, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. But he isn't just here for a regular visit-he's determined to get his beloved grandpa into the new study running at the clinic, a trial program seeking to restore lost memories.

When Yena runs into Lucas again, she's shocked to see him and even more shocked to discover that he doesn't remember a thing about her. He's completely erased her from his memories, and she has no idea why.

As the two reconnect, they unravel the mystery and heartache of what happened between them all those years ago-and must now reckon with whether they can forge a new beginning together.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Heartachingly beautiful. Meet Me at Blue Hour will forever have a special place in my heart—and my memories.” — Julie Abe, author of The Charmed List and Our Cursed Love
 

“A poignant, unforgettable gem of a novel. Each page brims with emotion as Suk masterfully captures the complexities of memory, identity, and grief, drawing readers to the question at the beating heart of the book: is loving someone worth the pain of losing them? I’ll be thinking about this one for a very long time—and eagerly awaiting anything Suk writes.” — Ann Liang, New York Times bestselling author of I Hope This Doesn’t Find You

“Beautiful, important, and filled with some heart-wrenching twists, Meet Me at Blue Hour is a breathtaking romance readers will never, ever forget.” — E. L. Shen, author of The Queens of New York

“Richly imagined with emotionally complex characters, Suk captivatingly explores love, loss, and the power our memories have on us in this tender love story. Thought-provoking and beautifully rendered, Meet Me at Blue Hour is not to be missed.”  — Grace K. Shim, author of The Noh Family and Not Your Average Jo

"An impressive multilayered story of love, both romantic and familial...Suk writes wondrously developed characters, their experiences enhanced with intricate details and brilliant plot shocks as they unravel, remake, and restart their way to reconnection and recovery." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Thought-provoking and comforting." — Kirkus Reviews

"The interconnectivity of memory, community, and self is explored in ways that read as authentic, despite the near-future SF premise, leading up to a surprising twist." — Booklist

"The connection between Yena and Lucas perfectly capture(s) the swooning drama of falling in love. Tapping into both the complicated romance and ethical issues explored in the movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, this story will resonate with readers of Stoke’s Remember Me Gone." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"For readers who like to consider and think about the effect of technology on social interactions and the idea of scientific studies mixed with a little romance." — School Library Journal

Kirkus Reviews

2024-12-28
In a world where memory tampering is possible, two Korean Canadian teens deal with the repercussions of memory loss.

Seventeen-year-old Yena Bae is in Busan, South Korea, for the summer, working at her divorced mother’s memory erasure clinic. When she runs into her childhood best friend, Lucas Pak, who left Vancouver for Alberta without a word, she’s shocked—they’re halfway around the world and, having discovered his memory tape at the clinic, she knows he had his memories of her erased. Lucas is in Busan visiting his grandfather, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Lucas hopes to enroll Harabeoji in the clinic’s new memory restoration trial. As Lucas enlists Yena’s help, she struggles with questions around his motivations while having to keep their old friendship a secret to protect him from complications of the erasure procedure. At the same time, Lucas can’t shake the feeling that people are hiding something. This story explores the grief of carrying formerly shared memories alone, while also offering readers an earnest budding romance. The narrative alternates between the leads’ perspectives and includes a rich tapestry of settings (a bamboo forest, a fish market) as well as flashback vignettes from the points of view of various inanimate objects (a popcorn machine, a lawn mower) whose sounds were captured on cassette tapes used for the memory erasure procedures. The novel’s speculative premise offers musings on the social consequences of technology as an intriguing backdrop for a gentle friends-to-lovers romance.

Thought-provoking and comforting.(Speculative romance. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940192218112
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/01/2025
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos