Book Shelf: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

"Maybe everything that had 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.'

One Saturday morning the world wakes to discover that the rotation of the earth has begun to slow. As birds fall from the sky and days grow longer, people start to flee - but there is nowhere on earth to escape to.

Julia is already coping with the disasters of everyday life. And then there's Seth: tall and quiet and always on his own; the skateboarding boy who knows all about disaster. As the world faces a catastrophe, Julia and Seth are facing their very own unknown.

More info on Goodreads......


Review:

The Age of Miracles is Karen Thompson Walker’s debut novel and is an intriguing look at what happens when the world finds itself on the verge of collapse. A harrowing look at humanity, The Age of Miracles is a sweet coming of age story and explores human complexity through the eyes of an everyday young girl whose whole world is forever changed when an environmental change effects the Earth’s rotation with tragic results. 

The Age of Miracles is a really difficult book to categorise. Despite its tagline The Age of Miracles isn’t a romance and it isn’t your everyday dystopian/apocalyptic tale that seem to litter the YA genre. Instead it’s an interesting look at humanities ability to persevere in the hardest of times when an “invisible catastrophe” effects the Earth. 

In a sense The Age of Miracles is an apocalyptic tale. And yet it isn’t. The Age of Miracles introduces readers to Julia, an eleven year old girl who wakes up one morning to discover, along with the rest of people on Earth, that the world’s rotation has begun to slow. Days begin to get longer, with day and night no longer certain and soon the effects begin to show. At an age when so much is uncertain naturally and you’re only just beginning to discover yourself, Julia and those around her must learn to adapt to the new changes within their world, even as this catastrophe changes everything they’ve ever known. 

For me, The Age of Miracles was a book that really made me think. I’ve read so many dystopian novels where war or an unknown virus is the catalyst for the end of the world that The Age of Miracles was a refreshing change. The concept Karen Thompson Walker explores in The Age of Miracles is something that could potentially be very true in today’s society. Now, I don’t want to give too much away, but the slowing of the Earth’s rotation has a really interesting effect on the environment our main character live in. It’s really amazing how subtle changes to the world can have such an impact; drastically changing our ability to survive the planet we inhabit. Over time these small changes develop and grow and it soon becomes clear in The Age of Miracles how effected the characters are going to be.

The Age of Miracles sees our main character exist in a world that is slowly becoming in-inhabitable. It’s really quite interesting seeing the characters and those around the world attempt to go on with their everyday lives in the midst of such a catastrophe. Life as we know it becomes pretty much impossible over time as the small changes people need to make to adapt become even larger and life threatening. 

Personally I liked our main character and thought Julia’s voice was an easy one to follow. At times I found her childish, but considering Julia is eleven when we first meet her, that is understandable. In a lot of ways she’s wiser than most people her age, but Walker’s ability to explore natural adolescence developments in the middle of this dying world is interesting to read about. 

As far as The Age of Miracles is concerned, if you’re looking for a novel with a big happy ending then this probably isn’t it. The Age of Miracles is instead an authentic look at what would happen during a catastrophe and the effect it would have on our lives. Honest, real and sometimes extremely saddening, The Age of Miracles is a lovely debut by Karen Thompson Walker that explores teenage development and what it means to be human in a very thoughtful and thought-provoking manner…..   

Rating:
Source: Sent for review by Simon & Schuster (Thanks guy!)
Format: Paperback
Buy it: Bookworld | The Nile | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Recommendation: If you want something a little deeper, then The Age of Miracles may be for you......
Cover: I think this is a simple but nice cover.
Will I read sequel/continue with series: This is a standalone novel.