Remember by Eileen Cook

Harper Byrne lives in Seattle, Washington, with her parents in a wealthy partially-gated community. She and her best friend Winifred (Win) attend St. Francis private school. At their mandatory assembly one Friday, Harper's father comes to the school to give his "science" talk and promote his company, Neurotech. He tells the students that the FDA has now approved the Memtex treatment for teens and children. This treatment removes or "softens" bad memories and Harper's father encourages the students at her school to consider this procedure if painful memories are preventing them from enjoying life. After his presentation Harper's father also announces a part-time internship opportunity, one that Harper's boyfriend, Josh who has received an acceptance from Stanford, in intensely interested in.

As Harper is leaving school she has a run in with protesters who believe the Memtex procedure is harmful. They call Harper's father a Neuro-Nazi. At this time Harper is accosted by a reporter, Lisa Gambel who tries to interview her. In the scuffle with the reporter, Harper begins to fall but is caught by one of the protesters - a handsome boy who tells the protesters to back off. Josh and Win quickly step in to rescue her pushing her into the SUV and driving off.

Almost a month later, on her horse, Harry, Harper wins first prize in a jumping competition. Harry, formally known as Hermes of Caelum, was a gift from her father on her sixth birthday. Harper has aspirations to be an Olympic level rider, so winning the competition was important. Josh has good news of his own- he got the internship at Neurotech. Harper is excited for Josh whom she has been dating for two years. But she's also not sure about their future together as a couple leading her to consider breaking up with him.

The next day tragedy strikes when Harry dies suddenly from colic. For two weeks Harper unsuccessfully struggles to come to terms with his death. She has trouble eating and sleeping and focusing. When her parents suggest trying something different to pull her out of her funk, Harper tells them she'd like to get the Memtex procedure. Shocked, her father adamantly refuses her request, forbidding her to have the procedure. He tells her that her having the procedure would negatively impact Neurotech and look like he is using his daughter. Frustrated, Harper tells Josh who believes that her father is not really against the procedure but that he wants to avoid the media exposure. As an intern in the company Josh devises a plan to get Harper in for the treatment without her father knowing.

A few days later when a teen does not show up for her appointment, Harper walks into Neurotech and pretending to be the absent Emily Ludka, undergoes the procedure without her parents knowledge. Although initially Harper feels better she begins having flashbacks of a woman falling down, causing her to collapse at the mall during a community event. Harper also encounters Neil once again when he comes to her home and tells her he wants to talk with her. Neil tells Harper that he knows she had the Memtex procedure and when he saw her collapse at the mall he had to talk with her.  Harper agrees to meet Neil at Cafe Rica where he explains the root of his opposition to Memtex. He tells her that his brother, Marcus, had the Memtex procedure to help him recover from the memory of his best friend's death in a car accident. Memtex initially seemed to help Marcus but he began to experience memory problems and trouble sleeping. He became depressed and then confused and eventually committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills. Neil tells Harper that some people believe that the Memtex procedure can cause early version of Alzheimer's. When Harper tries to explain away Marcus's experience as a rare event, Neil tells her that he was not the only one to have this happen to him. Neil asks Harper to read the papers he's brought which she takes but she refuses to acknowledge the possibility that the procedure is dangerous.

Harper's secret Memtex procedure is soon uncovered by her father who is furious and concerned about the side effects that are not supposed to exist. Deciding to trust Josh, Harper tells him about the visions she's been having and that she met Neil. The next day when Harper and Win are shovelling out the stalls, they decide to search the office of Harry's trainer to see if they can find Harry's insurance policy. Harper is shocked to discover the ownership documents show that Harry was purchased the year before she was born, yet she supposedly got the horse for her sixth birthday. Harper wonders why her parents would have kept Harry a secret until her sixth birthday. To try to find out more about this mystery, Harper decides to drive to the small town were she was born. Harper finds that as she drives around the town she cannot remember anything in detail about when she was a child. She decides to try the large stable in the town, Rolling Meadows, in the hopes that maybe this is where they boarded Harry. One of the stable hands, Juan does remember Harry and Harper. He tells Harper that her mother was one of the best horsewomen he ever met and that she rode when she was a small child. This completely shocks Harper because her mother not only doesn't ride but she seems afraid of horses.

