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The Memory Key
In a five-minutes-into-the-future world, a bereaved daughter must choose between losing memories of her mother to the haze of time and the reality-distorting, visceral pain of complete, perfect recall.
Lora Mint is determined not to forget.
Though her mother’s been dead for five years, Lora struggles to remember every detail about her—most importantly, the specific events that occurred the night she sped off in her car, never to return.
But in a world ravaged by Vergets disease, a viral form of Alzheimer’s, that isn’t easy. Usually Lora is aided by her memory key, a standard-issue chip embedded in her brain that preserves memories just the way a human brain would. Then a minor accident damages Lora’s key, and her memories go haywire. Suddenly Lora remembers a moment from the night of her mother’s disappearance that indicates her death was no accident. Can she trust these formerly forgotten memories? Or is her ability to remember every painful part of her past driving her slowly mad—burying the truth forever? Lora’s longing for her lost mother and journey to patch up her broken memories is filled with authentic and poignant emotion. Her race to uncover the truth is a twisty ride.
In the end, Liana Liu’s story will spark topical conversations about memory and privacy in a world that is reliant on increasingly invasive forms of technology.
Lora Mint is determined not to forget.
Though her mother’s been dead for five years, Lora struggles to remember every detail about her—most importantly, the specific events that occurred the night she sped off in her car, never to return.
But in a world ravaged by Vergets disease, a viral form of Alzheimer’s, that isn’t easy. Usually Lora is aided by her memory key, a standard-issue chip embedded in her brain that preserves memories just the way a human brain would. Then a minor accident damages Lora’s key, and her memories go haywire. Suddenly Lora remembers a moment from the night of her mother’s disappearance that indicates her death was no accident. Can she trust these formerly forgotten memories? Or is her ability to remember every painful part of her past driving her slowly mad—burying the truth forever? Lora’s longing for her lost mother and journey to patch up her broken memories is filled with authentic and poignant emotion. Her race to uncover the truth is a twisty ride.
In the end, Liana Liu’s story will spark topical conversations about memory and privacy in a world that is reliant on increasingly invasive forms of technology.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published March 3, 2015
33 people are currently reading
4017 people want to read
About the author
Liana Liu
2 books64 followersLiana Liu was born and raised in New York City, and lives there still. She received her MFA in fiction writing from the University of Minnesota.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
February 23, 2015
I really wanted to like this one more than I did. (Well, there's an opening sentence that no one wants to see in a review, hm?) I love the topic of memory in general, and I love thinking about how our mind works. Sadly, this one fell short for me in more ways than one. It wasn't all negative though, so...
What Worked For Me:
-I liked that the family relationship was featured heavily. Lora has to deal with the death of her mother, her tense relationship with her father, and even an aunt in government who is a strong influence in her life.
-I was interested enough to want to see how things turned out. The mystery and story were entertaining.
What Didn't:
-I don't know where or when this is. It's confusing, because it doesn't seem like it is that far in the future, or even in the future at all, but I guess it is? As for location, it seems like it is kind of supposed to be a "Anywhere, USA" sort of thing, but it is incredibly generic, and all references to government and location are completely generic, so it could in fact be set anywhere, at any time. There is very little (close to not any) world building.
-The flashbacks are really confusing. I don't know if this is going to be different in the finished copy, but in the eARC there is absolutely no indication that Lora is having a flashback. I would be reading along, something would make no sense, and then I'd realize that I'd been reading a flashback scene for several paragraphs.
-Speaking of flashbacks, wouldn't she be freaking out a bit? If suddenly, your memory key malfunctions, and you are flooded with strange memories, wouldn't you maybe, I don't know, panic? Nah, Lora's cool. I didn't even understand that it wasn't normal until a full chapter later.
-Lora wasn't particularly likeable for a big portion of the book. From about 20%-85%, I was kind of sick of her. She was being awful to everyone around her. I understand that she was having some issues, but goodness, she was awful to her best friend, her father, people at work... it wasn't exactly endearing.
-The romance was... okay. There are two love interests, only she isn't so interested in one. He's actually completely pointless to the story, and if you cut every reference of him out, things would probably make the same amount of sense. Go home, Raul. The other love interest, Tim, is the brother of Lora's best friend Wendy. Tim is fine, but they do this awkward back and forth that gets old really fast.
-I saw the "twist" coming. Maybe this is just me, but yeah, I wasn't super surprised by the way things ended up.
Bottom Line:Well, I guess that was a lot more negative than positive, no? Perhaps if I hadn't read any books involving similar situations ( The Unhappening of Genesis Lee comes to mind, and is far better executed), this would have worked better for me. But, this is a quick read, and the story was somewhat entertaining so if you're interested, it might be worth it.
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
What Worked For Me:
-I liked that the family relationship was featured heavily. Lora has to deal with the death of her mother, her tense relationship with her father, and even an aunt in government who is a strong influence in her life.
-I was interested enough to want to see how things turned out. The mystery and story were entertaining.
What Didn't:
-I don't know where or when this is. It's confusing, because it doesn't seem like it is that far in the future, or even in the future at all, but I guess it is? As for location, it seems like it is kind of supposed to be a "Anywhere, USA" sort of thing, but it is incredibly generic, and all references to government and location are completely generic, so it could in fact be set anywhere, at any time. There is very little (close to not any) world building.
-The flashbacks are really confusing. I don't know if this is going to be different in the finished copy, but in the eARC there is absolutely no indication that Lora is having a flashback. I would be reading along, something would make no sense, and then I'd realize that I'd been reading a flashback scene for several paragraphs.
-Speaking of flashbacks, wouldn't she be freaking out a bit? If suddenly, your memory key malfunctions, and you are flooded with strange memories, wouldn't you maybe, I don't know, panic? Nah, Lora's cool. I didn't even understand that it wasn't normal until a full chapter later.
-Lora wasn't particularly likeable for a big portion of the book. From about 20%-85%, I was kind of sick of her. She was being awful to everyone around her. I understand that she was having some issues, but goodness, she was awful to her best friend, her father, people at work... it wasn't exactly endearing.
-The romance was... okay. There are two love interests, only she isn't so interested in one. He's actually completely pointless to the story, and if you cut every reference of him out, things would probably make the same amount of sense. Go home, Raul. The other love interest, Tim, is the brother of Lora's best friend Wendy. Tim is fine, but they do this awkward back and forth that gets old really fast.
-I saw the "twist" coming. Maybe this is just me, but yeah, I wasn't super surprised by the way things ended up.
Bottom Line:Well, I guess that was a lot more negative than positive, no? Perhaps if I hadn't read any books involving similar situations ( The Unhappening of Genesis Lee comes to mind, and is far better executed), this would have worked better for me. But, this is a quick read, and the story was somewhat entertaining so if you're interested, it might be worth it.
This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
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November 28, 2014This review was originally posted on Between My Lines
I adored the premise of this book. Memory is such a fascinating subject and the idea that your memories can be manipulated by a devise sent my mind reeling in all directions. It is such a disturbing and exciting theme that I couldn’t wait to dive into the book.
