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The Age of Miracles  By  cover art

The Age of Miracles

By: Karen Walker
Narrated by: Emily Janice Card
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Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Science Fiction, 2013

With a voice as distinctive and original as that of The Lovely Bones, and for the fans of the speculative fiction of Margaret Atwood, Karen Thompson Walker's The Age of Miracles is a luminous, haunting, and unforgettable debut novel about coming of age set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world. "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.

©2012 Karen Thompson Walker (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Advance praise for The Age of Miracles
: "[A] gripping debut....Thompson's Julia is the perfect narrator...While the apocalypse looms large-has in fact already arrived-the narrative remains fiercely grounded in the surreal and horrifying day-to-day and the personal decisions that persist even though no one knows what to do. A triumph of vision, language, and terrifying momentum, the story also feels eerily plausible, as if the problems we've been worrying about all along pale in comparison to what might actually bring our end."( Publishers Weekly)
"In Walker's stunning debut, a young California girl coming of age in a dystopian near future confronts the inevitability of change on the most personal level as life on earth withers. She goes through the trials and joys of first love. She begins to see cracks in her parent's marriage and must navigate the currents of loyalty and moral uncertainty. She faces sickness and death of loved ones. ...Julia's life is shaped by what happens in the larger world, but it is the only life she knows, and Walker captures each moment, intimate and universal, with magical precision. Riveting, heartbreaking, profoundly moving. ( Kirkus Reviews)
"What a remarkable and beautifully wrought novel. In its depiction of a world at once utterly like and unlike our own, The Age of Miracles is so convincingly unsettling that it just might make you stockpile emergency supplies of batteries and bottled water. It also - thank goodness - provides great solace with its wisdom, its compassion, and the elegance of its storytelling." (Curtis Sittenfeld, author of Prep)

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What listeners say about The Age of Miracles

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    3 out of 5 stars

Not as advertised. No fun and nothing but sadness.

What would have made The Age of Miracles better?

This is really a coming of age story written through the eyes of an 11 year old girl. Full of teen angst. It just happens to be in the setting of a dying world. It's full of progressive sadness and then the world ends. Nothing likable about the story other than sorrow. Who likes 9 hours of sorrow?

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The changes described in the earth are interesting if not superficial. I didn't really expect a detailed story of teenage embarrassment and pre-teen uncertainty with boyfriends and friendships.

What does Emily Janice Card bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her reading of this is done well and the narrator comes across as believable.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Age of Miracles?

The scene near the beginning at the bus stop involving the bullying and wearing a bra was uneccesary and set the tone of sadness that never really ends. I wish there was something likable about someone in the book.

Any additional comments?

The description is misleading. It's not really science fiction. It's a teen angst story set in science fiction background. There's never a hope of escape or resolution.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Speechless

This book was absolutely amazing. I would recommend it to people of any ages. It has a lot of detailed descriptions of everything that is going on. All in all this book is amazing and I recommend it to people of all ages. An amazing book! Once you pick it up and start reading you can't stop!!!!!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Visual mental escape

I most enjoyed was how descriptive the author was, providing a mental movie yielding hours of escape! A surprising element, although SciFi topic was an intermingled "coming of age" story. The premise of this happening was portrayed frighteningly plausible.

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awesome book with a bit of a love story

This is an awesome book. It kept me wanting the next chapter, edge of my seat. Kept me awake for my long daily drive.

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Age of Miracles

pretty cool must pay attention to understand the whole story it's very interesting how this all happens while the earth stays on its designated path. I liked it was coming from an 11 year old girl as she grew up. The narrator did a wonderful job keeping me involved.

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Thought provoking Sci Fi

Beautifully written sci fi novel with great foreshadowing.sensitive portrayal coming of age love story. Makes you think about whats really important and what we should not take for granted on this beautiful planet earth.

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  • CC
  • 01-30-14

Compelling story line

Wonderfully fresh story line -- I was compelled to see how the author would end it. Really interesting to hear how things are impacted as the world slows down. Some slow (pardon the pun) spots, but really clever. Glad I read it...Now she's got me thinking about global warming...

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    4 out of 5 stars

Coming of age in the end of ages (maybe)

Talk about added pressure... a girl coming of age when the world could be ending!

A beautifully written book that captures the fears, uncertainties and angst of a girl growing up; in the same time dealing with all the same emotions about the fate of the Earth. The pose and pacing has a certain melancholy that captures the moment... And I find it draws me to continue on.

The book is not without its weakness though. For one, the plot is weak and the science even weaker. But then, one should not be reading this for the plot; nor for a well researched science fiction. That would be missing the point in my view. In the end the book should be enjoyed as a journey about growing up with Julia while the world maybe ending.

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Love her voice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

The narration was top notch and a unique story as a back drop.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Age of Miracles?

The description of what happens as the earths rotation slows had my imagination flowing.

Which character – as performed by Emily Janice Card – was your favorite?

The main character.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting melding

What made the experience of listening to The Age of Miracles the most enjoyable?

Melding the young girl's experience growing up with the dramatic changes happening in the world held my attention and interest.

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