Meet Me at Blue Hour

Gr 7 Up–Moving from Vancouver, Canada, to Busan, South Korea, after graduation, Yena Bae, 17, begins working in her mom’s memory clinic—where memories are erased. She can’t help but wonder why her best friend Lucas Pak, 18, left Vancouver, and why he doesn’t seem to remember her and won’t talk to her. However, she discovers that he too is visiting Busan for the summer to help his grandfather who has Alzheimer’s. Yena slowly unravels what happened to Lucas after she reunites with him when he inquires about a memory study being conducted by Yena’s mom. Lucas would like nothing more than to restore his grandfather’s memories; however, his grandfather understands there are issues with erasing and preserving memories. These issues will lead to interesting discussions among readers. Told in alternate perspectives between Lucas and Yena, the mystery of their friendship is slowly untangled as the two characters are reunited. The author includes points of view from inanimate objects throughout which provide a smorgasbord of sounds. Readers will also enjoy the choice of settings throughout and the rekindling of romance between Lucas and Yena. Main characters are Korean Canadian who are surrounded by others who are described as Korean.