First Line of The Memory Key by Liana Liu:
My thoughts on The Memory Key by Liana Liu:
I think I was a little too hyped up entering the book. Not a hype created by anyone else but a hype I drummed up for myself based on the synopsis. I did enjoy the memory key theme of the book and the conspiracy theories that surrounded it but overall the book fell a little flat for me.
I think my biggest issue was with the characters. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I just never cared about them at all. I think they didn’t feel enough and that just made me not feel anything. For example the main character discovers something HUGE during the book and she has very little reaction to it.
It should have been explosive and Lora should have been crackling with emotion. I would have expected her to flail, to disbelieve, to be angrier to just react more. Instead she learned it, absorbed, accepted it and I just couldn’t buy into her under reaction. I personally didn’t feel emotional or anything really when she made her discovery. That lack of attachment and lack of a sense of involvement with the characters made the pace of the book drag for me.
The romance in the book was nicely drawn out and I like that it didn’t over dominate the storyline. Instead it was kept in the background and that is something I did appreciate. The friendship between the Wendy and Lora was iffy. It felt one sided and I think it’s one that wouldn’t last the test of time. But that’s realistic enough, that’s what happens friendships as you both develop at different rates and not all friendships make it.
The world building felt believable and I really bought into the concept of a forgetting sickness epidemic. I could see this happening and blaming pollution and genetics didn’t seem too far-fetched at all. So the memory key solution didn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility.
I just wished I cared more about the characters as then it would have been a much better read for me. But I absolutely didn’t hate it. It was a slow read but I enjoyed the plot. Overall I enjoyed it but feel a bit disappointed. Still I’d like to like to try this author again in the future just because I like her unique plotline. Hopefully next time, I’ll engage more with the characters.
Who should read The Memory Key by Liana Liu?
I’d recommend this to people who enjoy plot driven Sci FI YA books rather than character driven books as that is where the books strength is.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I adored the premise of this book. Memory is such a fascinating subject and the idea that your memories can be manipulated by a devise sent my mind reeling in all directions. It is such a disturbing and exciting theme that I couldn’t wait to dive into the book.
First Line of The Memory Key by Liana Liu:
“My earliest memory is of my mother.”
My thoughts on The Memory Key by Liana Liu:
I think I was a little too hyped up entering the book. Not a hype created by anyone else but a hype I drummed up for myself based on the synopsis. I did enjoy the memory key theme of the book and the conspiracy theories that surrounded it but overall the book fell a little flat for me.
I think my biggest issue was with the characters. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I just never cared about them at all. I think they didn’t feel enough and that just made me not feel anything. For example the main character discovers something HUGE during the book and she has very little reaction to it.
It should have been explosive and Lora should have been crackling with emotion. I would have expected her to flail, to disbelieve, to be angrier to just react more. Instead she learned it, absorbed, accepted it and I just couldn’t buy into her under reaction. I personally didn’t feel emotional or anything really when she made her discovery. That lack of attachment and lack of a sense of involvement with the characters made the pace of the book drag for me.
The romance in the book was nicely drawn out and I like that it didn’t over dominate the storyline. Instead it was kept in the background and that is something I did appreciate. The friendship between the Wendy and Lora was iffy. It felt one sided and I think it’s one that wouldn’t last the test of time. But that’s realistic enough, that’s what happens friendships as you both develop at different rates and not all friendships make it.
The world building felt believable and I really bought into the concept of a forgetting sickness epidemic. I could see this happening and blaming pollution and genetics didn’t seem too far-fetched at all. So the memory key solution didn’t seem beyond the realms of possibility.
I just wished I cared more about the characters as then it would have been a much better read for me. But I absolutely didn’t hate it. It was a slow read but I enjoyed the plot. Overall I enjoyed it but feel a bit disappointed. Still I’d like to like to try this author again in the future just because I like her unique plotline. Hopefully next time, I’ll engage more with the characters.
Who should read The Memory Key by Liana Liu?
I’d recommend this to people who enjoy plot driven Sci FI YA books rather than character driven books as that is where the books strength is.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
January 18, 2015
This is a science fiction story which takes place in a future United States. Since the outbreak of Vergets Disease, which is a form of Alzheimer's, most people have been implanted with memory keys which preserve memories. Lora's mother worked for Keep Corp until her death in a car accident five years earlier. Since then it has just been Lora and her absent-minded professor of a father. Lora is still grieving her mother's loss and sad that the memories she had of her mother are fading.
Then she has an accident in which she bumps her head and now her memory key is malfunctioning. All of a sudden she is remembering things about the time her mother disappeared which makes her think that her mother was the victim of foul play. But can she trust her new memories? Lora is also subject to memory cascades and crippling headaches which she self-medicates. She becomes determined to find out what really happened to her mother.
The basic theme of the story - a massive corporation more concerned with the bottom line than doing good - is not new. However, the execution of the story was very well done. Lora's relationships with her best friend Wendy, with Wendy's brother Tim, with potential new boyfriend Raul are all complex and interesting. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this tale.
This book will appeal to science fiction fans, mystery fans, and fans of stories with strong relationships.
Then she has an accident in which she bumps her head and now her memory key is malfunctioning. All of a sudden she is remembering things about the time her mother disappeared which makes her think that her mother was the victim of foul play. But can she trust her new memories? Lora is also subject to memory cascades and crippling headaches which she self-medicates. She becomes determined to find out what really happened to her mother.
The basic theme of the story - a massive corporation more concerned with the bottom line than doing good - is not new. However, the execution of the story was very well done. Lora's relationships with her best friend Wendy, with Wendy's brother Tim, with potential new boyfriend Raul are all complex and interesting. I enjoyed the twists and turns in this tale.
This book will appeal to science fiction fans, mystery fans, and fans of stories with strong relationships.
April 3, 2015
The Memory Key is set in the future where everyone has a memory key, a chip that wards off Alzheimer's-like Vergets disease. When our MC, Lora, has a memory key damaged in an accident she starts to remember everything, even the night before her mother's car accident. As Lora relives more memories she begins to suspect that her mother's accident was no accident at all.
This was a really quick read for me. I really liked the plot of the story, but it was sort of lacking for me. The author does a good job at creating this new disease, I just wish that she had went into more detail about the disease. Her writing style is pretty basic, she doesn't do a good job at describing characters, but considering this is her first novel she does an okay job.
The characters in the book are interesting enough, but the author sort of gives them bland personality traits, especially Lora. Lora was an okay character, but a bit of a Mary-Sue. I liked how she cared so much for her mother, but some of her decisions were a bit rash.
The plot sort of conveniently falls together, everything sort of falls in place. Some parts I found a little unbelievable. The book isn't boring it's just not memorable.
Overall I liked The Memory Key, but it really wasn't that good. I give it 2.75/5 stars.
This was a really quick read for me. I really liked the plot of the story, but it was sort of lacking for me. The author does a good job at creating this new disease, I just wish that she had went into more detail about the disease. Her writing style is pretty basic, she doesn't do a good job at describing characters, but considering this is her first novel she does an okay job.
The characters in the book are interesting enough, but the author sort of gives them bland personality traits, especially Lora. Lora was an okay character, but a bit of a Mary-Sue. I liked how she cared so much for her mother, but some of her decisions were a bit rash.
