Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2020
400 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
One girl and her doppelgangers try to stop the end of the world in this YA sci-fi adventure.
When Hazel Stanczak was born, an interdimensional rift tore open near her family's home, which prompted immediate government attention. They soon learned that if Hazel strayed too far, the rift would become volatile and fling things from other dimensions onto their front lawn—or it could swallow up their whole town. As a result, Hazel has never left her small Pennsylvania town, and the government agents garrisoned on her lawn make sure it stays that way. On her sixteenth birthday, though, the rift spins completely out of control. Hazel comes face-to-face with a surprise: a second Hazel. Then another. And another. Three other Hazels from three different dimensions! Now, for the first time, Hazel has to step into the world to learn about her connection to the rift—and how to close it. But is Hazel—even more than one of her—really capable of saving the world?
"The representation of mental health issues is at times so painfully accurate that the novel becomes difficult to read but at the same time, impossible to put down...A midnovel twist takes the standard chosen-one plot formula and tips it on its head...A compelling narrative based around the subversion of generic fantasy and science fiction fodder." - Kirkus Reviews
"Duyvis' rich, layered character development—grounded in Hazel's raw, first-person perspective—offers an authentic exploration of questioning sexuality and asexuality, what makes us who we are, and what our responsibilities are to ourselves and to others." - Booklist
"The main characters are unique and empowering, and sure to entertain. Duyvis is a cofounder of the website Disability in Kidlit and the creator of the #OwnVoices hashtag. This is a fast-paced adventure story with the perfect mix of fantasy and coming-of-age realistic fiction." - School Library Journal
"Duyvis capably balances a zippy sci-fi plot that barrels along at a breathless pace with an intriguing look at how one girl in five different worlds could be both the same and different" - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
This information about The Art of Saving the World was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Corinne Duyvis is the critically acclaimed author of young adult novels Otherbound, which Kirkus called "original and compelling; a stunning debut," and On the Edge of Gone, which Publishers Weekly called "a riveting apocalyptic thriller with substantial depth" and which won the Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award. She is also the author of the original Marvel prose novel Guardians of the Galaxy: Collect Them All. Corinne hails from the Netherlands. She is a co-founder of the website Disability in Kidlit and the originator of the #ownvoices hashtag.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
