Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King

Glory O'Brien is on the doorstep of graduation.  Standing in the way of her moving on to a 'normal' life is a devastating loss from her past and the great unknown of what her future will be.  To compound Glory's struggle is an event that gives her the power to glimpse into the past and future of those around her, while at the same time clouding her understanding of her own.  A unique coming of age story that finds the reader contemplating whether fate exists or not. 


I found the character of Glory O'Brien to be relatable, with her disdain for society's expectations of girls/women, but I also found the story line sometimes overly detailed. There was some degree of predictability to the story as well, but I guess that is part of the experience of reading, that as a reader I try to predict what will happen and when it does, I'm either glad that I was correct, or disappointed that the author didn't surprise me with more twists.  I can understand why this book is getting good critical reviews for the ability of the author to move several pieces of a story line along by alternating between realism and fantasy.



1 comment:

  1. This is the first book for the Smackdown that I have read, and I enjoyed it and thought it was well-written. As an English teacher, I appreciated the subtle (well, a teenager might think it is subtle) symbolism throughout the book, such as the imagery of a train speeding down the track, out of control. ("Instead of sticking their head out the window and saying 'Whee!' some sit inside the train, scared stiff.")

    There was quite a bit of swearing, which I would have toned down a bit if I were the author, but I suppose that (judging by the language I hear in the hallways, unfortunately!) teens today don't have the same attitude toward profanity that someone of my generation has.

    Glory's relationship with her best friend/not a friend at all, Ellie, is interesting. (Is it better to have a friend like Ellie or have no friend at all?)

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