Hello, fellow bookworms! Welcome to the blog tour for The Knowing by Sharon Cameron. As you may know, I recently read this companion sequel and LOVED it. If you're a fan of YA science fiction, this duology is not one to be missed!
My Reviews:
My Swoon Thursday posts:
About the Book:
The Knowing by Sharon Cameron
Book Two of The Forgetting series
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Summary (from Goodreads):
Samara doesn't forget. And she isn't the only one. Safe underground in the city of New Canaan, she lives in a privileged world free from the Forgetting. Yet she wonders if she really is free, with the memories that plague her and secrets that surround her. Samara is determined to unearth the answers, even if she must escape to the old, cursed city of Canaan to find them.
Someone else is on their way to Canaan too . . . a spaceship from Earth is heading toward the planet, like a figment of the city's forgotten past. Beck is traveling with his parents, researchers tasked with finding the abandoned settlement effort. When Beck is stranded without communication, he will find more in Canaan than he was ever trained for. What will happen when worlds and memories, beliefs -- and truths -- collide?
Check out The Forgetting:
(Click on the cover for more information!)
About the Author:
Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages. She lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Excerpt:
Beckett
I turn the book over in my hand. This is hand sewn, and the paper is coarse, also handmade, but different from other ancient paper I've felt. Mostly because it hasn't had time to become as ancient as I'm used to.
I think what I'm holding is answers.
Samara goes to the other empty bed and lies on it with her back to me, hair cascading down to the floor. I don't know what to make of her right now. She set my ankle, but this is at least twice she's come close to getting me killed. She lied to me, ran from me, has barely tolerated me since, and I would've sworn when we were under the floor, if I'd kissed her then, she would have let me. I wanted to. I couldn't help it. And now she's handed me a gift, and we're back to no eye contact.
I sit in the corner with the rounded wall, my back to the warm clay, run a dirty hand over the stained cover. When I open to the first page, I say, "You wrote this?"
"Yes."
"Why do you want me to read it?"
"Because I want you to understand."
Well, that makes two of us.
A lamp hangs from the ceiling, flickering in a draft, and I forget that its light is dim, that I'm hungry and tired, or that this floor is cold. The words are precise, some in ink, some in a kind of soft black that reminds me of charcoal, but what I don't see are mistakes. Nothing crossed out. Nothing rewritten. Samara thought about what she wanted to say in here, and a lot of it is personal. Really personal. And I'm looking through her words into a world where the safety valves of the brain have been taken away. Where everything you do or say is so permanent that it's paralyzing. Where good memories are the painkiller that can't kill you. Where bad memories can make you not want to live. How did they get this way?
Some things are familiar. Like this bit of social injustice I'm sitting in right now. A copy-and-paste from the history files of Earth. And the stories about Earth and the first colonists - they're like so much I've read, fables spun to explain the facts, but always with the truth hidden somewhere inside. But which is the truth, and which are the lies? I can't tell yet. But I think it has to do with the Forgetting, the sickness Samara thinks of as a cure. It can't be a cure. Not like that. Not by losing what you are.
I turn the last page and shut the book. I don't know how long I've been sitting here, but it's been a long time. If I was on the ship right now, or in a classroom in Texas, what I just read would have been considered a document of incredible importance. A firsthand account of a newly discovered culture. Dad and I could have debated the evolution and ethics of New Canaan for hours. But this is real, not some abstract concept. And people are living it and dying it. Right now.
This is Samara.
I turn the book over in my hand. This is hand sewn, and the paper is coarse, also handmade, but different from other ancient paper I've felt. Mostly because it hasn't had time to become as ancient as I'm used to.
I think what I'm holding is answers.
Samara goes to the other empty bed and lies on it with her back to me, hair cascading down to the floor. I don't know what to make of her right now. She set my ankle, but this is at least twice she's come close to getting me killed. She lied to me, ran from me, has barely tolerated me since, and I would've sworn when we were under the floor, if I'd kissed her then, she would have let me. I wanted to. I couldn't help it. And now she's handed me a gift, and we're back to no eye contact.
I sit in the corner with the rounded wall, my back to the warm clay, run a dirty hand over the stained cover. When I open to the first page, I say, "You wrote this?"
"Yes."
"Why do you want me to read it?"
"Because I want you to understand."
Well, that makes two of us.
A lamp hangs from the ceiling, flickering in a draft, and I forget that its light is dim, that I'm hungry and tired, or that this floor is cold. The words are precise, some in ink, some in a kind of soft black that reminds me of charcoal, but what I don't see are mistakes. Nothing crossed out. Nothing rewritten. Samara thought about what she wanted to say in here, and a lot of it is personal. Really personal. And I'm looking through her words into a world where the safety valves of the brain have been taken away. Where everything you do or say is so permanent that it's paralyzing. Where good memories are the painkiller that can't kill you. Where bad memories can make you not want to live. How did they get this way?
Some things are familiar. Like this bit of social injustice I'm sitting in right now. A copy-and-paste from the history files of Earth. And the stories about Earth and the first colonists - they're like so much I've read, fables spun to explain the facts, but always with the truth hidden somewhere inside. But which is the truth, and which are the lies? I can't tell yet. But I think it has to do with the Forgetting, the sickness Samara thinks of as a cure. It can't be a cure. Not like that. Not by losing what you are.
I turn the last page and shut the book. I don't know how long I've been sitting here, but it's been a long time. If I was on the ship right now, or in a classroom in Texas, what I just read would have been considered a document of incredible importance. A firsthand account of a newly discovered culture. Dad and I could have debated the evolution and ethics of New Canaan for hours. But this is real, not some abstract concept. And people are living it and dying it. Right now.
This is Samara.
The Giveaway:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of The Knowing. US Only.
Follow the Tour:
Week One:
10/9/2017- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Interview
10/10/2017- Quite the Novel Idea- Review
10/11/2017- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review
10/12/2017- The Eater of Books!- Excerpt
10/13/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
Week Two:
10/16/2017- Betwixt the Pages- Review
10/17/2017- YA Books Central- Excerpt
10/18/2017- The Book Nut- Review
10/19/2017- Here's to Happy Endings- Review
10/20/2017- YA and Wine- Guest Post
10/9/2017- Tales of the Ravenous Reader- Interview
10/10/2017- Quite the Novel Idea- Review
10/11/2017- Feed Your Fiction Addiction- Review
10/12/2017- The Eater of Books!- Excerpt
10/13/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
Week Two:
10/16/2017- Betwixt the Pages- Review
10/17/2017- YA Books Central- Excerpt
10/18/2017- The Book Nut- Review
10/19/2017- Here's to Happy Endings- Review
10/20/2017- YA and Wine- Guest Post
I remember how much you enjoyed both The Knowing and The Forgetting :D
ReplyDeleteThis looks like an interesting duology. I will need to check it out.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read this duology yet but hearing how much you enjoy it, I think I'll add it to my TBR! YA Science Fiction tends to be hit of miss for me but I'm looking forward to trying out these novels!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Alyssa! Hope you're having a good week!
Ashtyn @ Wonderland’s Reader!
Those covers are fantastic. I have a thing for trees, so these would interest me no matter what.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
I wanted to read the first one, but never got around to it. Now I know I have got to get to it sooner! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteI've heard nothing but great things about these books! I hope I can read them before the year ends!
ReplyDeleteYay for awesome excerpt for the blog tour :D Thank you for sharing sweetie. <3 Hugs. I loved book one, didn't love this one, sobs, but liked it a bit even so :)
ReplyDeleteWow... It's been a while since a came across such an accurate and relevant post. Excellent post from a genius.
ReplyDelete