by Angie Smibert follows Nora who lives in a society where people take a pill to forget the stresses in their lives. After Nora witnesses a car bombing she takes her first trip to a TFC (therapeutic forgetting center) so that she can forget all about the incident. While there she spots a boy who makes a big deal of not taking the pill so she decides to spit hers out. Nora and Micah then make and distribute a comic book which causes a huge amount of controversy.I had mixed feelings about this book. The plot was much like many other dystopians I've read lately (girl is happy with her life till she meets boy, boy points out what is wrong with society, girl and boy rebel with little to no thought of how it will effect their families) but it was a nice read with a believable dystopian world. The main problem I had was the books mixed character narratives, the characters voices were not distinct enough that I could keep track of whose narrative I was reading. I also didn't love that I paid hardback prices for a book that was under 200 pages with short paper (although that could be a big plus for reluctant readers). It was more of a novella than a novel and novellas should be in paperback, and with a large part of the plot being about a comic book I would have loved for them to add some pictures.
Appropriateness: This book didn't have any adult content. The main characters lie to their parents and break the law. There are some car bombings and some domestic violence (Nora's Parents). The romance is essentially just a strong friendship. I'd put the interest level at 12-15 and I think it would appeal to boys as much as it would appeal to girls.
