Review by Booklist Review
Every 12 years, the Forgetting sweeps through the walled city of Canaan, erasing residents' memories. To preserve their society and sense of self, they religiously record their daily lives in journals that they keep tethered to their persons. Cameron (Rook, 2015) quietly unspools the days leading up to the next Forgetting by focusing on Nadia a teenage girl who is immune to forgetting and interspersing passages from Nadia's journals. Much in the vein of Katniss and Tris, Nadia is a thoughtful and daring protagonist who begins to find cracks in Canaan's simple, trade-based society. During one of her secret trips over the city's wall, Nadia catches the attention of Gray, the glassblower's son, and together they make discoveries that reveal the shocking history of Canaan. Cameron posits many interesting questions about memory and truth in this novel, but unfortunately the plot doesn't manage to pull events and revelations together in an intelligible way. Less action-packed than many dystopias, Nadia's story carries plenty of intrigue and a dash of romance, which will satisfy many fans of the genre.--Smith, Julia Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The Forgetting, a consequence-free night of lawlessness and bloodshed accompanied by a total loss of memory, comes to the walled city of Canaan every 12 years, and its citizens rely on their books to remember who they are afterward, unless they decide to start new lives. Teenage Nadia isn't like the others: she remembers everything, and has been scaling the city's walls for some time. When the charming Gray catches her and demands that she take him over the wall, she can't refuse for fear of being reported to the Council. The setting is kept vague until the second half of the novel, when it truly finds its legs and a world-shattering twist is revealed. The sweet romance between Nadia and Gray is hard-earned and realistic, and Cameron (Rook) mines Nadia's relationships with her family (including her heartbreak over her father's abandonment) while steadily building tension as the Forgetting draws closer. Memory-and how it shapes identities and futures-is at the heart of this absorbing adventure, and the satisfying conclusion leaves an opening for further novels. Ages 12-up. Agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Every 12 years, the orderly city of Canaan undergoes the chaotic, bloody time known as the Forgetting. During these brief hours, people's memories are erased. If it were not for the books in which inhabitants are required by law to record the events of their lives, they would have no way of knowing what happened before the Forgetting, or even of knowing their names or who their families are. Nadia is different. She remembers. The next Forgetting is a few weeks away. The teen is determined to keep her family together and away from the ensuing anarchy, but how? As Nadia works to this end, she comes up with more questions than answers. Why is the supposedly benevolent head of the Council, Janis, having some people's houses ransacked? What happens when people write lies in their books, or their books are stolen? The glassblower's handsome son, Gray, says he wants to help Nadia, but can she trust him? When Nadia searches for the truth, it is more shocking than anything she could have imagined. This fantasy is a marvelous achievement. Cameron creates a world filled with chilling dystopian constructs while maintaining a sense that it is as solid and convincing as our own. Each scene plays out in cinematic clarity-from the pristine walls that encircle the city to the rising of the three moons, from the perpetually anguished face of Nadia's mother, who remembers pain but no facts, to the labyrinthine underground lair where Nadia discovers the truth. VERDICT This excellent work belongs in every collection.-Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
