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Alexandra S. (Chicago, IL)
(06/06/12)
Miraculous
From start to finish, I found this book riveting. The Age of Miracles tells the story of young girl coming of age right as the world as we know it, ceases to exist. The impossible becomes possible and rotation of the earth begins to slow, days become longer, nights become colder, the laws of gravity fail us and all through these miraculous times, Julia still experiences the normal growing pains of a young girl. The lose of friendships, her first crush, buying a bra and everything in between.
The world around Julia may be changing, but her story is timeless.
The Age of Miracles is a fantastic read and I look forward to reading more books from Ms. Walker
Linda P. (MEDFORD, WI)
(06/03/12)
What If?
Something is terribly wrong. Everything that you took for granted can no longer be counted on. The narrator is 11, dealing with middle school issues, and something too terrible to contemplate. The writing is flawless. This author is someone to return to. The subject makes you think---what if? I highly recommend this novel for YA & adults.
Melissa Y. (Knoxville, TN)
(06/03/12)
It captured me on the very first page....
A beautiful book. It captured me on the very first page as it realistically captured the normal insecurities of an eleven year old girl and her fears in dealing with a world falling apart. As the earth's rotation slows, the events of everyday life are no longer certain. The things she could always count on are no longer so. Not only is it easy to draw parallels with the world in which we are all living, the sequence of events in the book all seem entirely feasible. While reading I found myself feeling that I was in the altered world in which the characters lived.
I started reading the book on a Saturday morning and did not put it down until I finished. The story unfolds in a way that makes it easy to see how these events could happen. I found myself thinking about the book long after I finished. A sure sign of a great book.
Beverly J. (Huntersville, NC)
(05/30/12)
Coming-of-age in Extraordinary Times
This promising debut novel explores the textures of daily life in a time of a time of unanticipated disaster of the earth’s rotation slowing. While there were many things I liked about this book – the premise of the rotation of the earth suddenly slowing on a daily basis and the related consequences, lyrical writing, great pacing, and brilliant voice/tone, this was just an okay read for me. I attribute this to being a lover of speculative fiction, and wanted more on the speculative fiction side and less on the coming-of-age side. I would recommend this book to adult and young adult readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories as the unique voice will captivate this audience.
Linda W. (San Ardo, CA)
(05/26/12)
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.
Kristen H. (Hagerstown, MD)
(05/26/12)
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.
Judy K. (Sunland, CA)
(05/25/12)
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.
Annie F. (Dallas, TX)
(05/25/12)
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.