The Age of Miracles
by Karen Thompson Walker
269 pages
Random House, 2012
young adult/fiction
Read in 4 days
My Rating: ★★★★
"We didn't notice right away. We couldn't feel it."
Review: What amazing storytelling! In a nutshell, what would you do if to Earth suddenly started spinning at a much slower rate than it already does, thereby causing time to take longer to pass by? We all say how much we'd love to have more hours in the day. But, as this story proves, that is, until we actually get those hours. It starts off small, adding a half an hour at a time then continuing until this "slowing" begins to disrupt the lives of society.
This book is told through the point of view of a twelve year old girl living with her parents. She's having a hard enough time going through those changes young girls go through without throwing this phenomena into the mix! Not to mention the revolution that begins to take place among those who refuse to do as the government tells them which is to continue as usual. They go so far as to get heavy black curtains to block out the sun when it's a longer day than normal and get bright lights to put up when it's dark for a long time. Of course you can imagine what this does to the farming industry? Imagine taking every natural disaster you can think of in someones mind and watch everyone scatter to make underground shelters or buy up all the groceries they can. There are a few blackouts as well as a few make-out sessions that happen as the story progresses too. The cynicism is dripping in this book as well as the parallels of this unreal world with the one we are all really living.
Without telling too much of the story and possibly ruining certain parts for you, it's a book anyone can read. There are moments anyone can relate to or at least understand when it comes to Julia's (the main character) life and those around her. There are plenty of secrets as well as lessons learned here as well. I found it easy to follow and never got bored with it at all. The ending is wide open for perhaps a sequel?
Otherwise, there is sadness, death, and a lot of possible truth to what this world and those who inhabit it would be like if there was a constant fear of an impending end.
Summary: Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change, the story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in an extraordinary time. On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by Hannah and other friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking story of people finding ways to go on, in an ever-evolving world.
To learn more about Karen Thompson Walker, please visit her site here.
Great review. Ashley and I really enjoyed this one, too (she's 12, so she could easily relate to the narrator).
ReplyDelete