Meet 11-year-old Julia, a lonely preteen entrenched in a typical suburban life. When the world's rotation begins to slow and the extra minutes caught in a day bloom, the life she's managed so far — balancing her best friend with a sad single-child's home life, her soccer habit, and a secret crush on Seth Moreno — spirals into something unrecognizable. Yet even with the ever-changing rules governing the planet and the daylight hours, Julia's rush into adulthood is startling in its normalcy.
This is the most calm and appealing horror story you'll ever read. Karen Thompson Walker builds a slow, hungry tension with everyday scenarios, like making breakfast, that are interrupted by the doomsday events unfolding around her characters. Even your mom could read this sci-fi, and my mom hates that stuff.
Julia's life is so childishly complex and well rendered, I recognized so much of my own sixth grade experience inside of it, despite the vast differences in setting. It's easy to whip through the author's excellent prose, but I wanted to make the story last, just in case the world didn't, I guess. But I won't tell you more about that. I'll just say: read it.
The Age of Miracles
Karen Thompson Walker
Random House, Hardcover, June 2012
$26
View the book at Barnes and Noble
Review based on a free copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher.
This novel is really well written, the prose is often poetic and beautiful, even when describing scenes that are unsettling and scary. Karen Thompson Walker is very talented, and this book really grabbed me and sucked me in from the very first moment. Julia's only child-ness and awkwardness was something I could completely relate to, and I am happily sharing this book with my 15 year old daughter, since I know she will love it too. Excellent reading, I could hardly put this one down! Definitely well deserved hype.
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