ARC Review: The Knowing by Sharon Cameron

Title: The Knowing Series: The Forgetting #2 Written by: Sharon Cameron Published: October 10, 2017 by Scholastic (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Samara doesn't forget. And she isn't the only one. Safe underground in the city of New Canaan, she lives in a privileged world free from the Forgetting. Yet she wonders if she really is free, with the memories that plague her and secrets that surround her. Samara is determined to unearth the answers, even if she must escape to the old, cursed city of Canaan to find them. Someone else is on their way to Canaan too . . . a spaceship from Earth is heading toward the planet, like a figment of the city's forgotten past. Beck is traveling with his parents, researchers tasked with finding the abandoned settlement effort. When Beck is stranded without communication, he will find more in Canaan than he was ever trained for. What will happen when worlds and memories, beliefs -- and truths -- collide?

**** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher at ALA in exchange for an honest review. This fact has not changed my opinion. ****

I loved The Forgetting. It was on of my favorite books of 2015. Therefore I was super excited when I heard it was going to have a companion novel where we find out what happens after the events of the first novel. And it was just as interesting a science fiction novel.

I want to start by talking about the world. Because I really loved the world in The Forgetting and I liked it even more here. Now that we know that this is a science fiction series, all pretense are put aside and we can dive into exploring that aspect of the world. You would think that there wouldn’t be many surprises when it comes to the world after the revelations of the first book but there totally were. Here we explore what Canaan is like now that people don’t have to Forget. And of course that had backfired and made it so the people can’t forget. It once again explored ideas of memory and whether or not that is a good then. Then there was the societies that were created. Yes, multiple societies. It very much had a dystopian vibe still as we delve into those societies and the haves vs. have nots aspect of the way things have become. There was a lot of really interesting stuff in that respect which made for a totally interesting world.

The characters however were not as interesting. Now don’t get me wrong, Samara and Beckett were fine. On their own they were interesting and complex characters. They both had engaging motivations and backgrounds that made them compelling protagonists. I enjoyed watching both of them interact with the world and felt invested in them when trouble arose. But I never completely connected with them. Maybe because there was two of them. From a narrative standpoint it made sense to have multiple perspectives, but I do feel like it maybe stopped me from getting attached to one or both of them. But I also really hated the romance. Oh man, I hated it so much. I’m so picky about romantic relationships and this one did nothing for me. If fact it had the opposite effect on me. Instead of making me engage more, it made me pull away. Unfortunately, the characters just didn’t work for me here.

But the plot did work. There’s a lot here. This is on the longer side of some YA reads but no part of if was boring of slow. Everything really built to an exciting conclusion, plus there is tons of action and adventure along the way that it kept me guessing and engaged. And I have to be honest, there was so much drama, and so many different threads here, that I couldn’t see how they were all going to connect in the climax but they absolutely did. They connected in a big way and made for a thrilling ending that had me wanting to turn pages faster than my brain would allow. I have this thing where I don’t finish books before I go to bed but this one really had me considering breaking that. I wanted to stay up to read the last 30 pages, it was that good.

However, much like The Knowing, I feel like there is just too much unresolved in this book, which is honestly just annoying especially considering this is a surprise companion novel to what I thought was a standalone. The way this book ended did not leave me feeling content and like everything is all wrapped up. It left things wide open and that had me wanting more. I want to know what happens next. I feel like there are two possible directions the story can go in and I want both. Sharon Cameron, please write more. If you need ideas for a premise let me know. I can totally help.

All in all, this was a really great read. A fantastic companion to a book that I loved. It further explores the world and gives us a thrilling plot the had me totally hooked from beginning to end. It wasn’t perfect but it was great.

I give The Forgetting by Sharon Carter 9 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. If you liked The Forgetting, definitely check out this book. It’s super interesting to see how the events of the first novel affected things. And if you haven’t read it and you want a dystopia with an interesting sci-fi world you NEED to read this series.

Have you read The Forgetting? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

Waiting on Wednesday:

A weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine

Title: The Knowing Series: The Forgetting #2 Author: Sharon Cameron Published: October 10, 2017 by Scholastic (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: Samara doesn't forget. And she isn't the only one. Safe underground in the city of New Canaan, she lives in a privileged world free from the Forgetting. Yet she wonders if she really is free, with the memories that plague her and secrets that surround her. Samara is determined to unearth the answers, even if she must escape to the old, cursed city of Canaan to find them.  Someone else is on their way to Canaan too . . . a spaceship from Earth is heading toward the planet, like a figment of the city's forgotten past. Beck is traveling with his parents, researchers tasked with finding the abandoned settlement effort. When Beck is stranded without communication, he will find more in Canaan than he was ever trained for. What will happen when worlds and memories, beliefs -- and truths -- collide?

Why I'm Waiting:

I LOVED The Forgetting. It was probably the book that surprised me the most in 2016. Not only was that because I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed it but because it had a huge surprise at the end of the book. I went into the cook expecting it to be more of a traditional dystopia but it was so much more than that. Something happened in the book to give it more of a hard Sci-Fi vibe and I loved that so much.

