Review: The Forgetting Curve by Angie Smibert

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. 

My Rating: 3 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The sequel to Angie Smibert’s Memento Nora, The Forgetting Curve, requires you to have read and remembered what happened in the first book since it dives right back into the world of Memento Nora, but recaps everything very, very briefly. I find it therefore ironic that The Forgetting Curve deals with the concept of memory.

In Memento Nora, the story was narrated through the eyes of Nora, Micah and Winter. Although Winter’s voice is back in The Forgetting Curve (though she didn’t seem as fascinating due to the neurochip in her head), the perspectives of Nora and Micah have been replaced by Aiden and Velvet. I understood the reason for the change, but I didn’t like it because I thought Velvet’s story wasn’t as interesting as everybody else’s. Also, I found it hard to relate to Aiden because as someone who isn’t very technologically savvy, he lost me whenever he started talking about hacking.

Aside from the emotional disconnect from the characters, the plot of The Forgetting Curve confused me at times and left me wondering how the Nomuras got involved with TFC’s scheme and what TFC’s end goal is (besides making a profit, of course). As well, *minor spoiler ahead* while the idea of implanting neurochips sounded cool, the science behind it seemed kind of vague to me.

The Forgetting Curve was released by Marshall Cavendish on May 1, 2012.

Comments About the Cover: The cover matches Memento Nora’s pretty well. I also like that it manages to convey Aiden’s coolness. 

In exchange for an honest review, this ARC was received from the publisher (Marshall Cavendish) for free via NetGalley.