Rating: 3.5 / 5
RESET by Sarina Dahlan in my adult Once Upon a Book Club book box. Prior to that, I had not heard of this, but the premise sounded really intriguing and right up my alley!
RESET is set in a not too distant future in a very different California. The world went through a final war and everything ended in fire. The Planner had created some self-sustaining, interconnected cities in the California desert which were able to keep those within alive. To remove humanity’s propensity for destruction, the Planner put in place Tabula Rasa. Every four years everyone has their brains simultaneously wiped and starts over with a clean slate, forgetting everyone and nearly everything they knew before.
Aris is a woman who likes the status quo. She looks forward to the next Tabula Rasa coming up in just a few months’ time. She meets Benja who is convinced that dreams are real memories of past lives and is determined to find the Dreamers, a group of those who fight against the mind wipes and try to unlock the past. Benja’s conviction has Aris questioning her own dreams. When she meets Metis, a musician she doesn’t know in this life, but one she feels immediately connected to, even more questions emerge.
This was such an intriguing concept to read! I could understand the motivations of creating such a system. Every four years all learned prejudices and negative beliefs are wiped out and everyone gets a fresh start. You can choose to value your every day more knowing they will soon be gone. This of course also means that there are no lasting relationships (unless you find a way to remember them).
I found this novel to get a bit slow in a few places, but it did keep me wanting to read on to find out the secrets of the Dreamers and more about the cities and its inhabitants. The author switched POVs between Aris and Metis, along with some of the POV of those working against the Dreamers.
I love that this box introduced me to an intriguing novel I wouldn’t have otherwise likely picked up. The gifts for this one were great as well which added to the enjoyment as always! If you are interested in checking out Once Upon a Book Club for yourself, DGREADS10 will give you 10% off your first order!
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