The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. Random
House, New York City, 2012. ISBN: 978-0812982947
Summary
Before her life changed on a Saturday, Julia was just a normal middle school girl: playing soccer, having
sleepovers with her friends, and crushing on boys. But this was before the slowing
of the Earth’s rotation, where the first days had an extra hour in them. During the first days, Julia’s parents,
teachers, and even world famous scientists and the President speculate about
what caused the change and what could happen.
The only conclusion that everyone
has is that their lives are slowing down, throwing the world into chaos. Julia now eats breakfast and leaves for school
while it’s still pitch dark out. The sun takes hours to rise, even from one
side of the street to the other. Animals
are acting strange, there’s more hours of sunlight in October then in summer,
and the change in gravity has affected both pro athletes and Julia’s own soccer
team.
As the world outside changes, so is
Julia’s home life. Her parents are fighting more, her friends are moving away
to find a better place to live, and she starts to fall for Seth, one of her
classmates. While everyone else is
preparing for the end, Julia is just trying to live for now and to be a teen
before the world as she knows is it over.
Critical Evaluation
The pace in The Age of Miracles is
slow and haunting. It isn’t like typical
‘end of the world’ books where action, mayhem and chaos reign throughout the
pages.
The characters, even Julia and her young friends, soon realize that
their lives will be different from now on, but this doesn't necessarily mean the end.
Walker’s decision to write in the
point of view of a young teenage girl is a smart choice. Julia has the added
pressure of trying to be a normal teen, all while dealing with the changes and
terrors of the physically changing world. Julia deals with normal teenage woes such as
her parents fighting, losing touch with friends, and her first love, while also
dealing with food shortages, power outages, and the dangerous heat of the
changing sun. While Julie does dwell in her teenage longings and fears, she
also has an honest, mature perspective of the world she now lives in. She
realizes the world could end the very next day, meaning she can’t focus on what
high school or driving will be like: she has to live in the here and now.
While the book is originally
written for adults, older teens would appreciate this book. Julia is a mature, introspective narrator who is
wise beyond her years. The plot is interesting and adds to the character-driven
style of this novel. Overall, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful and lyrical read that will stick with its
audience
Reader’s Annotation
As the Earth’s rotation slows and
the world slowly changes, Julia is caught between being a normal teen and
preparing for the end of the world.
About the Author
“Karen
Thompson Walker was born and raised in San Diego, California, where The Age of
Miracles is set. She studied English and creative writing at UCLA, where
she wrote for the UCLA Daily Bruin. After college, she worked as a newspaper
reporter in the San Diego area before moving to New York City to attend the
Columbia University MFA program.
A former
book editor at Simon & Schuster, she wrote The Age of Miracles in
the mornings before work—sometimes while riding the subway. She is the
recipient of the 2011 Sirenland Fellowship as well as a Bomb Magazine fiction
prize. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband.”
(About the
Author. Retrieved November 3rd, 2014 from
http://www.theageofmiraclesbook.com/author/)
Genres
Contemporary
Coming of
Age
Adult
Crossover
Curriculum Ties
Earth Science
English
Booktalking Ideas
1: How is the book different from other ‘end of the world’
titles?
2: How would you live in a world similar to “The Age of
Miracles?”
Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 15+
Grades 8+
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why included?
I included The Age of Miracles for its crossover
appeal, lyrical and haunting prose, and Julia’s mature narrative.
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