The Memory of Things

Gae Polisner’s The Memory of Things is a realistic historical young adult novel that begins immediately after the attack on the World Trade Center on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Main character Kyle Donahue, 16, evacuates Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge with thousands of other shocked and fearful New Yorkers. When Kyle sees a girl his age wearing white wings cowering close to the bridge’s edge, he convinces her to go home with him, where he discovers she cannot remember a thing, not even her name. As he cares for his previously injured uncle and worries about his father (a police officer at Ground Zero), Kyle tries to protect the girl from further trauma—but soon suspects that her amnesia covers painful memories. Originally published in 2016, the novel explores the many forms of courage, the ephemerality of life, and the complexity of memory. This guide references the 2016 Macmillan edition.

Content warnings: September 11th; potential suicide, parent death; mentions of genocide and rape. Additionally, there is occasional use of profanity in dialogue and interior monologue.

Plot Summary

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Donahue evacuates lower Manhattan by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge on foot alongside thousands of fellow New Yorkers. He was in class that morning at Stuyvesant High School when two planes hit the World Trade Center; he saw the South Tower collapse from the classroom window. Everyone assumes it is the act of terrorists, but Kyle cannot understand how such an attack could happen, nor why. Now, with his friends and teachers scattered, his mom and sister in Los Angeles, and his father—an NYPD officer in the Joint Terrorist Task Force almost certainly at the scene of the devastation—Kyle can only move with the crowd in the direction of his Brooklyn home.

Near the far end of the bridge, Kyle thinks he must be seeing an illusion: A large bird with white wings cowers near the edge. He quickly realizes it is a girl, covered in ash and wearing part of a costume. He turns against the flow of people to help her, convincing her to walk with him as an explosion rocks the air. Her dark hair is cropped short, and she wears cargo pants, a sweatshirt, and combat boots. Not knowing what else to do, Kyle brings the girl home to the Brooklyn Heights apartment he shares with his mom, dad, sister Kerri, and Uncle Matt. Kyle tries to call his parents on his cell phone, but he cannot get through. Uncle Matt is asleep in his room. Kyle gives the girl towels so she can shower. Later, he asks her name, but she cannot remember it or anything about herself.

The girl’s point of view is represented in the novel by passages of free verse. They are comprised primarily of images and pieces of clues from her thoughts and observations; she seems to recall seeing an explosion or perhaps the South Tower’s collapse.

News reports announce the North Tower’s collapse. Kyle discovers a phone message from his father saying to stay put once home and one from his panicked mother, who is stranded in LA since all flights are now grounded. Uncle Matt awakens; Kyle informs him of the events. A former police officer, Uncle Matt has a spinal cord injury and uses a wheelchair. Kyle helps Uncle Matt to the toilet, then leaves a message for his father, telling him he is home safe; Kyle does not mention the girl. Kyle tries to look up amnesia online while the girl sleeps but finds nothing helpful.

Kyle makes dinner and sits beside Uncle Matt to feed him. He explains to the girl that a bad accident immobilized Uncle Matt. Kyle’s father finally calls; he intends to stay at “the Pile,” searching for victims and coworkers. Late at night, Kyle calls his friend Marcus who says that two of their friends lost family members. After the call, the girl and Kyle watch old cartoons, neither able to sleep. She cannot verbalize to Kyle the images she is recalling, but in her point of view, she reveals a lake, music, and champagne glasses. Kyle calls his dad early in the morning to check on him; he is resting at St. Paul’s Chapel adjacent to the site. Kyle still does not tell him about the girl. Unsure what to do, he reads for homework, though he knows school will be out for some time. When he finally checks on the girl, she is gone.

He rushes back to the Brooklyn Bridge, finding her near the underpass. He convinces her to return home with him. They walk along the Promenade, a walkway with a view of the Manhattan skyline. Countless posters and flyers seek the missing; memorial items like candles and flowers are accumulating. On the walk, Kyle asks the girl to tell him some simple things she knows she likes, which she is able to do. He relays them back by memory. Once back in the kitchen, Kyle teaches the girl a memory trick with a list of 10 random objects. In no time, she can recite them back. Kyle later overhears the girl encouraging Uncle Matt to recite them back as well, and he does so. Later, Uncle Matt reminds Kyle that he should take the girl to Missing Persons. Kyle promises he will after a little while longer. He sees the girl dancing ballet steps in his sister’s room and realizes she is remembering. He finds a washed-out ID card in the washing machine from the girl’s clothing; he can make out the letters for her school—a performing arts academy near Lincoln Center—but not much of her name.

The next morning, Kyle’s father comes home to rest. Knowing about the girl from Uncle Matt, he says Kyle must take the girl for help. Kyle promises to do so the next day. He and the girl go to Coney Island; Kyle marvels at the lack of crowds on the streets and in the subway. On the beach, the girl suddenly dives into the ocean surf; Kyle is terrified that she will drown, but eventually, she swims back. She recalls someone teaching her to swim in the ocean. On the way home, Kyle suggests palm readings at a fortune teller. Madame Yvette seems to know about Uncle Matt’s accident; she claims that soon, someone will make a recovery. Kyle hopes it will be Uncle Matt. Madame Yvette sees a recent terrible tragedy in the girl’s life; the girl runs out.

Kyle catches up; they walk home together. Later, in his room, they kiss. The girl convinces Kyle to play guitar again, which he gave up a year before because his father considered it a pointless hobby. The girl and Kyle kiss again. In the morning, Kyle’s father warns him about falling for the girl. Kyle is angry and embarrassed—because he thinks he may indeed be in love with her. On the Promenade that day, the girl lights two candles; Kyle suspects she is beginning to remember that both her parents were killed in the attacks.

That evening, Kyle’s father is home. Uncle Matt watches a news magazine show on TV that first aired a few months before. Kyle encourages Uncle Matt to grasp a piece of cookie, which he does; it is exciting progress. Kyle is about to go tell his father, but the TV show stops him. The interview subject is a lawyer named Marconi. Kyle is shocked: that name matches the letter shapes on the girl’s ID card. The lawyer mentions his daughter Hannah and his recently deceased wife. Kyle approaches the girl; indeed, her name is Hannah Marconi. Her mother, a ballet dancer, died over the summer of ovarian cancer. Hannah goes each Tuesday morning to her mother’s favorite café near the World Trade Center. There, she saw the second plane hit; terrified for her father, whose office was in One World Trade Center, she ran toward the fires; her proximity to the South Tower collapse explains the ash thickly covering her when Kyle found her.

Hannah shows Kyle her mother’s photos online; she was the creative director of New City Ballet. Hannah once took her place in a production of Swan Lake as her mother was too sick to dance, which explains her wings. Kyle’s dad tracks down Hannah’s father, who is alive; he comes to pick her up that night. Kyle is sad to see Hannah go but relieved that her father survived. He knows they may not see one another again soon as she lives in a distant suburb, but he appreciates the special bond they had that served as a bright spot amid so much tragedy. He also now has deep gratitude for his family and a stronger connection to his father despite their differences.