TLC Book Tours Book Review: The Age Of Miracles

Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Title: The Age Of Miracles
Publisher: Bond Street Books
Publish Date: June 26, 2012
Buy: Amazon
Review Copy Provided By: TLC Book Tours and the publisher
Book Review: “It still amazes me how little we really knew. . . . Maybe everything that happened to me and my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It’s possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”


On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.


Review: I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book. Its a little bit sci-fi in some respects, in others its a normal YAish kind of story.


It also has a very dystopian undercurrent, not so much like Delirium or the Hunger Games, but that element is definitely there.


What you have with this book is a beautifully written story of a young girl in middle school years coming to terms with a new way of living as a result of a huge catastrophe. The earth's spinning is slowing. Days are getting longer.


The sci-fi aspect of the story is really interesting and different. The reactions of the people living through the catastrophe felt real. This was definitely what felt like end times. I couldn't imagine how I would react if something like this happened when I was in 6th grade.


I really enjoyed this story. It was different from what I usually read, but even though it was out of my comfort zone, it kept me turning the pages watching Julia grow. Again, this isn't my typical reading material, and probably not a book I would have picked up on my own, but I'm glad I did. It was an excellent read!


Rating:  4 flowers

More Book Info: The Age of Miracles website:
The Age of Miracles Facebook page (with info on how to read an excerpt):
Tour Stops:
Monday, June 4th:  Layers of Thought

http://theageofmiracles.com/
http://www.facebook.com/ageofmiracles
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Tuesday, June 5th:  Book Drunkard
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Wednesday, June 6th:  Rhapsody in Books
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Thursday, June 7th:  A Chick Who Reads
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Friday, June 8th:  Chick Lit Reviews and News
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Monday, June 11th:  Reviews by Lola
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Tuesday, June 12th:  Book Chatter
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Wednesday, June 13th:  Alison’s Bookmarks
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Thursday, June 14th:  Jenn’s Bookshelves
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Monday, June 18th:  Inklings Read
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Tuesday, June 19th:  Life in the Thumb
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Wednesday, June 20th:  Under My Apple Tree
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Thursday, June 21st:  Twisting the Lens
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Monday, June 25th:  Taming the Bookshelf
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Tuesday, June 26th:  Stephanie’s Written Word
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Wednesday, June 27th:  Jen’s Book Den & Literary Review
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Thursday, June 28th:  Conceptual Reception
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Monday, July 2nd:  Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile
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Tuesday, July 3rd:  It’s a Crazy, Beautiful Life
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Thursday, July 5th:  The Brain Lair
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Monday, July 9th:  Great Imaginations
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Tuesday, July 10th:  Sweet Southern Home
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Wednesday, July 11th:  The Scarlet Letter
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Thursday, July 12th:  In the Next Room
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Monday, July 16th:  Regular Rumination
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Tuesday, July 17th:  She Treads Softly
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Wednesday, July 18th:  Book Addict Katie
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Thursday, July 19th:  Fiction State of Mind
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Monday, July 23rd:  Unabridged Chick
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Tuesday, July 24th:  Peeking Between the Pages
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Wednesday, July 25th:  Ashley Loves Books
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Thursday, July 26th:  Becky’s Book Reviews