Rated of 5
by Kristen H. (Hagerstown, MD) Lengthening of Days
The Age of Miracles was an intense book that grabbed you at the beginning and kept you tuned in to the last page. The story is told from the viewpoint of a 12 yr. old girl and what changes she encounters and has to deal with. I would recommend this book to book clubs as this would be a great book to discuss.
Rated of 5
by Linda W. (San Ardo, CA) The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Humans are complacent when it concerns the way our earth spins and rotates on it's axis. When something causes the earth's rotation to slow down, days get longer, tides change, the force of gravity changes and environment is drastically altered. This is what happens in The Age of Miracles. The books voice is Julia, a sixth grade girl. She, and her parents live in southern California, near the ocean. She is the only child of her doctor father and housewife mother. This book details how this catastrophe affected their lives. It is a coming-of-age story The author does a great job of making the characters real and the writing is well done. The story pulls you in and keeps you reading. This book would make a great movie.
Rated of 5
by Judy K. (Sunland, CA) A dreamy, introspective dystopian tale
For a story of future dystopia, The Age of Miracles has a dreamy, introspective tone. Events are related from the viewpoint of a sixth-grade girl, an aware and intelligent only child, giving the impression that kids handled the changes better than the adults. In fact, the whole story was as much a study in adult weaknesses and flaws as it was about middle-school antics. Karen Thompson Walker writes with a unique imagination and great skill. Her straightforward style conceals a deeper subtext of insight into our current world. I think mature teens would enjoy the novel as well. It would make a good graduation present.
Rated of 5
by Annie F. (Dallas, TX) The Age of Miracles
I found this book to be more depressing than I anticipated. Like many dystopian novels, it frames a cataclysmic event that will change the Earth forever, in this case, the slowing of the Earth’s rotation. But unlike other dystopian novels, there is no dire action in the book, no wars being fought, no cannibals to be avoided, no urban strife to survive, no evil government to rebel against. Nothing to do and nothing to divert the mind from the realization of the inexorable disintegration of the Earth as we currently know it—the death of birds, the withering of green things, the increase of radiation.
It's well written. The voice of the narrator, a young California girl, is very authentic and is the strongest aspect of the book. She is focused on what every 11 year old is concerned with—her friendships, her crush on a boy, her family life. She registers the catastrophe, but does so almost peripherally. Life goes on, everyone adjusts. It's this helplessness and acceptance I found depressing.
This would be a good crossover, discussible book for teens.
Rated of 5
by Judy C. (Brooksville, FL) The Age of Miracles
This book is well-written, and would be appealing to adolescent readers. The protagonist is a young teenage girl who grapples with teen issues (like fitting in, first love, and family conflict) amid a cataclysmic earthly event. The plot held my attention, and there were sufficient surprises to keep my interest. The writing is conversational, and the plot is complex enough to invite thought. The writing style is consistent with young adult novelists like William Sleator.
Rated of 5
by Dee H. (Greenfield, CA) Age of Miracles or Age of Impending Disaster...
The is the story of a young girl on the edge of adolescence whose world is changed by an unprecedented global event. The rotation of the earth has begun to slow and no one knows why it began nor how to stop it. Julia is a sensitive girl whose loneliness suffuses this book with a gentle sadness. It is neither science fiction nor post-apocalyptic fiction, though it borders on both. One feels that the apocalypse has begun, but the end is not yet in sight. I really liked this book, but wanted more answers to the scientific questions it raised. I realize it is more about the sense of loss and confusion of people who can no longer take day and night for granted, but it left me hanging somehow, with no sense of conclusion. I would recommend this book to others for both enjoyment and discussion.
A bold, mesmerizing novel about the woman known as "Typhoid Mary," the first known healthy carrier of typhoid fever in the burgeoning metropolis of early twentieth century New York.
Z, the novel about the life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald is at points charming and; like another reviewer, I kept thinking of the movie, "Midnight...
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Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
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Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
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British Parliament asks Amazon to clarify why it pays $9 million in income tax on $23 billion of UK sales.(May 20 2013) Amazon will be called back to give further evidence to members of the British Parliament "to clarify how its activities in the U.K. justify its low corporate...
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of 5
by Kristen H. (Hagerstown, MD) 
of 5
by Linda W. (San Ardo, CA) 
