Hello Everyone:
Summary: In this masterpiece about freedom, feminism, and destiny, Printz Honor author A.S. King tells the epic story of a girl coping with devastating loss at long last--a girl who has no idea that the future needs her, and that the present needs her even more. Graduating from high school is a time of limitless possibilities--but not for Glory, who has no plan for what's next. Her mother committed suicide when Glory was only four years old, and she's never stopped wondering if she will eventually go the same way...until a transformative night when she begins to experience an astonishing new power to see a person's infinite past and future. From ancient ancestors to many generations forward, Glory is bombarded with visions--and what she sees ahead of her is terrifying: A tyrannical new leader raises an army. Women's rights disappear. A violent second civil war breaks out. And young girls vanish daily, sold off or interned in camps. Glory makes it her mission to record everything she sees, hoping her notes will somehow make a difference. She may not see a future for herself, but she'll do anything to make sure this one doesn't come to pass.
Overview (Non-Spolier)
I really loved this work. I will have to say that it is weird, so if you aren’t really into a more abstract or weird premise, then I don’t know if I would suggest this to you. The whole way that Glory gets her “powers” is such an interesting premise and it make for a wonderful read. The story bases itself over three major arcs: Glory’s mom’s suicide, Glory’s getting and dealing with her “powers” and graduating. Normally, I really don’t like books that use graduation as a base for a book. It usually is super cheesy and doesn’t give me deep feels but this story really isn’t about graduation, though it is based around it. It is more about Glory trying to figure out what she wants to do with herself and making sure that she doesn’t end up like her mom. Trigger warning, however, for mature content, suicide, parent death, and some questions about God (not necessarily religion). Glory’s character has a way off offhandedly referring to her mother’s suicide, almost like she is disconnected from the event, even though the reader understands that she really cares about her mom and her dad, that is still dealing with the events of the suicide. Overall, this is a wonderful addition to A.S.King’s collection. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
***Spoliers***
I really loved this! The storyline dealt with a lot and it was executed very well, in my opinion. The work does have a substantial amount of mature content though, which I was not exactly expecting. Ellie was obsessed with sex, and I felt sorry for her a good chunk of the time. And Glory’s mother and her scrapbook was particularly intense. When A.S.King wrote all about the guy who shot himself, I had to cringe a little. Not in a bad way, because, if I found that I would just stare at if for a while, but it was super intense. I really loved the premise and how weird it was. I mean the whole bat story was wonderful and weird at the same time, with a touch of magical realism, which made for a fantastic read. The future that Glory saw was rather intense too, and while, at times, I had a hard time believing that the leader would really call himself Nedrick the Sanctimonious, and I also know that the Constitution currently has laws to prevent a whole group to be prevented from working, it seemed so real. I mean, I can totally see the future going down starting at women getting the same pay as men. Look how many freaked out over Emma Watson’s HeforShe speech!
What I liked:
-Glory (for the most part) She was real. She tried to keep Ellie together when she was panicking, but was really freaking out on the inside herself. She showed that she was scared but made it clear that she felt it was her responsibility to have a future, and also make sure the people around her had one too. From her father to Ellie, she wanted herself and those around her to survive. She didn’t want to become her mother. She wanted to make sure that while her mother was wrapped up in all the bad, and all that we couldn’t do or had the potential to mess up, she was focused on how much good we had the same potential to do.
-The Bat Storyline!
-Everyone that she met at the mall! They were all wonderful and you just wanted to spend more time with them. I also loved how, even though there was a sort of love story, it wasn’t just worked in willy nilly. I also loved how you saw what happened to all the characters, for the most part. There was also a certain amount that wasn’t told, and that made it even more intense.
-The History of the Future
What I didn’t like:
-Glory and Ellie’s relationship closer to the middle of the end. Glory couldn’t see, for a while, why Ellie was doing what she was doing. She wasn’t doing it to be a slut,she just hadn’t developed. She was trying to be strong. And she wasn’t. Later on in the book, it wasn’t as big and when Ellie went on to be better, with the help of Glory, I feel like there was a pretty universal act of forgiveness that occurred.
-The way Glory talked about her mom’s suicide (sometimes.) There were sometimes where she would talk about it so off handedly that it would come off super insensitive, which I understand as a coping mechanism but it was still pretty rough to read.
-The religious component. Sometimes it just wasn’t necessary. The Catholic thing with her aunt was proposed and not really moved on. However, I do believe that the discussion of God, and Glory trying to get closer to Him, and somehow getting closer to understanding her mom was real and necessary. (Context: I am a Christian, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. That is why God is capitalized and so is Him.)
Overall, I think that this is one that is going to have a certain hit or miss quality to it. But for me, it was most definitely a hit, and I feel like I am going to have to give it a re-read eventually. There was a lot here.
Rating:
5 Stars
93%
-Jaime