And because I loved The Forgetting I am super excited for it's sequel. I don't want to give too much away but I know that the twist at the end of the last book is going to make for a really interesting read in The Knowing. This is sort of the opposite of that book and that's going to be really fun and interesting I think. Not to mention when I met the author at ALA she mentioned that this books is set 100 years in the future and is more of a companion novel, which again is very cool.

I know I am in for a really engaging and mysterious book full of adventure and lots of surpising twists. I am also in store for a unique world. I can't wait to see what has happened to Canaan in the years since the last book. And I am sure the Sci-Fi vibes will be back and with a bigger role now that we know that aspect of the world.

This is one of my most anticipated reads of the fall. As I said, I met the author at ALA well I also picked up a copy of book. I was so excited to do both. I of course gushed to Sharon Cameron about how much I loved The Forgetting and how excited I was for The Knowing. I'm so excited to read it!

What about you? What are you waiting for this Wednesday? Are you waiting on The Knowing along with me? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!

ARC Review: The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

Title: The Forgetting Written by: Sharon Cameron Published: September 13, 2016 by Scholastic (Amazon / Goodreads) Synopsis: What isn't written, isn't remembered.  Even your crimes. Nadia lives in the city of Canaan, where life is safe and structured, hemmed in by white stone walls and no memory of what came before. But every twelve years the city descends into the bloody chaos of the Forgetting, a day of no remorse, when each person's memories – of parents, children, love, life, and self – are lost. Unless they have been written.  In Canaan, your book is your truth and your identity, and Nadia knows exactly who hasn't written the truth. Because Nadia is the only person in Canaan who has never forgotten.  But when Nadia begins to use her memories to solve the mysteries of Canaan, she discovers truths about herself and Gray, the handsome glassblower, that will change her world forever. As the anarchy of the Forgetting approaches, Nadia and Gray must stop an unseen enemy that threatens both their city and their own existence – before the people can forget the truth. And before Gray can forget her.

*** I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher at BEA. This fact has not changed my opinion. ***

Oh man, this was fantastic. I don't want to give a lot away because so much of the best things about this book is that it's full of surprises. But if you are looking at the synopsis and thinking you know what it's about or what it's like, do not be fooled. It's much more complex. The Forgetting is not at all what I was expecting but honestly that made it all the more interesting because his is a really creative and compelling read.

One thing I loved about this book is the mystery. It's one of those SF/F reads that is full of mystery. I mean with a book called The Forgetting you would assume that remembering would be a big part of the book and it was. This is a book where you start about being so confused and then things slowly start being revealed. When everything is all said and done there is more than one big twist in this book and all of them were fantastic. That had little clues along the way to help you piece it together but ultimately it was full of surprises and I loved that.

I also really loved the world and the world-building. I can't go into any specifics here because that would give too much away and so much of the mystery here is related to the world. But suffice it to say, this is a really creative world that place around with science fiction and dystopian tropes. It made for a really engaging setting especially as you start learning more about it. And the author does a great job with the show instead of tell style of world-building. The more you see, the more you learn, the more invested you are.

You also get really invested in the characters. Pretty quickly into the book you are able to empathize with the main character, Nadia. She's in a very unique position of remembering when others cannot which made here one of those "too smart for her own good" protagonists. It is a little tropey at times but it kind of worked. But the think I liked most about Nadia is that she was motivated by her love of her family and her desire to help people for the greater good. It made me get behind her struggle and want to see her succeed.

There is also a ton of really great secondary characters here too. I already mentioned Nadia's family and I thought they had such a great relationship. She cares so much about them even when they don't really get along. I liked the way Nadia and her sister Lilya interacted. It felt so honest how they would bicker but still support each other. And while the romantic lead wasn't great for me from a romance standpoint, he ended up being a more layered character than I was originally expecting. So many of them are really complex and walk the line between good and evil, which I loved. On top of that it made for an interesting situation with antagonists. There's a lot of great conflicts here stemming from the fact that the characters are so complex.

My only problem however was with the pacing. This is a book which slowly builds to a thrilling conclusion which I liked but it wasn't very balanced. The beginning is a bit slow. Things are happening to move the plot along but it didn't really take off until half way through. Then when you get to the final act it was like a full-on sprint. I would have liked a little bit more of a balance. But that's just me being nitpicky.

Because seriously, this is a fantastic read. It's got likable and complex characters, a plot full of suspense and surprises, plus a really fascinating world. It's a book that while it can stand alone I would love to see a sequel for because it is so good that I'm not ready to let it go.

I give The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron 9.5 out of 10 stars

Buy/Borrow/Bypass: Buy. I would absolutely recommend this book. It's much more complex than you might suspect by reading the synopsis. It's a mysterious and thrilling read with great characters and you should read it. Fans of science fiction and dystopia should absolutely check this out.

Have you read The Forgetting? What did you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!