The plot sort of conveniently falls together, everything sort of falls in place. Some parts I found a little unbelievable. The book isn't boring it's just not memorable.
Overall I liked The Memory Key, but it really wasn't that good. I give it 2.75/5 stars.
did-not-finish
February 20, 2016DNF at 30%
Nope cannot deal with this. Way too fast paced and felt like I was reading a diary. Too many thoughts, not interested in the whole mother disappearance mystery thing going on. blah.
Nope cannot deal with this. Way too fast paced and felt like I was reading a diary. Too many thoughts, not interested in the whole mother disappearance mystery thing going on. blah.
July 2, 2016
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: Yet another dystopian read centered on a corrupt government with hidden agendas.
Opening Sentence: My earliest memory is of my mother.
The Review:
When reading The Memory Key, I was reminded of the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. In Delirium, love is considered a disease so everyone over 18 must be immunised against it. It is essentially a way for those in power to control the general public’s minds. Similarly, in this story, the government / leaders are controlling their people through their memories by inputting memory keys into their bodies. Why don’t these people realise that anything that is artificially installed into the body and is a compulsory alteration is risky business. Especially if the main alteration is to the brain!
I liked the intrigue and mystery surrounding Lora’s mother and her death. Unfortunately, Lora irritated me most of the time because she needed things spelled out for her in order to understand. Her ‘damaged’ memory key was a good excuse for the most part but I felt she overused that excuse.
I stay there. I stay because I can’t move; the guilt and shame have completely cramped my muscles. I feel awful about it, all of it, large and small. For lying to him. For continuing to lie to him.
And for suspecting that he is lying to me.
The Memory Key is targeted for young adults but the writing was a leeetle amateurish. I may have found this because I am used to reading YA that is a tad more challenging, with confusing plots, so the simplicity of this story was tedious.
When Lora doesn’t get her memory key replaced she receives a few telephone calls and although they become more persistent, I expected more drama, or someone to physically track Lora down to force her into replacing her key. But then, confusingly enough, she goes and gets it replaced anyway and I just wondered, ‘what was the point in delaying it then?’ There were so many aspects to this story that just seemed pointless.
The first few chapters were fairly slow, but the middle of the book was fast-paced; thereby building up anticipation for a strong ending. Unfortunately, the ending was a complete disappointment. Without revealing any spoilers, it is safe to say that the conclusion was anticlimactic, leaving the reader wondering how they could have better used their time!
Notable Scene:
Besides, there is the mystery of those two strangers at our house the night before she died. And what if beneath the clouding grief, it’s there? The memory that will at last explain what happened, and how it could have happened, and why her. And why me.
I spent years obsessing over these questions, even though I knew there were no answers. No good ones.
But maybe I was wrong.
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Memory Key. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: Yet another dystopian read centered on a corrupt government with hidden agendas.
Opening Sentence: My earliest memory is of my mother.
The Review:
When reading The Memory Key, I was reminded of the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. In Delirium, love is considered a disease so everyone over 18 must be immunised against it. It is essentially a way for those in power to control the general public’s minds. Similarly, in this story, the government / leaders are controlling their people through their memories by inputting memory keys into their bodies. Why don’t these people realise that anything that is artificially installed into the body and is a compulsory alteration is risky business. Especially if the main alteration is to the brain!
I liked the intrigue and mystery surrounding Lora’s mother and her death. Unfortunately, Lora irritated me most of the time because she needed things spelled out for her in order to understand. Her ‘damaged’ memory key was a good excuse for the most part but I felt she overused that excuse.
I stay there. I stay because I can’t move; the guilt and shame have completely cramped my muscles. I feel awful about it, all of it, large and small. For lying to him. For continuing to lie to him.
And for suspecting that he is lying to me.
The Memory Key is targeted for young adults but the writing was a leeetle amateurish. I may have found this because I am used to reading YA that is a tad more challenging, with confusing plots, so the simplicity of this story was tedious.
When Lora doesn’t get her memory key replaced she receives a few telephone calls and although they become more persistent, I expected more drama, or someone to physically track Lora down to force her into replacing her key. But then, confusingly enough, she goes and gets it replaced anyway and I just wondered, ‘what was the point in delaying it then?’ There were so many aspects to this story that just seemed pointless.
The first few chapters were fairly slow, but the middle of the book was fast-paced; thereby building up anticipation for a strong ending. Unfortunately, the ending was a complete disappointment. Without revealing any spoilers, it is safe to say that the conclusion was anticlimactic, leaving the reader wondering how they could have better used their time!
Notable Scene:
Besides, there is the mystery of those two strangers at our house the night before she died. And what if beneath the clouding grief, it’s there? The memory that will at last explain what happened, and how it could have happened, and why her. And why me.
I spent years obsessing over these questions, even though I knew there were no answers. No good ones.
But maybe I was wrong.
FTC Advisory: HarperTeen provided me with a copy of The Memory Key. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
April 10, 2015
The Memory Key is a Young Adult book set approximately 60 years in the future. It reads like a contemporary YA mystery, with only one main difference from the present (the invention of the memory key).
This device (the memory key) is implanted in toddlers (although it can be done at any age) to prevent Vergets disease (a viral form of Alzheimer's). The memory key is a chip embedded in the brain.
The narrator is Lora Mint who has just graduated from high school. Her best friend is Wendy. Lora's mother was a scientist who died five years before.
Lora is involved in an accident and it damages her memory key. She begins to wonder if maybe her mom's car accident was not an accident.
I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this book. And I also enjoyed the futuristic aspects. It is rare that books with science fiction/dystopian themes feel like contemporary reads. But this book really did feel like a contemporary read due to the fact that most things in this "world" are the same as they are now.
I found the idea of the memory key to be very interesting. And I was very intrigued by the mystery. Lora was like a futuristic Nancy Drew, trying to figure out what happened to her mom.
There were lots of interesting characters and I enjoyed Lora's interactions with her dad, her Aunt Austin (a Congresswoman), her friend Wendy, and Wendy's brother Tim.
Overall, I enjoyed the story, but I am not sure that I found the ending completely satisfying. It felt incomplete. I think that people who enjoy YA mysteries would like this book.
Thanks to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for allowing me to read this book.
December 3, 2014
Set in middle America, about a soon-to-be-college girl dealing with her mother's death (5 years earlier) as she is flooded by unexpectedly intense memories due to a faulty internal memory device. POC author, and while it's never stated the characters are POC, I totally assumed they were, and that was awesome!
I love that this is not a trilogy. I love that Lora is actually okay with her mother's death until she can't be because of her memory key. I love that there are responsible, complicated adults that care about her and she doesn't live in a fake kids-only YA world. I love that she has a real, female best friend, and this doesn't devolve into love triangle uber alles drama. And I love that it remains a family story, when it could become about taking down the corporations. It's nice to read a book about a generally ordinary person trying to do good in her little slice of the world. It's bittersweet but hopeful.
