Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Read This

During our camping adventure I started and finished "The age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker.

I'm a big fan of any book that deals with world wide catastrophe and how people deal with it. This book didn't disappoint.

The premise of the book deals with the Earth and the slowing of its rotation. It gains 14 minutes a day. Pretty soon 9am looks like 2am. The government decides to implement a standard clock time for everyone. This makes it simpler for people to go to work and school however, not everyone adheres to this standard time. There are people who call themselves true timers who still follow the rhythm of night and day. These people are ostracized and shunned by most people.

With the slowing of the Earth comes the shifting of the tides and the magnetic fields of the shift as well. Plants and animals start dying. The sun becomes more dangerous, radiating lethal doses of radiation. People build crazy green houses. The internet stops working goes down and never returns! Good God. Things get bad. Really bad.

The whole story is told by Julie, a 12 year old girl in middle school, who lives in Southern California. She's dealing with "the slowing" as well as all the drama that goes into being a 12 year old girl. Because part of me is still a 12 year old girl in middle school, I could relate to Julie. She goes through friendships, loneliness and a serious crush. all of this while also dealing with her parents' marriage, and the world as she knows it falling apart. Literally.

It's beautifully written and very quick to read. It was one of those books that I wish had a never ending ending. :)