The Unhappening of Genesis Lee

October 15, 2014
Montagues and Capulets, Sharks and Jets; now it's the Mementi (with their genetically modified, storable memories) and the Populace. At 17, Mementi Genesis Lee and friend Cora are out on the town, their primary worry escaping parental notice and keeping their memory-filled Link beads covered just enough for safety. Someone (suspicion falls on the Populace) has been stealing the Mementi's prized objects and with them, entire lives: Without memory, "your mind would be empty, grasping at a past you no longer had." Meanwhile, rival Mementi/Populace companies research memory options; large protests and the growing number of Populace in the Mementi's designer city further increase community tension. And now Kalan, the "nice" Populace boy Gena keeps forgetting to remember, holds important information-can she trust him? For readers hooked on earbuds and constant social networking, the storyline should be intriguing, the ambiguities and plot twists reasonable. But it's the sensitive handling of emotional details and the trauma of too much connection that make this a story of interest. The reactions to memory losses are painful and poignant; "I'm broken," laments a Mementi. "I'll never be the person I was going to be without those memories." Well-selected Tennyson quotations set the mood for each chapter. For anyone fascinated with thoughts of omniscience and total social connection-and who isn't?-McArthur's debut suggests fascinating and chilling possibilities. (Science fiction. 12-18)

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November 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Genesis Lee is one of the Mementi, a group of genetically enhanced humans with the ability to preserve every single one of their memories. Humans without this ability belong to the Populace. The Populace resent the Mementi's privilege, while the Mementi fiercely guard their memories, stored in valuable Link bracelets. When Gena's best friend Cora becomes the latest victim of a Link thief, a Populace boy named Kalan steps in to help. Meanwhile, two corporations are competing to create the first memory backup, a powerful technology that could both save memories and, dangerously, completely erase them. This dystopia, in which technology has a potentially degrading effect on the human mind, recalls the future M.T. Anderson created in Feed (Candlewick, 2002), but with less heart and humor. The prose is simple and and the story is fast paced, making this accessible to many readers, but the writing only exists to propel the rather convoluted plot. The dialogue contains more exposition than illuminations about the characters, who never really come to life. It's refreshing to find a main protagonist of Chinese descent, but Gena is more of a stock action hero than a compelling, nuanced being. This novel does raise some provocative questions. How much of our lives and personalities consist of our memories? Are genetic enhancements ethical? Overall, an effort that doesn't stand out from the current crowd of dystopian young adult fiction.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library

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