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cro777 's review for:
The Age of Miracles
by Karen Thompson Walker
There is something about summertime and reading that just go so perfectly hand-in-hand for me. Maybe it is the lower-income summer reading programs I used to be enrolled in when I was a kid to encourage summer reading and continued education or having enough free time to actually read whatever I wanted without fear of homework or class discussion. Or maybe, it's just the slow movement of time in summer that makes it perfect for reading. Whatever it is, this book is perfect summer reading material!
This book is actually not as fun and uplifting as I kinda made it seem or as the title and cover seem. The story follows Julia, a kid in the middle of her life and the catastrophic ending or near-ending of the earth as we know it. The earth's rotation has slowed and continues to slow. By the end of the book, a day and a night on earth is 72 hours long and seems to continue lengthening. This book details the changes to the earth as well as the changes to society as The Slowing progresses.
First of all, I love a good dystopia or apocalyptic story, especially one that is scientifically backed and plausible. When I read the back information of this book, I fell in love with the premise of this book and it did not fail me while reading it. I loved the author's fluidity with writing the subject and how believable it is; there was never a point where I was lost or didn't believe the story. I read this a lot while sitting outside, so I found myself looking at the sun and thinking about how long the day was going to be and forgetting that I was just reading a book and that is wasn't real! This book really made me think about the non-existence of concrete time as we know it and how fleeting it all is. I honestly have no idea how our world would react if time became skewed or the earth slowed down. Or, even if time shifted and increased a few hours or even a few minutes. Who knows, but this book made me think about it.
Along with the subjects, I really really loved the slow progression of this book and how it reads day by day. Normally, I like things to be a bit more fast-paced, but the progression of this book made me want to read it more and more. I feel like day-by-day is how you would take something as scary as what is happening in this book. I liked how it is paced and how each entry or chapter is something significant versus just telling a story to tell one. It seems well planned and pieced perfectly.
I wasn't too sure about the characters when I started reading this book, but they really great on me. Julia, at first, really annoyed me but I had to realize that she is just a kid and going through some extreme things. I liked reading her story and perspective. It is interesting to see the story through the eyes of a kid going through some of the most formative years of her life while trying to negotiate the state of the earth, the possibilities of the future while juggling familial affairs after seeing her father in the yard of the neighbor. I felt so bad for Julia at so many points because she goes through some difficult things, but also the plot point with Seth was so touching and felt so familiar. It is the stories like this one, that remind you of your own childhood and adolescence. These sorts of stories stick with you.
The last chapter of this book was perfect. One part of me waited for and wanted the end-of-the-world type ending but the other part of me loved the very hopeful ending, although it was quite open-ended. I appreciated that is was open-ended because everything comes to an end regardless of how hard we try to not let it. It makes me hopeful for how well humans and society could adapt to those moments that may come. I highly recommend this book not just for a good story, but also because of the messages it has embedded deep within the story. I loved reading this book and look forward to seeing what else this author has written! 5 stars all around!
This book is actually not as fun and uplifting as I kinda made it seem or as the title and cover seem. The story follows Julia, a kid in the middle of her life and the catastrophic ending or near-ending of the earth as we know it. The earth's rotation has slowed and continues to slow. By the end of the book, a day and a night on earth is 72 hours long and seems to continue lengthening. This book details the changes to the earth as well as the changes to society as The Slowing progresses.
First of all, I love a good dystopia or apocalyptic story, especially one that is scientifically backed and plausible. When I read the back information of this book, I fell in love with the premise of this book and it did not fail me while reading it. I loved the author's fluidity with writing the subject and how believable it is; there was never a point where I was lost or didn't believe the story. I read this a lot while sitting outside, so I found myself looking at the sun and thinking about how long the day was going to be and forgetting that I was just reading a book and that is wasn't real! This book really made me think about the non-existence of concrete time as we know it and how fleeting it all is. I honestly have no idea how our world would react if time became skewed or the earth slowed down. Or, even if time shifted and increased a few hours or even a few minutes. Who knows, but this book made me think about it.
Along with the subjects, I really really loved the slow progression of this book and how it reads day by day. Normally, I like things to be a bit more fast-paced, but the progression of this book made me want to read it more and more. I feel like day-by-day is how you would take something as scary as what is happening in this book. I liked how it is paced and how each entry or chapter is something significant versus just telling a story to tell one. It seems well planned and pieced perfectly.
I wasn't too sure about the characters when I started reading this book, but they really great on me. Julia, at first, really annoyed me but I had to realize that she is just a kid and going through some extreme things. I liked reading her story and perspective. It is interesting to see the story through the eyes of a kid going through some of the most formative years of her life while trying to negotiate the state of the earth, the possibilities of the future while juggling familial affairs after seeing her father in the yard of the neighbor. I felt so bad for Julia at so many points because she goes through some difficult things, but also the plot point with Seth was so touching and felt so familiar. It is the stories like this one, that remind you of your own childhood and adolescence. These sorts of stories stick with you.
The last chapter of this book was perfect. One part of me waited for and wanted the end-of-the-world type ending but the other part of me loved the very hopeful ending, although it was quite open-ended. I appreciated that is was open-ended because everything comes to an end regardless of how hard we try to not let it. It makes me hopeful for how well humans and society could adapt to those moments that may come. I highly recommend this book not just for a good story, but also because of the messages it has embedded deep within the story. I loved reading this book and look forward to seeing what else this author has written! 5 stars all around!