I love that this is not a trilogy. I love that Lora is actually okay with her mother's death until she can't be because of her memory key. I love that there are responsible, complicated adults that care about her and she doesn't live in a fake kids-only YA world. I love that she has a real, female best friend, and this doesn't devolve into love triangle uber alles drama. And I love that it remains a family story, when it could become about taking down the corporations. It's nice to read a book about a generally ordinary person trying to do good in her little slice of the world. It's bittersweet but hopeful.
March 3, 2015
DNF at 29%
I really enjoy books about memory, so I was pretty excited about this one. It just didn't work out for me.
Lora's inner monologue is really odd. She sounds much younger than she's supposed to be. The sections I read with her BFF Wendy were borderline annoying. Wendy comes across and extremely vapid and the only topic of conversation between the girls that I read had to do with who Lora was going to date.
My main complaint was that there were several flashbacks, but no indication that it was happening. Perhaps this is a formatting thing with the e-arc, but there were a couple of times that I was in the middle of reading a flashback scene and didn't even know it.
I did skip to the ending and the couple of pages I read were interesting, but not enough to keep me going.
**Huge thanks to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
I really enjoy books about memory, so I was pretty excited about this one. It just didn't work out for me.
Lora's inner monologue is really odd. She sounds much younger than she's supposed to be. The sections I read with her BFF Wendy were borderline annoying. Wendy comes across and extremely vapid and the only topic of conversation between the girls that I read had to do with who Lora was going to date.
My main complaint was that there were several flashbacks, but no indication that it was happening. Perhaps this is a formatting thing with the e-arc, but there were a couple of times that I was in the middle of reading a flashback scene and didn't even know it.
I did skip to the ending and the couple of pages I read were interesting, but not enough to keep me going.
**Huge thanks to Harper Teen and Edelweiss for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review**
February 9, 2015
4.5 Read as digital ARC.
The Memory Key was an absolute delight to read. It's not a book, it's an experience. The writing is in first person, and it has this off-kilter feeling--you know something's going on, but you can't tell what it is. I was especially impressed with how certain things were handled. Liu had thought things through a step further than I might have, and I appreciated the detail and effort.
The Memory Key was an absolute delight to read. It's not a book, it's an experience. The writing is in first person, and it has this off-kilter feeling--you know something's going on, but you can't tell what it is. I was especially impressed with how certain things were handled. Liu had thought things through a step further than I might have, and I appreciated the detail and effort.
May 15, 2017
I really enjoyed this book! Things got a little fuzzy when the story went between Lora's memories and the present, but I liked learning about her past. I thought maybe Lora was hallucinating when she saw her mother at Grand Gardens. I didn't expect Jeanette to still be alive! I just knew it was going to be a hallucination after Lora finally got her memory key fixed. It knew she was going to find out that none of it actually happened.
How sad though that Jeanette didn't remember Lora! My grandfather died of Alzheimer's and he knew us up until the end but I know how hard it was to see the person you knew, but also a stranger standing in their place. So this one kinda hit home a little bit when Lora was talking to her mother. I completely understood the frustration of wanting this person to be the one you remember and loved but then being completely different.
This is going to be a book I will read a few more times. It was a good one while I was in between series.
How sad though that Jeanette didn't remember Lora! My grandfather died of Alzheimer's and he knew us up until the end but I know how hard it was to see the person you knew, but also a stranger standing in their place. So this one kinda hit home a little bit when Lora was talking to her mother. I completely understood the frustration of wanting this person to be the one you remember and loved but then being completely different.
This is going to be a book I will read a few more times. It was a good one while I was in between series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2021
I haven't watched Doctor Who in years but I had to use this to describe how I feel right now.
Disclaimer: I have not provided evidence to back up my claims and I apologize for this. (My English teachers would be so disappointed).
The Memory Key was a book that I was looking forward to reading but it didn’t meet my expectations. To sum it all up, I liked the focus on family but I thought The Memory Key was an okay read that didn’t leave a significant impact on me.
In terms of the characters, I wasn’t rooting for the female protagonist, Lora Mint. I felt as if she was inconsiderate of those around her and incapable of making good decisions. Not to mention the fact that she was incredibly rude to her friends, those people who were trying to support her. Lora’s speech and thought didn’t even reflect her age, but rather a whiny preteen (I know, I know I was once a whiny preteen too). Once again, the best friend is simply there for the sake of it, and to make the main character stand out as a good girl. I believe Wendy, Lora’s best friend, was on her third boyfriend by the end of the book, but don’t take my word for it. I really wanted to see more of Wendy’s character, there was potential for a great side character to be developed. She had that bubbly and sweet personality, in contrast to Lora’s character, and I wanted to see it in action.
Looking at the love interest, or rather love interests, I can’t say I’m content. Although, I really appreciated that they were slightly nerdy, rather than your typical bad boys. I did mention more than one love interest, implying there was a love triangle. In my eyes, it was a poorly written one because I found Raul’s character to be so pointless. The other dude is Tim, who is Wendy’s brother. He did provide some comic relief and I found his character to be refreshing. Nonetheless, I was not okay with how he treated Lora at times and how he completely disregarded her relationship with Raul.
The plot my peeps was one that I was not a huge fan of. It was so bland and lacked the science-fiction element I was hoping for. There is no explanation as to the time the story takes place or the technology that is being utilized. Generally, the story lacked world building and felt choppy to me. It sucked that the crappy romance was more intriguing than the story-line. I saw the so called twist coming and it didn’t even make sense to me, it also felt pointless. In the end, there is no real resolution, the problem that is presented isn’t even addressed appropriately. The book feels as if there should be a sequel to it, which I won’t be reading.
Feeling terrible right now, this is one of the most negative reviews I have written. I apologize if I offended anyone in any way or form.
Disclaimer: I have not provided evidence to back up my claims and I apologize for this. (My English teachers would be so disappointed).
The Memory Key was a book that I was looking forward to reading but it didn’t meet my expectations. To sum it all up, I liked the focus on family but I thought The Memory Key was an okay read that didn’t leave a significant impact on me.
In terms of the characters, I wasn’t rooting for the female protagonist, Lora Mint. I felt as if she was inconsiderate of those around her and incapable of making good decisions. Not to mention the fact that she was incredibly rude to her friends, those people who were trying to support her. Lora’s speech and thought didn’t even reflect her age, but rather a whiny preteen (I know, I know I was once a whiny preteen too). Once again, the best friend is simply there for the sake of it, and to make the main character stand out as a good girl. I believe Wendy, Lora’s best friend, was on her third boyfriend by the end of the book, but don’t take my word for it. I really wanted to see more of Wendy’s character, there was potential for a great side character to be developed. She had that bubbly and sweet personality, in contrast to Lora’s character, and I wanted to see it in action.
Looking at the love interest, or rather love interests, I can’t say I’m content. Although, I really appreciated that they were slightly nerdy, rather than your typical bad boys. I did mention more than one love interest, implying there was a love triangle. In my eyes, it was a poorly written one because I found Raul’s character to be so pointless. The other dude is Tim, who is Wendy’s brother. He did provide some comic relief and I found his character to be refreshing. Nonetheless, I was not okay with how he treated Lora at times and how he completely disregarded her relationship with Raul.
