Little Boxes - The Submarines

The Forgetting Curve
Memento Nora, Book 2

Author: Angie Smibert
Pages: 202
ARC Acquired from: Marshall Cavendish via NetGalley

Description from Goodreads:
Aiden Nomura likes to open doors—especially using his skills as a hacker—to see what’s hidden inside. He believes everything is part of a greater system: the universe. The universe shows him the doors, and he keeps pulling until one cracks open. Aiden exposes the flaw, and the universe—or someone else—will fix it. It’s like a game.

Until it isn’t.

When a TFC opens in Bern, Switzerland, where Aiden is attending boarding school, he knows things are changing. Shortly after, bombs go off within quiet, safe Bern. Then Aiden learns that his cousin Winter, back in the States, has had a mental breakdown. He returns to the US immediately.

But when he arrives home in Hamilton, Winter’s mental state isn’t the only thing that’s different. The city is becoming even stricter, and an underground movement is growing.

Along with Winter’s friend, Velvet, Aiden slowly cracks open doors in this new world. But behind those doors are things Aiden doesn’t want to see—things about his society, his city, even his own family. And this time Aiden may be the only one who can fix things... before someone else gets hurt.

First Sentence: "It all started with a door."

Review:
I read and reviewed Memento Nora earlier this year. The Forgetting Curve is a satisfying continuation of that story. In fact, I think I even liked this one better than the previous, due to the narrators, and the sheer creepiness of seeing the brain wipes in action.

Going into this one, I was a bit concerned, because I knew that this one had two new narrators replacing Micah and Nora. Anytime there's a POV change, I can't help but worry it will be for the worse. Thankfully, though, I loved the new additions: Aiden, Winter's cousin, and Velvet, Micah and Winter's friend. Both of them are so much more lively and funny than the characters they replaced.

Aiden is so awesome, sort of the replacement Nora, in that both are wealthy and, on the surface at least, fit into society perfectly. I loved reading Aiden's POV, especially when he talked about hacking and code. Maybe I've been infected by my day job, but I just thought that was all so cool. I also enjoyed the fact that he is not what he at first seems. He may look like a rule-following prep, but he's actually constantly messing with things.

Velvet is so sassy, and you know how I adore sassy narrators. Her Book of Velvet, aka the rules by which she lives life, is totally fantastic. I mean, I have to love a girl who has a rule that says not to run, ever, for any reason. (I hate running.) Another rule I wanted to fistbump her for was: "A girl can't wait for Prince Charming to rescue her ass or save the universe" (188).

Winter's POV didn't too much for me. For the most part, I thought she was kind of boring in this one, and I was very grateful her sections were kept to a minimum. The constant reference to the hummingbirds were irritating. However, I am glad Smibert kept her in, because seeing the difference that the brain wipes had first hand was very powerful.

The story itself isn't especially complex. At only 202 pages, this book is brief. It may be a dystopia, but it's much more fun than it is especially scary. I still think this series could be great for reluctant and/or middle grade readers.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote: "Yeah, I said the universe. Call it Fate or The Force or whatever you want. Everything is everything. It's all part of one big system. I like to think of it as the universe."

"And the people in the houses 
All went to the university, 
Where they were put in boxes 
And they came out all the same, 
And there's doctors and lawyers, 
And business executives, 
And they're all made out of ticky tacky 
And they all look just the same."