The Center of Everything

By: Laura Moriarty

Narrated by: Julie Dretzin

A remarkable debut that has been called a hybrid of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Myla Goldberg’s Bee Season, The Center of Everything is the fictional story of 10-year-old math prodigy Evelyn Bucknow. Living in Kansas with her single mother and deeply religious grandmother, Evelyn believes she is destined to marry Travis, the boy next door. But as she grows up, she experiences the heartbreak of a love not meant to be. Author Laura Moriarty was a recipient of the George Bennet Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy.

©2003 Laura Moriarty (P)2003 Recorded Books

Unique and lovely

The magic of this story caught me by surprise, a coming of age story about a child of the 80’s, only a bit younger than myself, there were plenty of moments of nostalgia for me. The narration is SUPERB. I gave 4stars for the ending which I didn’t love.

Disappointing

Ending was awful. No closure on characters or plot. Would not recommend to others to read.

Great...until the non end.

Very good read. Very interesting and captivating....until it literally just stopped. I can't even say it "ended", it just stopped. So many things were just starting and nothing was resolved. Very disappointed.

It's real. And sad.

When I say, "It's real," what I mean is that this book seems like it can almost be a true account of someone's life. The characters are relatable, the events seem probable, and the emotions seem logical for given situations. The cover of the book in my kindle is a girl smiling in the grass. There is a scene that takes place in the grass in the book... but the girl in that scene is definitely not smiling. It's so real, and so very melancholy. The reader is left perpetually feeling sad for EVERY SINGLE MAIN CHARACTER. Without exception. Every character seems like they are living out some form of tragedy that's all their own. I guess that's the case with real life as well. If you're looking to read a book as a form of happy escapism, this is not for you. It's real. It's sad. And it will make you feel bad due to the unfairness each character faces throughout the work. I'm just saying the highs weren't very high, and the lows were SUPER low. It's worth the read, but the story rarely made me happy. That's why I gave it four stars. I would still recommend it though. The writing was superb. And Moriarty is clearly a master at the craft. I regret feeling the need to take off a star because how the work made me feel, but there it is.

What the heck

The store ended right in the middle of nothing. Nothing resolved. We don’t find out what happens to anyone.