Review: Memento Nora by Angie Smibert

Memento Nora

Series: Memento Nora #1

by Angie Smibert

Publication Date: April 1, 2011

Published by Marshall Cavendish Children's Books

Pages: 184

Source: Requested from Publisher

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(from Goodreads)

On an otherwise glossy day, a blast goes off and a body thuds to the ground at Nora's feet. There are terrorist attacks in the city all the time, but Nora can't forget.

In Nora's world you don't have to put up with nightmares. Nora goes with her mother to TFC--a Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic. There, she can describe her horrible memory and take a pill to erase it so she can go on like nothing ever happened. But at TFC a chance encounter with a mysterious guy changes Nora's life. She doesn't take the pill. And when Nora learns the memory her mother has chosen to forget, she realizes that someone needs to remember.

With newfound friends Micah and Winter, Nora makes a comic book of their memories called Memento. Memento is an instant hit, but it sets off a dangerous chain of events. Will Nora, Micah, and Winter be forced to take the Big Pill that will erase their memories forever?

Angie Smibert's remarkable debut novel takes readers on a thrilling ride through a shadowy world where corporations secretly rule and consumerism is praised above all.



My Thoughts

There is nothing scarier than a dystopian novel that is only one or two steps away from the reality of the world we live in today. While reading Memento Nora, I was really freaked out by the reminder that almost all of our movements are traceable - by mobile phone, internet, purchases, and ways that I can't even imagine - there isn't any anonymity anymore.We are always being watched even though we may not know how much we are being watched or by whom. Can you sense my paranoia here? Um yeah, just a little bit.

Memento Nora is set in a future plagued by a terrorist threat called the Coalition who've claimed responsibility for several attacks and numerous bombings. These events have become so common that the Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic (TFC) was created to help people deal with their post-traumatic stress. People just go into the clinic, tell all of their worries that they want to forget, pop a pill and presto-magic all of their worries are erased. Oh and the best part is that every time they go to the clinic to forget, they earn points which serve as currency to buy "glossy" things. 

Told through Therapeutic Statements, the book begins with Nora describing her "glossy day" out with her mother when the top floor of the building they are walking beside blows up and the body of a man falls right in front of her. Having witnessed this, her mother has taken her to the Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic so that she can have this horrific memory erased. But the strange behavior of Micah, another TFC patient, and her mother's shocking confession, convinces Nora that she may not want to forget it all and she fakes taking her pill. Her run-in with Micah, and their friendship that follows, allows Nora to realize that her life may not be as glossy as it seems (and may never really have been). 


I loved how the story is told from the perspectives of Nora and her friends, Micah and Winter as they try to figure out who is behind the Coalition and all of the mysterious bombings. Filled with intrigue and danger, and with a kick in the consumerist's pants, Memento Nora hits a little too close to home. 


Memento Nora is the 2011 debut novel of Angie Smibert. It will be available April 1, 2011 from Marshall Cavendish publishing. More information can be found on the Memento Nora website at http://www.mementonora.com/

Disclaimer: I requested this book for review from Marshall Cavendish and this review is based on the Advanced Reading Copy. I was not compensated in any way other than the ARC provided for review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme run by The Story Siren which explores the books that have been delivered to our mailbox or doorstep or directly into our hot little hands.

 

For Review:

All About Daisy by O'Dell Hutchison

Finding You by Kristen Kehoe

Purchased:

Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala

Friend is Not a Verb by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Don't Sleep with Your Drummer by Jen Sincero

Freeze Frame by Heidi Ayarbe

I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs edited by Smith Magazine

Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love by Andrew Shaffer (signed)

This was another big week for me in books for 2 reasons. I "discovered" BookCloseout.com and my husband took me on a shopping spree at Fountain Bookstore. BookCloseout has so many books that have been on my wish list that I couldn't pass them up. I've been listening to the free Tell Me a Secret podcast on i-Tunes - (if you haven't checked it out yet, do so immediately because it's wonderful) but I wanted to have the actual book too, and now I do. I kind of went a little overboard again, but the discount prices were just too good. I actually purchased 3 more books for future giveaways and aren't listed here.

Then this week we were in Richmond for my husband's job, so of course we had to stop by Fountain Bookstore. As soon as we walked through the door, he tells me I can get 5 books. I only picked 3, not that I couldn't find 5 books, but I felt a little guilty (and I should) because I thought I was trying to limit the number of books coming in the house until I made a massive dent in my TBR pile. So I think it's time for another book buying ban. I won't post about that too much (because there really isn't much more to say). 

So now that I feel guilty, self-indulgent, and am hanging my head in shame, I can't wait to see what you got in your mailbox.

And the Winners Are . . .

