The Forgetting Machine

In this engrossing sequel to The Flinkwater Factor, Ginger Crump, now 14, has some problems on her hands. An ever-increasing number of people in Flinkwater, Iowa, home to many science and software geniuses, have begun forgetting things, most worrisome being her father, who can’t remember their cat, and her “Soul Mate and True Love” Billy, who can’t remember Ginger. Her school report on the origin of the name Flinkwater has hit a dead end. And the e-reader version of Charlotte’s Web, which Ginger is in the midst of obsessively reading, has been hacked. When Mr. Rausch, a neuroprosthetics expert, uses his experimental memorization technique to help people remember information, Billy and Ginger wonder if it also causes other memories to be pushed out. As Ginger pursues every lead to solve these mysteries, her perspective on her world—one in which robots service every home, libraries with paper books have nearly disappeared, and new inventions are continuously surfacing—begins to change. Ginger’s escapades fill Hautman’s story with energy and humor while raising thought-provoking questions about technological advances. Ages 9–13. [em]Agent: Jennifer Flannery, Flannery Literary. (Sept.) [/em]