Friday 5 July 2013

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Date Finished: 27 August 2012

Rating: 5*


Read the Goodreads description here 


This book is beautiful. 

People have often recommended futuristic books to me that have bored me to death and made me wish I had never even looked at the cover, which explains why I was hesitant to try this one. Looking only at the cover and blurb, one would think that The Age of miracles is yet another boring book warning humankind about the consequences of our actions. It isn't, nor will it ever be classified in my mind again as "just another book".

The Age of Miracles (as I'm sure you have gathered by reading the blurb, which you should have done by now, as well as wonder why you aren't reading it yet) is a story about the year in which the Earth starts to slow down; as in, the days get longer because the Earth is spinning slower. The main Character, Julia, is 11 years old and therefore already going through a very hectic transition from being a child to becoming a teen. The book mainly focuses on the ways that the slowing of the earth has impacted on her life and how she deals with it. Friendships are made and lost, crushes are developed and enemies are made, and Julia begins to question everything that is happening around her. 

Although this book is completely fiction, it does open your eyes to the consequences of our actions towards the Earth. Although we have everything that we need now, what will we do when all of a sudden the birds start to die, or all the whales beach themselve, putting the balance of the environment in danger? When it becomes clear that our chance for survival is on the line, will we finally begin to care and act? The sad thing is that by then it will already be too late and we will have no choice but to live in either fear or denial, like the people of Julia's world. 

The Age of Miracles is a beautifully written book. To those of you who haven't yet read it, I suggest you do so.

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