The plot my peeps was one that I was not a huge fan of. It was so bland and lacked the science-fiction element I was hoping for. There is no explanation as to the time the story takes place or the technology that is being utilized. Generally, the story lacked world building and felt choppy to me. It sucked that the crappy romance was more intriguing than the story-line. I saw the so called twist coming and it didn’t even make sense to me, it also felt pointless. In the end, there is no real resolution, the problem that is presented isn’t even addressed appropriately. The book feels as if there should be a sequel to it, which I won’t be reading.
Feeling terrible right now, this is one of the most negative reviews I have written. I apologize if I offended anyone in any way or form.
dnf
March 7, 2015DNF at 57%
This got bad so quickly and at this point I just knew I couldn't continue any longer because I wasn't enjoying it at all. It was fine at the beginning and easy to digest but it moved at such a slow pace. There is progression of the main plot but it never felt like the main focus and it kept shifting to Lora's love life or other completely unrelated matters.
The writing was subpar and unimpressive. There was chunks of superfluous details that served no purpose and ruined the flow.
I was beginning to get very annoyed at Lora. I understood her intentions to not get her memory key fixed but it was just getting reckless to a certain point.
I didn't enjoy how Wendy, her best friend, was written. She seemed very one-dimensional even though you could feel she wasn't but she just remained as a boy-fixated person who cared about nothing but flirting and oogling at guys. Where was the development?
The only thing I liked was the crush Lora had because I am partial to that trope but then we have Raul, this new guy she knows and it's barely a love triangle because
The worldbuilding is weak. There is some kind of conflict with the government and extremist parties and even within the government, the parties have disagreements. We understand it is supposed to have some kind of weight in Lora's world but we never get some explanation and it just felt so random.
I thought I could get through this but nope, apparently not. There was nothing to get me to keep reading it till the end.
This got bad so quickly and at this point I just knew I couldn't continue any longer because I wasn't enjoying it at all. It was fine at the beginning and easy to digest but it moved at such a slow pace. There is progression of the main plot but it never felt like the main focus and it kept shifting to Lora's love life or other completely unrelated matters.
The writing was subpar and unimpressive. There was chunks of superfluous details that served no purpose and ruined the flow.
I was beginning to get very annoyed at Lora. I understood her intentions to not get her memory key fixed but it was just getting reckless to a certain point.
I didn't enjoy how Wendy, her best friend, was written. She seemed very one-dimensional even though you could feel she wasn't but she just remained as a boy-fixated person who cared about nothing but flirting and oogling at guys. Where was the development?
The only thing I liked was the crush Lora had because I am partial to that trope but then we have Raul, this new guy she knows and it's barely a love triangle because
The worldbuilding is weak. There is some kind of conflict with the government and extremist parties and even within the government, the parties have disagreements. We understand it is supposed to have some kind of weight in Lora's world but we never get some explanation and it just felt so random.
I thought I could get through this but nope, apparently not. There was nothing to get me to keep reading it till the end.
February 26, 2015
So, I'm going to start off with one of the maybe better aspects of the book: the world building. The world building was okay, but not really something that was explored as much as I would have liked. Then again, I'm quite a harsh world building critic, and I have seen a fair few people commenting that they found the world building pretty good, so who knows. In any case, this wasn't really something that was focused on in the book, but there were other things that drew my attention away from this flaw- other, unfortunately, disappointing things.
The characters, relationships and romance were among some of these disappointing aspects. I had a lot of difficulty connecting with the characters and really being able to immerse myself in the book. Part of this problem has to do with what I talk about in my next paragraph, but there was also just the simple fact that the characters were very generic and lifeless. Main character Lora's relationship with her best friend Wendy seemed incredibly bland and I honestly feel like I don't understand why the two are best friends. The romance is an underdeveloped love triangle and I didn't feel invested in either of the two sides.
The writing was simply one of the worst aspects of the book. It was jarring and clumsy and most definitely the thing that brought down my enjoyment of the book the most. The speech of the main characters was annoyingly formal and clunky and many sentences were phrased in ways that were difficult to read over without stumbling, or cringe inducing, or simply just not something you'd like to see in a book with a young adult protagonist.
Well, I'm sure you've gathered that this isn't the most positive of reviews, and that's because The Memory Key wasn't exactly something I enjoyed that much. It gets an "okay" rating from me, which is mostly because the premise and basic plot were enough to push the book up from the "didn't like it" range. I have to admit, I struggled through most of the book.
Ratings
Overall: 3/10
Plot: 2/5
Romance: 1/5
Writing: 1.5/5
World Building: 1.5/5
Characters: 2/5
Cover: 4/5
The characters, relationships and romance were among some of these disappointing aspects. I had a lot of difficulty connecting with the characters and really being able to immerse myself in the book. Part of this problem has to do with what I talk about in my next paragraph, but there was also just the simple fact that the characters were very generic and lifeless. Main character Lora's relationship with her best friend Wendy seemed incredibly bland and I honestly feel like I don't understand why the two are best friends. The romance is an underdeveloped love triangle and I didn't feel invested in either of the two sides.
The writing was simply one of the worst aspects of the book. It was jarring and clumsy and most definitely the thing that brought down my enjoyment of the book the most. The speech of the main characters was annoyingly formal and clunky and many sentences were phrased in ways that were difficult to read over without stumbling, or cringe inducing, or simply just not something you'd like to see in a book with a young adult protagonist.
Well, I'm sure you've gathered that this isn't the most positive of reviews, and that's because The Memory Key wasn't exactly something I enjoyed that much. It gets an "okay" rating from me, which is mostly because the premise and basic plot were enough to push the book up from the "didn't like it" range. I have to admit, I struggled through most of the book.
Ratings
Overall: 3/10
Plot: 2/5
Romance: 1/5
Writing: 1.5/5
World Building: 1.5/5
Characters: 2/5
Cover: 4/5
March 7, 2015
The Memory Key has definitely been my most intriguing read so far this year. Set in the unknown future, Lora Mint has just graduated high school and can’t wait to enjoy summer break before college starts back up in the fall. It has been five years since her mother was in an accident that took her life, and now Lora is having troubles remembering the small stuff about her mom. Then one day Lora runs into a former teacher, who later almost gets into an accident, but luckily for the teacher Lora runs to her rescue and saves her from almost getting hit by a car. With doing so, Lora hits her head pretty hard and that messes with her Memory Key.
The Memory Key was invented after the Vergets disease epidemic (a form of Alzheimer’s disease). They were initially put into older generations, but once it became an epidemic they were installed into every child once they hit a certain age. The Key was made to function like your normal memory, not to remembering everything, but holding onto the important stuff, memoires still faded, still became hard to reach at times, but offered assurance that they wouldn’t lose it all and lose themselves.
This book had intrigued me from the beginning with the concept and after Lora’s key was damaged and things started to get hairy and memories started flooding her I couldn’t stop wanting to see where this story took me. I can’t believe that girl handled all those memories flooding her whenever where ever and didn’t freak out more. During some points the book went a little slow for me, I still needed to know what was going to happen, and I needed to know the truth just as much as Lora did.
This book will definitely appeal to fans of The Program series. I had read this book just after I saw Still Alice, and thought that was completely fitting. Thinking would Alice have a Memory Key put in place if the option was available. Is it better to know everything, or be able to forget some things?
