What I hate about reading books right when they come out is that sometimes they are really, really good and sometimes you have to wait a long time for the sequel. That is definitely the case for Angie Smibert's debut novel, Memento Nora.
I originally pre-ordered this book based on a short excerpt posted on the League of Extraordinary Writers blog. In that excerpt, I was drawn in by the world--definitely a possibility in our future--of an America driven by consumerism, terror, and a lack of rights. Every day we trade more of our rights for the latest technology or convenience. We let Charlie Sheen get that far out of control because he entertained us. Of course we could get to the point where there are TFC's--therapeutic forgetting clinics--where we can erase all the painful and stressful memories. And of course, we'll see it as a good thing.
But as Nora finds out, erasing bad memories allows us to turn a blind eye on the bad that is going on in the world. For Nora it starts with the realization that her father beats her mother. Nora had no idea. Nora's mother still has no idea. Because she goes to the TFC at least once a week. This one even leads Nora to a friendship with two kids outside of her social circle who are also seeing the problems in society. Micah can't remember his father and refuses to forget anything else, Winter lives with her grandfather because the government is holding her parents in Detention for suspected terrorism. Together they create a comic telling their stories, but it spirals out of control when they discover truths about their families and their governments that no one wants them, let alone the world, to know.
This book is short (about 185 pages) but it packs a real punch. Mostly told from Nora's point of view, we also hear from Micah and Winter. I loved how distinct each character's voice is and how their stories intertwine. The book has a very quick pace. I could not put it down, except occasionally to text people and tell them they have to read Memento Nora. But for all the action, I still felt the characters were real. I loved Nora's complicated relationship with her parents, for instance.
This book had a totally creepy feel at the end that suited the story perfectly. It could have ended on that as a stand alone book and I would have been satisfied. But the author added two pages that so perfectly mirrored the inciting incident of the book that the story ended on a high note and I am left with nothing but excitement and anticipation for the next book.
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