This leads Harper to contact Neil about the potential side effects of the Memtex treatment. Neil tells her that he is not on social media sites, doesn't use a cell phone and uses cash so he can't be tracked. He tells her that even if the number of people experiencing side effects is small, they should know the risks involved. Harper also meets with Win to discuss what's she's uncovered. Harper feels that either her memory is completely false or she's been lied to. Win tells her that this would mean that her parents are involved in some way and questions whether she really wants to know.  This leads Harper to question whether this is the only thing her parents have lied to her about. Win asks her to consider the implications of finding out something even worse about her parents. "Think about it before you dig further. If you go digging around, you might just find out something you wished you never knew."

Harper's father's insistence that she see a doctor and the discovery of a photograph of the mystery woman from her dreams only furthers her suspicions. Harper  becomes determined to learn who the mystery woman is and why her memory has been so badly altered.

Discussion

Remember is a novel that starts out with an interesting premise that really doesn't quite live up to expectations. Harper is a girl whose memories of her childhood don't add up and only come to light after she's had a controversial treatment. This leads her to search for the truth. The mystery Harper uncovers about her parents lacks punch and leaves the reader disappointed. Even the way Harper learns about certain events feels contrived and unoriginal. A major break in the mystery occurs when she learns from Neil the identity of the mysterious woman in the photograph. The reader never really knows how Neil learned uncovers this information and why Harper was unable to delve deeper on her own. If her father was as well known as indicated at the beginning of the novel, surely Harper would have been aware of her father's past or have been exposed to it through the media. Her discovery of the USB drive hidden in her saddle, although a twist in the story, seems implausible.

The most disappointing aspect of this novel was Harper's reason for getting the Memtex procedure: the death of her horse, Harry. Granted Harper is an elite show jumper and Harry was her favourite horse and likely very valuable as well. However, most readers will not be able to relate to Harper's loss mainly because Cook doesn't succeed in conveying to her readers Harper's inability to cope. She tells rather than demonstrates what Harper experiences and it doesn't engage the reader. The plot would have been more believable if more time would have occurred after the death of her horse, or if Harper had suffered a more traumatic loss, perhaps a close friend at school. A longer period of struggle and inability to cope also would have made her father's refusal of the procedure more suspicious. If the procedure would obviously help her, why would he refuse it - it would have been great promotion for his company. In the novel however, it appeared that Harper was being refused the procedure because her parents considered her loss not serious enough to warrant it, thus not really setting up a serious conflict.

Another disappointment with this novel is Harper's relationships with both Josh and Neil which lack depth to them. Harper is ambivalent towards Josh and although she begins to fall for Neil, even that too seems to lack a sense of connection.

Cook does ties together most of the loose ends in a decent manner. Readers will enjoy the fact that Harper begins to assert herself and eventually is able to bring to light the problems with the Memtex procedure. Remember is a light read for those who like a touch of science fiction, romance and mystery all blended together.

Book Details:
Remember by  Eileen Cook
New York: Simon Pulse
312 pp.

Slated by Teri Terry

Terri Terry's debut novel, Slated, is set in 2054, in London which is ruled by the Central Coalition. The Coalition government came into power after  a devastating economic collapse in the 2020's and demonstrations and terrorist acts committed by students. The Coalition is the product of  the merging of two sides; the Law and Order movement which became the Lorders and the Freedom UK which wanted to rehabilitate young criminals. When the ability to erase memories was discovered, the two groups merged, resulting in a country ruled by the Lorders.

Sixteen year old Kyla has been "Slated" - that is, her memory wiped clean. Like every Slated person, Kyla is forced to wear a Levo device on her wrist. The Levo interacts with a chip implanted in the Slated teen's brain, detecting their mood. When mood levels are either extremely low or high, the wearer receives a zap that causes them to black out or have seizures. Any attempts to remove the Levo result in death. Slated teens can only have the Levo removed when they turn twenty-one.

After being Slated, teens are kept in hospital for six months where they are re-educated before being released to live with a brand new family. Kyla's new mom is Sandra Armstrong-Davis, whose father William Adam M. Armstrong eliminated the gangs threatening British society in the 2020's. Sandra's parents were killed in an act of terrorism. Kyla's new dad, David Davis, seems very kindly at first but Kyla soon grows suspicious of him. Her new older sister is nineteen year old Amy, who has a boyfriend, Jazz.

Kyla attends Lord William's School with her sister Amy who is behind a grade after being Slated. Kyla is tested and is put at grade level, something that is also very unusual. During this time Kyla is being watched over by several people called "Watchers" including Mrs. Ali who follows Kyla around at school.