The Memory Key was invented after the Vergets disease epidemic (a form of Alzheimer’s disease). They were initially put into older generations, but once it became an epidemic they were installed into every child once they hit a certain age. The Key was made to function like your normal memory, not to remembering everything, but holding onto the important stuff, memoires still faded, still became hard to reach at times, but offered assurance that they wouldn’t lose it all and lose themselves.
This book had intrigued me from the beginning with the concept and after Lora’s key was damaged and things started to get hairy and memories started flooding her I couldn’t stop wanting to see where this story took me. I can’t believe that girl handled all those memories flooding her whenever where ever and didn’t freak out more. During some points the book went a little slow for me, I still needed to know what was going to happen, and I needed to know the truth just as much as Lora did.
This book will definitely appeal to fans of The Program series. I had read this book just after I saw Still Alice, and thought that was completely fitting. Thinking would Alice have a Memory Key put in place if the option was available. Is it better to know everything, or be able to forget some things?
April 4, 2015
The Memory Key is unlike anything I’ve read before.
It is a Dystopian, but it doesn’t feel like a dystopia. It’s as if it could be happening in your town, with your family and friends.
As much as it is science fiction, it’s equally real. And this type of dystopia, the more believable one, scares the daylights out of me.
This world in The Memory key, a future world where a progressive form of Alzheimer’s has spread throughout most of the population and is only controlled with a device implanted inside your skull, is terrifying. It could happen. Something like this could happen today.
And that’s probably why I loved this book so much. It was realistic in a way that wasn’t overdone. It was subtly real.
Lora (LOVE HER NAME. OMG) is a likable character, even when it is hard to like her. She has some tough decisions to make and you just have to sit back and hope she makes the right choice.
Along with her father, her best friend, and an array of interesting characters, there is always something going on. It isn’t like other books I’ve read that have meaningless story fillers to pass the time between important events. Everything was important events. It all mattered.
I love all the flashbacks, even though sometimes it was hard to tell that Lora was having a flashback.
I loved that the romance wasn’t the main focus. It was backstage to the main event, and that’s okay.
I got caught up in the politics and the medical world and needed to figure out the mystery!
A quick, easy read that definitely made me think outside of the box. As interesting as it is puzzling, this is a book to pass on to everyone!
This review can also be found on YABC
It is a Dystopian, but it doesn’t feel like a dystopia. It’s as if it could be happening in your town, with your family and friends.
As much as it is science fiction, it’s equally real. And this type of dystopia, the more believable one, scares the daylights out of me.
This world in The Memory key, a future world where a progressive form of Alzheimer’s has spread throughout most of the population and is only controlled with a device implanted inside your skull, is terrifying. It could happen. Something like this could happen today.
And that’s probably why I loved this book so much. It was realistic in a way that wasn’t overdone. It was subtly real.
Lora (LOVE HER NAME. OMG) is a likable character, even when it is hard to like her. She has some tough decisions to make and you just have to sit back and hope she makes the right choice.
Along with her father, her best friend, and an array of interesting characters, there is always something going on. It isn’t like other books I’ve read that have meaningless story fillers to pass the time between important events. Everything was important events. It all mattered.
I love all the flashbacks, even though sometimes it was hard to tell that Lora was having a flashback.
I loved that the romance wasn’t the main focus. It was backstage to the main event, and that’s okay.
I got caught up in the politics and the medical world and needed to figure out the mystery!
A quick, easy read that definitely made me think outside of the box. As interesting as it is puzzling, this is a book to pass on to everyone!
This review can also be found on YABC
September 17, 2014
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
This was an interesting sci-fi story about the dangers of messing with people’s memories.
Lora was an okay character, although she seemed to maybe tell people things that she maybe shouldn’t. This could have been attributed to the fact that she had no idea how sensitive information was though, and what it could do in the wrong hands. If you don’t realise that there’s something to be afraid of, how can you know to prepare for it?
The storyline was quite interesting, and I liked how it built throughout the book. It wasn’t obvious which memories were dangerous, or who certain people were or what they were working on, so there were quite a few surprises as the book went along.
There was a little bit of romance but not a lot, and it didn’t really factor into the story much at all.
The end was good, and I really liked the little twist we got at the end regarding how people’s memories could be used against them as it seemed quite clever! Even though this book had a bit more of a realistic ending rather than a ‘happily ever after’ ending, it was a satisfying ending, and I enjoyed the book overall, even though the pace could have been a little faster.
6.5 out of 10
This was an interesting sci-fi story about the dangers of messing with people’s memories.
Lora was an okay character, although she seemed to maybe tell people things that she maybe shouldn’t. This could have been attributed to the fact that she had no idea how sensitive information was though, and what it could do in the wrong hands. If you don’t realise that there’s something to be afraid of, how can you know to prepare for it?
The storyline was quite interesting, and I liked how it built throughout the book. It wasn’t obvious which memories were dangerous, or who certain people were or what they were working on, so there were quite a few surprises as the book went along.
There was a little bit of romance but not a lot, and it didn’t really factor into the story much at all.
The end was good, and I really liked the little twist we got at the end regarding how people’s memories could be used against them as it seemed quite clever! Even though this book had a bit more of a realistic ending rather than a ‘happily ever after’ ending, it was a satisfying ending, and I enjoyed the book overall, even though the pace could have been a little faster.
6.5 out of 10
February 21, 2015
My thanks to HarperTeen
------------------------------------------------------------------
Point of View: Single (Lora)
Writing: First Person | Present Tense
Setting: Middleton
Genre: Young Adult | Science Fiction
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The storyline was intriguing, and overall, it was very refreshing. I enjoyed the book a lot; however, the last few chapters sort of fell flat. I'm not sure because I wasn't paying close attention in the first place, but I found the writing became choppy and kind of weird when the story got closer to the end.
The characters were okay. I liked Lora, but the other characters didn't stand out much.
The romance wasn't for me. Lora was a little skeptical when it came to romance and it was a little annoying.
I didn't like the ending much, either. It was an okay ending, but it felt a little rush for me. It was satisfying, but I expected more than that.
May 1, 2015
What an interesting read this was. This was just slightly enough mystery to keep me reading and just within the scope of reality that I wasn't turned off by it.
The one thing that I really enjoyed was the sense of realness - even with a fake disease and a slightly futuristic solution, it still felt very real. There were times during the two weeks I was reading (the bulk) this book when I'd get a headache (not from the book itself) and I actually had a very fleeting thought that perhaps my memory key was broken.
The thing that I really hated about this book was the way it all ended. For the entire book, Lora was torn apart by her mother's death, she's horrified by the discoveries with Keep Corp and her own family... and she's strangely/suddenly content with it all. It feels very unresolved to me.
The plot was good - something very different and unique. The characters are pretty static throughout. Lora goes through some changes, but overall seems to be the same. I would definitely read more of Liu's work in the future.
The one thing that I really enjoyed was the sense of realness - even with a fake disease and a slightly futuristic solution, it still felt very real. There were times during the two weeks I was reading (the bulk) this book when I'd get a headache (not from the book itself) and I actually had a very fleeting thought that perhaps my memory key was broken.
