Tabula Rasa

July 14, 2014
Lippert-Martin’s debut finds life in the oft-seen trope of lost memory—and even a somewhat plausible mechanism for bringing about the amnesia. Plausibility isn’t always the name of the game (the government rarely uses world-class architects for medical torture labs), but this is a very entertaining game for thriller fans. Sarah Ramos, 16, is undergoing focused memory-elimination treatments when her surgery is interrupted by a power outage, followed by an invasion of explosives-wielding commandos who are looking for her. Calling on street smarts she didn’t know she possessed, Sarah eludes capture long enough to stumble into a boy who calls himself Pierce and says he’s a hacker for hire. Sarah doesn’t know what side he’s on, but trusting him looks like her best option—and he seems to know who she is. He’s cocky but kind; she’s paranoid but open to change. Both Sarah and Pierce are layered and appealing characters who don’t get too caught up in their own drama—the mayhem around them is excitement enough. Ages 12–up. Agent: Molly Jaffa, Folio Literary Management.

August 1, 2014
After her memories are surgically erased, one teenage girl fights to recover her identity during a brutal attack on the hospital she's trapped in. At a mysterious medical center tucked among snow-covered mountains, Sarah receives the tabula rasa treatment, or removal of all past memories, for severe PTSD. Orderlies hint that patients are either "victims" or "perpetrators." Though Sarah remembers nothing of her past, including her appearance, she suspects she falls into the latter category. When a power outage interrupts her surgery, a figure in the darkness slips her three pills and instructions. Soon, the center is thrown into chaos as soldiers suddenly attack, and Sarah flees her room, taking up with a teenage hacker sent to retrieve information. As Sarah's memories return in uncontrollable bursts, she pieces together her parents' twisted fate and her role in an attempt to bring down a corporate empire, all while avoiding rampant gunfire and falling perilously in love. The action ramps up quickly and never slows, creating a thriller with made-for-movies imagery. Lippert-Martin attempts to draw Sarah as a tough-as-nails heroine, but a hokey love story undermines her gumption. The back story that should be a rewarding reveal instead reads as an excuse for the cartoonish villain's rampage. A hard-hitting thriller that misses the mark when it comes to emotional impact. (Thriller. 12-18)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-In this fast-paced but superficial sci-fi thriller, 16-year-old Sarah, who is half-Latina, is being held in a remote, snowy location in a facility where she is being systematically operated on to erase her memories and make her a Tabula Rasa-a blank slate. She has been told it's for her own good because it will redeem her juvenile delinquent past and get her back on track. After mercenaries attack the facility and kill the staff and patients, Sarah realizes that she's their main target, but has no idea why. The teen struggles to stay alive, helped by Thomas, a talented hacker who's broken into the facility for his own reasons. Gunmen relentlessly purse them throughout the damaged facility on orders by Hodges, a powerful woman whom Sarah instinctively hates. The story's plot is more like a video game or film screenplay-all action and little substance. With the exception of Sarah and Thomas, the characters are underdeveloped. Hodges is a caricature of an evil villain with rather nonsensical motives. The medical procedure Sarah's undergoing and the expected result is the most intriguing aspect of the book, but it's ancillary to the rest of the action, which will be a disappointment to readers hoping for a more complex tale.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

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