The winners of the Literary Giveaway have been selected. There were 74 entries and using Random.org, four winners were selected. The winners are:

#17 pixie13 - chose Lolita

    #34 Flora - 2nd choice - awaiting response

#44 Juana E - 3rd choice

#11 Amy S. - 4th choice

Congratulations!

All of the winners have been notified by email. If you see your name here, please check for your email from me and confirm your book selection. If a winner has not responded to the email as requested, a new winner will be selected on March 5, 2011.

 This will be the last blog hop giveaway I participate in for a couple of months but I will still be hosting other book giveaways. Thank you to everyone who has visited my blog or is now following my blog. I really appreciate it.

Love Your Indie?

I live in a small town where we don't have any independent bookstores. And this saddens me to no end. (Well we do have a coffee shop that has a "used book nook")  Don't get me wrong, I do like my local Barnes and Noble and Books-a-million, but I love the feeling I get when I go into an independent bookstore - like it is filled with hidden treasures just waiting for me to find them. This is probably why any time I visit a new town or city, I always search out the local indie scene.

I've thought about this for a while and alluded to it in previous posts and after visiting Fountain Bookstore again this week, I've decided that I'd like to host a new feature on this blog - Love Your Indie. I'd like to invite any bloggers or readers of this blog to share their favorite independent bookstore in their own post. Depending on the response, I would like to feature a new post once or twice a month.

If you're interested in participating in this new feature, please send me an email at actinupwb@gmail.com - I'd love to hear from you and discover your favorite indie bookstore!

Waiting on Wednesday - Dead End

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is: 

 


Dead End
by Jason Myers
Published by: Simon Pulse
Date: June 14, 2011








  

Dru and Gina are young, in love, and can’t wait to get out of Marshall, Nebraska, a town where bloodline means everything and whoever has the money makes the rules. But all their dreams are shattered when Gina has a monstrous run-in with the son of the richest man in Marshall—an incident that leaves her broken, battered, and violated. 

Driven by rage, Dru and Gina take matters into their own hands, and quickly find themselves in over their heads. Without any other options, Dru and Gina are on the run. But there’s more chasing them than they think, and love might not be enough to save them. (fromGoodreads)

I've read Jason Myers's other books Exit Here and The Mission.  They are very different from many of the books that I read - the tone and the language. They are raw and explosive. I'm looking forward to what Jason writes next.

And the Winner Is . . .

The Winner Is . . .

Cheryl of The Lucky Ladybug

She has won my Letting Go Giveaway #2: From Books to the Big Screen

There were 29 entries and using random.org, number 14 was selected. Congratulations Cheryl! Thanks to everyone who stopped by my blog and entered. I'll have another Letting Go Giveaway soon -this one will likely include YA titles.

In My Mailbox (23)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme run by The Story Siren which explores the books that have been delivered to our mailbox or doorstep or directly into our hot little hands.

This week's IMM is subtitled "Why I have the BEST brother-in-law EVER!"

Gifted:

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Library:

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Won:

Teenie by Christopher Grant
Thank you Random House/Random Buzzers

This week was awesome. I received Cryer's Cross from my brother-in-law and it's a pretty funny story how that happened. I just recently joined Simon and Schuster's Galley Grab and was loading the book that was offered to me which was Cryer's Cross. After I downloaded it, the message alerted me that I had 45 minutes to read it. My jaw just dropped. What? But why? Then I remembered that you can only access the book until the day it is published (which was going to be in 45 minutes). So I just accepted the fact that I was going to miss out on it and would just buy it some time later.

The next  morning, I was still thinking about the book so I checked out Lisa's McMann's website and saw that she was going on a book tour. Knowing that Lisa wouldn't be coming near my town, I still wanted to see where she was going to go. I about lost my "stuff" when I saw that she was going to be signing at Mysterious Galaxy bookstore in San Diego that very night. This is definitely not near my house (I am in Virginia), but it is very close to where my brother-in-law lives. So I sent him a text in a flash (forgetting the 3 hour time difference) and he agreed to do it - no hesitation, no questions asked! He really is the best. After some tweeting and a little more texting (and a phone call to Mysterious Galaxy confirming that Lisa would be there and there would be plenty of books available), we were all set (and Lisa knew that some guy was coming to get a book signed for his sister-in-law - thanks Twitter).  So here he is with Lisa McMann and my signed copy of Cryer's Cross!

Here's a little FYI for all of you Melissa Marr fans. If you are in San Diego or near San Diego, Melissa will be at Mysterious Galaxy on Wednesday, February 23rd. If you have the chance, you should check it out. It is a great indie bookstore. I'll be visiting again this summer and it makes me happy just thinking about it - yes I am a dork. I know it and I don't care.

If you're still reading this, thanks! (I probably should have done a vlog) I can't wait to check out what you got in your mailbox!