Review: Memento Nora

Book: Memento Nora

Author: Angie Smibert

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

Release Date: 4/1/2011

Pages: 192

Source: ARC Tour

Date Read: 1/31/11

From Amazon:

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.

Yani's Analysis:

When I picked up this book I thought it would be a a miniaturized repeat of other dsytopian novels, and while there are similarities between this book and other works, I was intrigued by the storyline and the character’s chemistry. It reads like a psychology journal- of memories to forget. I liked the fact that because it was a journal of memories to forget, the author doesn’t bore you with irrelevant details. The idea of forgetting to be happy is a similar theme in other dystopian novels and its a relevant topic to today’s world, where people medicate themselves to not live with the pain. Also, the theme of privatized security was really prevalent, without using more than 200 pages Smibert was able to incorporate all these societal evils into one book. Amazing!

Other things I liked:

• I like how the author created  a new slang/vocabulary. It was hard to pick up, but very creative, and reminded me of the Uglies with the words like bubbly. In this book everything is glossy.

• Funny how the reward for memory erased is points, like a credit card. 
• Told in multiple viewpoints, love this in stories...really brings out the whole picture.

Although I understand the point of the ending, it left me a little unsatisfied. I am wondering if there is a sequel in the works??

Ratings: 

Plot: 4/5

Writing Style: 4/5
Uniqueness: 3/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Memorable Quotes:

“when in doubt spit it out” Micah

“it was like the superheroes had abandoned gotham, and we the citizens were supposed to pop a pill and forget all about it.” Micah