Author: Sharon Cameron
Format: Audiobook (Digital)
Narrator: Therese Plummer
Running Time: 13 hours, 6 minutes
Publisher: Scholastic Adio
My Star Rating: ★★★★☆
Goodreads Summary: 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.
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 was so intrigued when I heard the premise of this book. I mean, a city where everyone forgets but one girl remembers? Cue my intense curiosity! My instinct told me this book had to be pretty darn good. Turns out my instinct was right!
From the moment I started listening to The Forgetting, I was enthralled! It starts out with a boom, right in the middle of a Forgetting, then jumps ahead 12 years and introduces readers to Nadia, our main character.
Nadia was one of my favorite aspects of The Forgetting. Why? Because she wasn't your typical "strong female character" who's bold and brash and snarky. Nadia is quiet. In fact, she rarely speaks to anyone, even her family. She doesn't like to get close to people, but you could say that's because she loves so deeply and does't want to get hurt by them forgetting her, as has happened once before. She's cautious, but curious and in the end her curiosity overrides her caution. Above all, Nadia has a deep need to know the truth. This need plus her curiosity propels her through the story, leading her to unravel the mysteries behind her city, it's creation, and the mysterious Forgetting that occurs every 12 years.
I didn't just fall in love with Nadia, though. There was also Gray, the charismatic son of the glassblower. Gray, who is everything Nadia's not. Yet somehow the two of them fit. Perhaps it's because of their shared curiosity and desire to learn the truth. Whatever it was, it lead to a smokin' romance that I couldn't resist. Gray starts out as kind of a prick, but as he grows on you and Nadia both, you can't help but come to see him as totally swoonworthy!
Let's talk about the plot because in all honestly that's where The Forgetting lost stars for me. Let me be clear about one thing: the plot itself wasn't bad--in fact it was pretty good. BUT! The pacing was pretty slow. Now, granted: the plot isn't wasted because of the slow pacing. The story builds and builds and builds, it's just that it doesn't do it all at once. I didn't mind the slow pace too much, but it did make my focus slip at some points and I've seen other readers who have been really put off by it. So consider this your forewarning. That being said, the tempo does increase drastically in the last quarter and the book gets incredibly action packed.
Another reason The Forgetting lost stars was that I felt like the discoveries and connections Nadia made were often really confusing. The way new information was described just seemed really jumbled and I had to take a moment to pause and think through what the author was trying to tell me. This meant that I was kind of hazy on major plot developments.
Yet even still, at the end of the book, despite my two qualms, I was pretty satisfied and enjoyed the book very much! It really was quite a fun ride and a compelling mystery. If you go into the book expecting to have a good time and not expecting a work of literary genius, then I think you'll really enjoy it. So, while I can't totally, honestly say "10/10. Would recommend," I can honestly say, "Maybe about 7.5/10. Would recommend!"
As for the audiobook format of the book, I thought it was decent. Therese Plummer had a good voice, very smooth, and nice pacing. She read with a good amount of emotion and drama in her voice as well. However, although she did distinguish between male and female characters' voices, there wasn't much vocal distinction between characters beyond that. Another issue I found with the audiobook was that there was a significant amount of inner monologue from Nadia and I couldn't distinguish between when Nadia was saying something aloud or when she was just thinking it. I don't think this was Plummer's fault, I think it was just that the material didn't translate perfectly to an audio format. But other than those two issues, I thought the audiobook was good. However, I think because the source material didn't translate perfectly to audio format, it may be better to read the physical format of The Forgetting.
So that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed and maybe I helped you decide whether or not to read this book! Tell me in the comments if you want to read The Forgetting or if you have read it and what you thought! Ttyl!
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