Kyla has no idea why she was Slated. Although she's been told that all her memories and her personality have been wiped clean, Kyla knows that she is different. She's has been experiencing nightmares, which kept her hospitalized an extra three months, post-Slating. These nightmares seem to contain information from her life prior to Slating, although Kyla can't be certain. Kyla also discovers that she can draw using her left hand, and that she remembers how to drive. She also notices that when she gets angry, her Levo does not seem to work. Kyla wants to know why she was Slated and she wants to know who her family was before. Did they not want her? Do they know what has happened to her. The story that Slated tells is of Kyla's journey of self-discovery and truth.

Shortly after arriving home, Kyla meets Ben Nix at a group therapy meeting for Slateds. Ben also attends the same high school with Kyla, where he is in some of her classes. Ben encourages her to come running with him and Kyla discovers that running counters the affect of the Levo, allowing both of them to be more like their real selves. Kyla finds herself attracted to tall, handsome Ben but thinks that maybe another Slated girl, Tori is his girlfriend. Kyla like all Slateds has been told to stay away from boys until she is twenty-one.

When Tori goes missing, Ben learns, to Kyla's horror, that she was "returned" like an old pair of shoes. Soon Ben and Kyla discover that not only are Slated teens disappearing, but also Naturals too. Then Kyla witnesses Phoebe, a Natural who has been bullying Kyla,  being removed from school by the Lorders. Shortly after this, her beloved art teacher, Mr. Gianelli is also taken away by Lorders in front of the entire school.

Kyla is taken by Jazz to meet Mac, a twenty-something who has access to a computer. He tells Kyla about the many websites which parents and family are using in an attempt to locate missing children. From Mac's search, Kyla discovers the truth about her identity, but few clues to her past. Who was she? Why was she Slated?

Later Kyla takes Ben to meet Mac who introduces them to Aiden. Aiden works for MIA = Missing In Action, trying to locate people who were taken illegally by the government. They want to identify these missing people so they can expose the government and stop it. Some missing people are taken to be Slated. Some are taken by AGT (Anti-Government Terrorists) to try to disable or remove their Levos. This latter idea becomes very attractive to Ben. After an incident in which his Levo prevents him from protecting Kayla, he becomes obsessed with removing it - an act that could result in his death.

As more of her past reveals itself to Kyla and as she is confronted by someone from her past, Kyla must make the decision to either stay in the present and live her life as it is, or confront who she was in the past and perhaps return to that life. Kyla doesn't want to go back to her past but will she have a choice?

Slated is a good novel with a well developed storyline that holds the reader's interest to the very end. Kyla and Ben live in what is essentially a totalitarian society, where any resistance to authority is now useless. What was initially a technique developed to rehabilitate criminals, is now one used to control anyone who resists the authority of the state. When Mr. Gianelli protests, in a very mild way, the disappearance of Phoebe by drawing her portrait in art class, he finds himself carted off by the Lorders. Kyla finds herself watched constantly and repeatedly warned by Mrs. Ali that she is in danger of being "returned" when she asks questions. How better to put down opposition than by wiping your opponent's memory clean. How easy to prevent any sort of rebellion against what is happening by forcing these "rehabilitated" young people to wear a device that shocks them should they experience depression or anger? Terry has created a future world that is entirely believable and possible - a police state based on events which are all too common today - economic collapse and widespread anger.

As Kyla learns more about her new world, she realizes that she will need to learn how to live according to the Lorders rules. Even with her doctor, Dr. Lysander, who invented Slating, Kayla knows Lysander will recognize when she is lying so she must be careful to tell only part of the truth and never reveal all of it. It a psychological game of cat and mouse even though Lysander seems to suggest to Kyla that she is on her side.

Terry does a great job of portraying how Kyla's relationship with her new mother blossoms and how the initial impression of her new parents and of  Dr. Lysander gradually change thoughout the novel. At first her dad seems kind and warm, while her mother earns the nickname "dragon lady". However, it is her mother who saves her life when things go terribly wrong with Ben  while her father threatens her if she doesn't conform.

There's a touch of romance between Ben and Kyla that is sweet and filled with many tender moments. Kyla is still haunted by what she thinks is Ben's love for Tori. For the most part Ben is a rather boring character until the very end of the novel,  when he chooses a drastic course of action. His plainness is explained by the Levo toning him down so that we don't see the real Ben until he starts taking medication that counters the effect of the Levo.

The cliff-hanger at the end means we have to wait until the next book, Fractured, is published in  September, 2013!

Book Details:
Slated by Teri Terry
New York: Nancy Paulsen Books       2012
346 pp.