The Forgetting Machine

Gr 3–5—Readers who enjoyed the first installment in this series, The Flinkwater Factor, will eagerly dive into the sequel. While there are references to the first volume, this also works as a stand-alone novel. The narrative starts with an epidemic of forgetfulness, which Ginger first notices in her father; he has forgotten their cat. Then Ginger sees it spread to her best friend (and love interest) and his father when they forget something more important: Ginger herself! Now Ginger has to sort through all kinds of unexpected obstacles to figure out what is happening to the people she cares about the most. At the same time that Ginger is furiously trying to solve the town of Flinkwater's forgetfulness, she is also thoughtfully pursuing a new interest in the printed word. In her near-future world, everything is electronic and only very old people still read printed books. One of her beloved ebooks (Charlotte's Web) gets a virus and becomes permanently corrupted. Will she ever find out what happens to Charlotte and Wilbur? The story is well written and engaging. Ginger's voice is convincingly that of a typical middle grade student dealing with forces outside her control. It's refreshing to see a young female character express anger and not apologize for it. Ginger's an easy character to root for, imperfections and all.