The thing that I really hated about this book was the way it all ended. For the entire book, Lora was torn apart by her mother's death, she's horrified by the discoveries with Keep Corp and her own family... and she's strangely/suddenly content with it all. It feels very unresolved to me.
The plot was good - something very different and unique. The characters are pretty static throughout. Lora goes through some changes, but overall seems to be the same. I would definitely read more of Liu's work in the future.
September 1, 2014
I wanted to love this, because the premise is inventive + I love it when more Asian writers enter the mainstream publication scene.
However, the writing in this needs work. Much of the dialogue and descriptions feel stilted and unnatural at times, and I had a hard time getting through the ARC.
I sincerely, sincerely hope that between now and publication day, the author and her editor go back and make another pass at the book. I WANT this book to be amazing.
However, the writing in this needs work. Much of the dialogue and descriptions feel stilted and unnatural at times, and I had a hard time getting through the ARC.
I sincerely, sincerely hope that between now and publication day, the author and her editor go back and make another pass at the book. I WANT this book to be amazing.
February 11, 2015
Posting a review now on my blog http://diariesofabooklover.blogspot.com/.
September 29, 2016
Great contemporary YA book. I recommend it to Middle School students who are into edge-of-your-seat books.
June 4, 2018
1.5 stars
There are some books that you just cannot connect with, no matter how much you try. Sadly The Memory Key is one I'll have to add to that list. No matter how much I tried to get into this story, to make myself care about the whiny brat of a MC, I couldn't. The city could have blown up in the end and killed off every last character but I probably would still have been yawning, desperately trying to muster up a few scraps of emotions to pretend like I gave a damn.
I never quite understood the point of this book. Lora, the MC (whose name I had to go and look up despite finishing this book only last night), seemed to randomly get the idea that her mother's car accident, and resulting death, was more than just an 'accident' and then just run with it. It was ridiculous and unbelievable, but Lora seemed to know more than the audience did and planned a million daring adventures to prove it. She clutched at straws and managed to pull all these amazing connections together despite the whole thing making no sense. I still don't get why the things that happened in this book actually happened nor understand the need for so many lies and manipulation to occur in the first place. It was, seemingly, a rather hastily organised conspiracy which easily unravelled at the hands of a 17-year-old - I don't believe such an influential and highly organised business could do such a shoddy job of it all.
Not only that but I wanted this story to focus more on the dystopian world it was set in. A viral form of Alzheimer's called Vegrets has plagued the world and the cure to it is these devices known as memory keys - which are practically chips they embed in your brain as a baby so that they can record memories and thus "cure" any Vegrets. I loved this idea! I loved that it didn't seem too far off - because despite not believing that memory keys are our future, I like to think that such technology isn't such an unreachable dream in sixty years time. And when reading these sorts of books, I love entertaining the idea that these sorts of dystopian worlds could possibly, one day, truly occur. Of course with the upgrade of technology comes further moral debates about the notions of privacy - similar even to what we are currently discussing in the contemporary world - so I loved that aspect of The Memory Key.
What I didn't love were the characters. Like I mentioned before, I never came to care about any of them. Lora, especially, was not the sort of character I admire. She seemed to always be angry at someone. I understand that her situation was less than ideal and she had a lot on her plate, but it doesn't give her the free pass to lie to her father, to scream at her best friend and call her a bitch, or do any of the other things she did. One of my biggest pet peeves in books is toxic friendships, and while I wouldn't quite label Lora and Wendy's friendship as 'toxic', Lora's inner monologue about Wendy's flaws and how much she hates her was enough to make me scream.
Oh, and the romance! Boy oh boy, do I need to say that love triangles do no work again? Well, actually I do. Liana Liu, love triangle do not work! I didn't like Tim or Raul. I didn't like the way that Lora treated either of them. I didn't like the way that Tim treated Lora. And while Raul was nice, we all knew he was a distraction and he really didn't need to be in the story.
Overall, my main problem with this book is how little I cared about it - the plot, the setting, the characters, the romance... *yawn*. Lora wasn't the MC for me. The love triangle was unnecessary. The dystopian setting could have done with some more fleshing out. This isn't something I'd recommend to anyone - even hardcore dystopian fans - and I don't look forward to the sequel if there is to be one.
Review copy provided by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.
There are some books that you just cannot connect with, no matter how much you try. Sadly The Memory Key is one I'll have to add to that list. No matter how much I tried to get into this story, to make myself care about the whiny brat of a MC, I couldn't. The city could have blown up in the end and killed off every last character but I probably would still have been yawning, desperately trying to muster up a few scraps of emotions to pretend like I gave a damn.
I never quite understood the point of this book. Lora, the MC (whose name I had to go and look up despite finishing this book only last night), seemed to randomly get the idea that her mother's car accident, and resulting death, was more than just an 'accident' and then just run with it. It was ridiculous and unbelievable, but Lora seemed to know more than the audience did and planned a million daring adventures to prove it. She clutched at straws and managed to pull all these amazing connections together despite the whole thing making no sense. I still don't get why the things that happened in this book actually happened nor understand the need for so many lies and manipulation to occur in the first place. It was, seemingly, a rather hastily organised conspiracy which easily unravelled at the hands of a 17-year-old - I don't believe such an influential and highly organised business could do such a shoddy job of it all.
Not only that but I wanted this story to focus more on the dystopian world it was set in. A viral form of Alzheimer's called Vegrets has plagued the world and the cure to it is these devices known as memory keys - which are practically chips they embed in your brain as a baby so that they can record memories and thus "cure" any Vegrets. I loved this idea! I loved that it didn't seem too far off - because despite not believing that memory keys are our future, I like to think that such technology isn't such an unreachable dream in sixty years time. And when reading these sorts of books, I love entertaining the idea that these sorts of dystopian worlds could possibly, one day, truly occur. Of course with the upgrade of technology comes further moral debates about the notions of privacy - similar even to what we are currently discussing in the contemporary world - so I loved that aspect of The Memory Key.
What I didn't love were the characters. Like I mentioned before, I never came to care about any of them. Lora, especially, was not the sort of character I admire. She seemed to always be angry at someone. I understand that her situation was less than ideal and she had a lot on her plate, but it doesn't give her the free pass to lie to her father, to scream at her best friend and call her a bitch, or do any of the other things she did. One of my biggest pet peeves in books is toxic friendships, and while I wouldn't quite label Lora and Wendy's friendship as 'toxic', Lora's inner monologue about Wendy's flaws and how much she hates her was enough to make me scream.
Oh, and the romance! Boy oh boy, do I need to say that love triangles do no work again? Well, actually I do. Liana Liu, love triangle do not work! I didn't like Tim or Raul. I didn't like the way that Lora treated either of them. I didn't like the way that Tim treated Lora. And while Raul was nice, we all knew he was a distraction and he really didn't need to be in the story.
Overall, my main problem with this book is how little I cared about it - the plot, the setting, the characters, the romance... *yawn*. Lora wasn't the MC for me. The love triangle was unnecessary. The dystopian setting could have done with some more fleshing out. This isn't something I'd recommend to anyone - even hardcore dystopian fans - and I don't look forward to the sequel if there is to be one.
