A thrilling, ominous story of girlhood that calms one science fiction scenario into an unexpected, daily extension of current global warming predictions.
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
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Review based on a free copy of this book, courtesy of the publisher.