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There are currently 27 member reviews
for The Age of Miracles
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Maggie R. (Canoga Park, CA)
yet another way the world ends . . .
The combination of preadolescent turmoil and global turmoil work well together. Yes, there will be overlaps in postapoc novels, just as there are in love stories, mysteries. But if the characters are fresh and the story compelling, I'll keep reading and enjoying.
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Lauren C. (Los Angeles, CA)
An Easy Read but Wish It Had More Depth
3.5 stars would be more accurate for me. I enjoy these types of dystopian novels, perhaps too much, since I read a nearly identical book about six months ago, "Life As We Knew It." in "The Age of Miracles" the earth's rotation slows down and causes all sorts of problems with animals, crops, and humans' living and work cycles. We see things unravel from the perspective of a young teen girl. In the other book, the earth's weather patterns are messed up when the moon moves too close to the earth after an asteroid hits it, and the main character is a high school age girl. So "Age of Miracles" does not get points fom me for originality.
That being said, I read it in an afternoon. It was well written and I thought that the main character was believable and real. I'm not sure if the book is characterized as young adult (the other one was) but it should be. The story didn't drag, and kept me engaged.
My main complaints were that not all that much happened-- it was a short book and I think the author could have kept it going for longer-- and that instead of trying to come up with a scientific cause for the slowdown, the author just decided that "we don't know why it happened." I think the book would have worked better for me if it were a bit more complex.
I'm giving it four stars instead of three because it kept my interest, even though ultimately it could have been more satisfying with a few more plot points added.
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Katherine Y. (Albuquerque, NM)
A gripping ode to our world
I received this book in the mail last night and finished it over my lunch break today, so it is definitely gripping. The author writes beautifully about the world of young adolescent girl as the world slowly dies. Some reviews have characterized the book as depressing, but I thought it had a hopeful tone as all the characters slowly adapted to the changing world. Hard to read this book and not come away thinking about doing more to preserve the world we have. My only complaint is that I wished this book were longer.
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Gail L. (Maitland, FL)
Where is the Miracle?
This was a very difficult book to get through for me. It was well-written; however, the tone was dark and I kept waiting for something more to happen but it just got bleaker and bleaker as I read.
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Susan B. (Rutledge, MO)
If you read SF you may be disappointed...
I so wanted to love this book! I read a lot of science fiction, and post-apocalyptic stories are some of my favorites (yes, weird, I know). But this book just didn't hit the mark for me-- I found the characters flat, the relationships less than believable, and the basic premise implausible enough to distract me from the story itself. In it's favor, the author gets the feel of California really well, and the ending was great.
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Michele W. (Kiawah Island, SC)
Almost good
I was immediately captured by this book and its main character, a sixth grader with a crush on the mysterious boy on the skate board, who while grappling with puberty, must also come to terms with the end of life on Earth. I loved the idea of the sudden and inexplicable lengthening of days and nights, and the way that small alterations in the way the Earth spun on its axis quite gradually changed everything about our complicated ecosystem. But in the end, neither the plot nor the science could live up to its early promise. I would not hesitate to recommend The Age of Miracles for YA readers, but not for adult fans of dystopian novels.
