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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had trouble with this and idk if i came away feeling the hope that the author intends but i really did enjoy it. i think im just not mentally strong enough to read about on the ground fash and torture rn >.<
I’d have to die if my mom was that preoccupied and then disappeared!! Cool book, interesting concept and interesting execution. I felt like there was a lack of continuity between some of the more fantastical elements and the apocalypse/ live in a self-sufficient compound vibes that were going on. I also wish there was more of a conclusion! I don’t really know what happened or why tbh.
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I grabbed this book off a library shelf because of its title and took it home because of its creepy cover art. I expected "a children's Bible" to figure in the story more frequently than it did, and I had anticipated any allusions to biblical stories to be much more literal. Sure the story has wilderness, and prophets, and journeys away from home, and sin, and the repentance of sin, and even apocalypse. In this way, it is a children's Bible of its own, but I did find the title a little misleading.
Eve, a teenaged girl narrates the story. Lydia Millet is backwards-precocious, in that the thoughts and actions of the children seem perfectly age-appropriate despite being written by an adult. The children live in immediacy, are overly self-conscious, and disdain authority. I had no problem believing the characters; perhaps I even felt more youthful while reading about them.
There are several gems of writing and philosophy in this book. The children's insight on adulthood may sting a little too sharply, but only for its accuracy. Eve muses,
I will say that the less you know going in, the better. I was surprised by where the book goes. It's an unusual book, well-written, somehow missing its mark.
Trigger warnings: cruelty to animals, debauchery, drugs, violence.
Eve, a teenaged girl narrates the story. Lydia Millet is backwards-precocious, in that the thoughts and actions of the children seem perfectly age-appropriate despite being written by an adult. The children live in immediacy, are overly self-conscious, and disdain authority. I had no problem believing the characters; perhaps I even felt more youthful while reading about them.
There are several gems of writing and philosophy in this book. The children's insight on adulthood may sting a little too sharply, but only for its accuracy. Eve muses,
...They'd always wanted to be more than they were. They should always be thought of as invalids, I saw. Each person, full grown, was sick or sad, with problems attached to them like broken limbs. Each one had special needs.
If you could remember that, it made you less angry.
They'd been carried along on their hopes, held up by the chance of a windfall. But instead of a windfall there was only time passing. And all they ever were was themselves.
I will say that the less you know going in, the better. I was surprised by where the book goes. It's an unusual book, well-written, somehow missing its mark.
Trigger warnings: cruelty to animals, debauchery, drugs, violence.
Devolved into messy tripe wth
Also! Not a single developed character in this book! Not a one! Is that even legal?!
Also! Not a single developed character in this book! Not a one! Is that even legal?!
A summer reunion of college friends and their families at mansion on the east coast begins with the twelve children (ages 17-8) separating themselves from their parents for survival reasons. The self-centered, constantly partying parents are an embarrassment to all the kids. So much so, they see who can hide the identify of their parents from the group the longest.
The kids tire of the parents' hedonistic and selfish behavior and decide to camp on the beach. Everyone piles into canoes with food, supplies and materials for make-shift shelters. They meet up with some rich kids on a yacht who begin talking about their family's inland compounds. Climate change is the major theme of the book. At this point early in the book, our narrator Eve, has to break the news to her 10-year-old brother, Jack, that they will probably live to see the end of the world as they know it - and that their parents & generations before them are to blame. Jack, a sensitive, animal loving, nature enthusiast is devastated.
Then a catastrophic storm hits while the kids are camping at beach forcing them back to the parents and the mansion - along with a Noah's Ark menagerie that Jack is rescuing.
Ironically, the inattentiveines of the parents has prepared the kids to fend for themselves while the parents are left helpless and frantic. The kids decide they are better off on their own and head for perceived safety. And the story unfolds as they experience all the challenges you can imagine: low gas, food shortage, armed gangs.
The parents hedonistic behavior reminded me of bible stories of the Israelites who lose their faith and God punishes them with cataclysmic events. Although such references are made, the book is not preachy or biblical.
I felt like the book really captured the feelings of some young people regarding climate change. I could hear my daughter's voice in some of the climate change dialogue. We really are leaving our kids to deal with generations of lack of attention to our impact on the climate/earth. Millet made a good choice for the narrator - telling the story from Eve's perspective. She and the other kids are very concerned but not helpless. They are resourceful and plan for the future, whatever the future becomes. That is juxtaposed to all parents who either ignore it and panic or selfishly have prepared for their own family's survival and ignore the greater society.
I would definitely pick up another book by Lynda Millet. A Children's Bible was thought-provoking and full of interesting characters.
The kids tire of the parents' hedonistic and selfish behavior and decide to camp on the beach. Everyone piles into canoes with food, supplies and materials for make-shift shelters. They meet up with some rich kids on a yacht who begin talking about their family's inland compounds. Climate change is the major theme of the book. At this point early in the book, our narrator Eve, has to break the news to her 10-year-old brother, Jack, that they will probably live to see the end of the world as they know it - and that their parents & generations before them are to blame. Jack, a sensitive, animal loving, nature enthusiast is devastated.
Then a catastrophic storm hits while the kids are camping at beach forcing them back to the parents and the mansion - along with a Noah's Ark menagerie that Jack is rescuing.
Ironically, the inattentiveines of the parents has prepared the kids to fend for themselves while the parents are left helpless and frantic. The kids decide they are better off on their own and head for perceived safety. And the story unfolds as they experience all the challenges you can imagine: low gas, food shortage, armed gangs.
The parents hedonistic behavior reminded me of bible stories of the Israelites who lose their faith and God punishes them with cataclysmic events. Although such references are made, the book is not preachy or biblical.
I felt like the book really captured the feelings of some young people regarding climate change. I could hear my daughter's voice in some of the climate change dialogue. We really are leaving our kids to deal with generations of lack of attention to our impact on the climate/earth. Millet made a good choice for the narrator - telling the story from Eve's perspective. She and the other kids are very concerned but not helpless. They are resourceful and plan for the future, whatever the future becomes. That is juxtaposed to all parents who either ignore it and panic or selfishly have prepared for their own family's survival and ignore the greater society.
I would definitely pick up another book by Lynda Millet. A Children's Bible was thought-provoking and full of interesting characters.
This book is quite layered and somewhat allegorical. It reminded me of Lord of The Flies and the end of the world, but there is so much depth in this work, I know I’ll be thinking on it for days to come. I didn’t love any of the characters, which was problematic for me, but it was interesting overall, which kept me reading.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
I enjoyed the prose and the premise of this book, but it really lost me in the second half with some confusing scenes and illogical plot points. The kids felt like characters from a Wes Anderson movie, worldly and more collected than the adults around them. I think the parents' extremely inattentive care echoes our poor stewardship of the planet for future generations. I like it all as a conceit, just didn't actually deliver as a story.