Review: Memento Nora by Angie Smibert

Memento Nora by Angie Smibert

Nora, the popular girl and happy consumer, witnesses a horrific bombing on a shopping trip with her mother. In Nora’s near-future world, terrorism is so commonplace that she can pop one little white pill to forget and go on like nothing ever happened. However, when Nora makes her first trip to a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic, she learns what her mother, a frequent forgetter, has been frequently forgetting. Nora secretly spits out the pill and holds on to her memories. The memory of the bombing as well as her mother’s secret and her budding awareness of the world outside her little clique make it increasingly difficult for Nora to cope. She turns to two new friends, each with their own reasons to remember, and together they share their experiences with their classmates through an underground comic. They soon learn, though, they can’t get away with remembering.

Review:

Memento Nora was a unique and twisted dystopian novel that I flew through in a couple of hours. The concept behind Memento Nora was very different from other dystopians and it was surprising to see how alike, yet so different, Nora's society was to our own. There are random bombings, organized social structure, and a pill you can take to forget, yet they also have bookstores, regularly attend school, and have a police force.

The novel was told in alternating perspectives of our three main characters- Nora, Micah, and Winter. Nora was very different from the other two. She was a popular, good student, with a well off family, and she was previously sheltered from some of the harsh truths of her society. When she is taken to the Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic after witnessing a bombing while shopping, she meets Micah for the first time. From there, her world begins to spin out of control. She spits out the forgetting pill, keeping her own memories as well as a secret her mother revealed before taking her own pill. I liked how Nora was strong enough to take her life into her own hands, but I think it came on a little fast. It was intriguing to read about the comic she begins with Micah and Winter; to see how they put keeping their memories and the things they discovered to good use, though.

While the book mainly focused on Nora and how she coped with everything that was happening- both with her family, friends, school, and the outside world- Micah and Winter each played a part as well. They were both interesting characters. The "rebels" of the school so to speak. I liked watching their relationships with Nora develop and seeing how brave they were in the face of danger.

There were quite a few secondary characters that tied into the story and either helped out the trio or brought them harm. A mystery was spun into the plot as well and all isn't revealed until the end. I liked how it kept me guessing and I was on edge throughout, hoping for the best for everyone.

The plot line was overall very well orchestrated and the ending was a huge cliffhanger. I think this could have been even better if it was a tiny bit longer. I didn't fully get to know and understand the three characters and some of their actions seemed a bit rushed. In all, I'm glad I picked up Angie's debut and fans of dystopian novels about teens making a difference will be all over this. The Forgetting Curve is definitely on my 2012 wishlist!

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 stars

April, 2011/Marshall Cavendish Children's Books/184 Pages/Young Adult/Book One

Source: Published (Hardcover)

Other books in the series: The Forgetting Curve (2012)

Blog Tour: Angie Smibert's "Into the Past"

Welcome to the fantastic Angie Smibert- author of the fabulous new dystopian novel, Memento Nora! She's here to talk about some of her favorite books growing up. Are any of your favorites on there?

What were your favorite books at ages 5, 11, 16 and 20? And if there are any

books released in the last few years, especially within YA that you would have loved having back then, you can talk about that too!

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Hmmm. I don't remember what my favorite book was when I was 5. My favorite story, though, was one my Dad made up. (Or at least he told me he did.) He would tell me Sinbad stories before bed time. (No, not the comic. The sailor.) My favorite was Sinbad and the Isle of Helios (or something like that). Sinbad and his sailors were shipwrecked on an island of helium balloon people. That's about all I remember of the story, although, now that I think of it, I do recall something about Sinbad making puncture-proof vests for the inhabitants.

At 11, my favorite book was probably Wuthering Heights. I was precocious dork in middle school. The summer I turned 11 I started at one end of the classics section in the town library and worked my way through the shelves. And I kept a list of books I'd read. I loved the gothic, romantic feel of both the book and movie Wuthering Heights. (I’m also still into classic movies.)

In high school, I discovered science fiction and fantasy. So, at 16, my favorite book was either Dune by Frank Herbert or the Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. By college, I still loved science fiction, but I went through a mystery phase. I devoured Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy Sayers, among others. So I might go for Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers as my pick for age 20.

My dorky 11-year old self (as well as my older selves) would have probably loved a lot of the YA science fiction and fantasy that's out now--which is probably why I, in my still-dorky 40's, love it, too.

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Thanks so much for stopping by, Angie! My review of Memento Nora will be posted later this week. Be sure to stop by Angie's website for more info on her and Memento Nora!

Introducing 2011: Angie Smibert

Angie's debut novel, MEMENTO NORA, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in July 2011!

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1. What was the inspiration behind MEMENTO NORA?

I’ve always been fascinated with memory for some reason. The idea for Memento Nora came from an article I read about current Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) research. Scientists are now testing particular drugs to loosen the grip of traumatic memories on PTSD sufferers. I took the idea to the extreme. What if you had a pill that could completely erase selective memories? What if that pill was available in a chain of little shops reminiscent of frozen yogurt places? What kind of world would give you frequent forgetting points every time you visited this shop?

2. Why do you think it's important to remember, and to keep your memories?

Memories are part of who you are. Would you be the same person if you could erase everything bad that happened in your life? I don’t know. I doubt it. In some cases, though, like particularly traumatic memories, forgetting probably wouldn’t be a bad thing. It might enable you to move on with your life.

3. You've worked a variety of jobs, how have any of them inspired your writing?

I’ve worked at some cool places over the years. NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Virginia Tech. The Environmental Protection Agency. My jobs have usually had two things in common. They combined my love of language and science. (I’ll fess up. I have a degree in biology as well as one in liberal studies.) Those loves no doubt influence my fiction writing. (Memento Nora is science fiction, if you haven’t guessed yet.) You won’t find any Space Shuttles or nuclear waste in this novel, but you might find characters inspired by people I’ve worked with over the years.

4. How did you create the world Nora lives in?

I started with the idea of the pill and the frozen-yogurt-like clinic and worked backward. I kept asking myself questions. What kind of society would encourage its people to forget? Who would profit? Why? Who would it hurt? Who would be the least likely person to buck the system?

5. In what ways do you relate to Nora?

That’s a good question. On the surface, Nora and I aren’t very much alike. She’s the popular, rich girl whose life comes crashing down around her. I was the solidly middle-class, nerd-girl who didn’t belong to any one clique in school. (I had friends in many different groups, but never belonged to one.) No life crashing happened. I guess I relate to Nora more as she becomes the person she never thought she’d be—and likes it. She has to push against the expectations of her friends and family and even her society and do what she thinks is right for her.

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Thanks so much, Angie!

Click here to visit Angie's blog.