Review copy provided by HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.
January 7, 2018
Going into this book, I was very intrigued by the plot, but after reading it, I'm so torn. I enjoyed the book, but I'm nowhere near satisfied. I feel like more could have been written about the aftermath. It feels all unfinished. That there is so much more to be explored. Not only that, but I feel the book is underdeveloped as well. I wasn't expecting much from the book, but a little more than what was given.
The characters really didn't flow with each other. They were all just kinda there. I wasn't able to feel much of the emotions from the characters as well. During the book, she goes back and forth between two guys and it just felt unnecessary. Although, I do like who she eventually chooses.
Lora and her dad during most of the book really bothers me. I wish they were there for each other more so than they were. That they could have grown closer together instead of the events that occur between them. There is also the parts about her Aunt. I felt she played a big part of the plot, but that the character herself wasn't in the story enough.
I'm left with questions and unsatisfaction. I'm left with wanting so much more. Although I had my own issues, I still enjoyed this book. I could have read more. I hope one day the author decides to write more and add to the mystery that is in this society.
The characters really didn't flow with each other. They were all just kinda there. I wasn't able to feel much of the emotions from the characters as well. During the book, she goes back and forth between two guys and it just felt unnecessary. Although, I do like who she eventually chooses.
Lora and her dad during most of the book really bothers me. I wish they were there for each other more so than they were. That they could have grown closer together instead of the events that occur between them. There is also the parts about her Aunt. I felt she played a big part of the plot, but that the character herself wasn't in the story enough.
I'm left with questions and unsatisfaction. I'm left with wanting so much more. Although I had my own issues, I still enjoyed this book. I could have read more. I hope one day the author decides to write more and add to the mystery that is in this society.
February 1, 2022
This is spoiler-y, but honestly, I wouldn't recommend the book anyway.
Lori's mother, Jeanette, found out SOMETHING about the new line of memory keys not yet available to the public, and then her death was arranged. 5 years ago. What did she find out? As far as I can tell, the answer is on pages 338-340, with 16 pages left in the book. (Ridiculous). I'm still not even sure I get it. The government wants access to people's memories to catch bad guys? Cool, what of it? I guess Jeanette was against this plan and threatened to go public? But why kill Jeanette if the public was just going to go get them knowing they're new BECAUSE OF this feature... Unless the government didn't plan on telling people about this little invasion of privacy. (This is not explicitly explained in the book). It also sounds like there's a THEORY that Keep Corp (key manufacturers) may have been corrupt and was planning to send memory data involving crime to political extremist groups so that they could assassinate people?
300+ pages of "What did my mother know?" just to find out... Oh, an invasion of privacy from a new chip the public may or may not have to get, from the one and only chip manufacturer, that may or may not be corrupt. Who knows.
Lori's mother, Jeanette, found out SOMETHING about the new line of memory keys not yet available to the public, and then her death was arranged. 5 years ago. What did she find out? As far as I can tell, the answer is on pages 338-340, with 16 pages left in the book. (Ridiculous). I'm still not even sure I get it. The government wants access to people's memories to catch bad guys? Cool, what of it? I guess Jeanette was against this plan and threatened to go public? But why kill Jeanette if the public was just going to go get them knowing they're new BECAUSE OF this feature... Unless the government didn't plan on telling people about this little invasion of privacy. (This is not explicitly explained in the book). It also sounds like there's a THEORY that Keep Corp (key manufacturers) may have been corrupt and was planning to send memory data involving crime to political extremist groups so that they could assassinate people?
300+ pages of "What did my mother know?" just to find out... Oh, an invasion of privacy from a new chip the public may or may not have to get, from the one and only chip manufacturer, that may or may not be corrupt. Who knows.
March 22, 2024
- This book had me in absolute shock at every turn. The memories were portrayed so realistically and the loss of losing someone not physically but mentally, feels further away as if they weren’t ever there. I related to that heavily. Happened so many times in my life. It also shows how the government truly can take over and go behind your back only to truly use you. The only thing you has is yourself and your trust in your own judgement and in yourself. Sometimes it hurts to see people move on or act in a certain way you weren’t expecting, hoping they portray as much pain with you. As you were struggling way more with the thought than they were. Hoping someone else is feeling the pain with you. But sometimes, you’ll feel alone with it. And have to accept the fact that things will never be the same. And it hurts. But it will be okay once you accept it and create a life for yourself instead. Don’t allow the hole of change become an anchor in your growth. You must move forward and create the by lifestyle you want for YOURSELF to prove to yourself that the hole of change will no longer restrain you from joy. That people come and go, but your acceptance of you being your own foundation in life can bring peace.
November 12, 2019
Most of the people in this book had a key that had been government issued inserted in the back of their necks. The mother of the main character was killed once she came across some new evidence of what the government was adding to the new keys. The old keys were only accessed by the individual so as not to get _______ what is like the modern day alzheimer's. The new keys were now going to be able to governed and accessible by the government. The daughter found this out strictly by accident. She had a fall which caused her key to become faulty. She now remembered her mother and little things that they did together. After many days of hiding the malfunctioning key from her father she finally was able to find out why her mother was killed. The Aunt was a lawyer that had a hand in the disappearance of the mother who was found in a home alive. The daughter went to visit her mother but she did not remember her. Her key was taken by the aunt.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 3, 2019
This book was very weird to me. I'm not a science fiction reader but decided to try it. I'm glad I did, the book was interesting, just not my type of book.
Laura thinks her mother is dead. In fact; her hole family does, they've been told that for years. She works at the library and while there; meets a boy her age who works at a retirement home.
She thinks she wants to date him only to stop her thoughts about her best friends brother.
All this happens while her memory key is broken so while this is happening you get flashbacks to her past life experiences.
She goes to visit a resident at the retirement home where the boy works and finds out her mother lives there.
She gets her mother out and her mom goes into hiding.
She eventually found out her aunt all along knew her mom was alive and it was the aunt who put her sister, the mother, in a retirement home.
Laura thinks her mother is dead. In fact; her hole family does, they've been told that for years. She works at the library and while there; meets a boy her age who works at a retirement home.
She thinks she wants to date him only to stop her thoughts about her best friends brother.
All this happens while her memory key is broken so while this is happening you get flashbacks to her past life experiences.
She goes to visit a resident at the retirement home where the boy works and finds out her mother lives there.
She gets her mother out and her mom goes into hiding.
She eventually found out her aunt all along knew her mom was alive and it was the aunt who put her sister, the mother, in a retirement home.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 19, 2018
This one was better than I was expecting, given all the somewhat negative/blah reviews out there. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the fast-paced writing, and I thought it was overall a fairly good one of its type. Dystopian YA is definitely overdone, but this one focused more on relationships between the characters than some, and I thought the relationships between the characters were fairly interesting and generally made sense. I’m also not bothered by the kind of romance generally found in these kinds of books, so I thought the romance bit fit right in. Sure, it was cheesy but it’s a teen romance, so what do you expect?
Definitely a fun read and worth reading if you’re a fan of the genre!
Definitely a fun read and worth reading if you’re a fan of the genre!
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