Glory O'Brien's History of the Future By A.S. King Source Received from the publisher at BEA
Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on October 14, 2014
Received from the publisher at BEA in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Rating:
Cover image and summary from Goodreads:
Would you try to change the world if you thought it had no future?
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 everything in her power to make sure this one doesn’t come to pass.
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.
I wasn’t totally sure what to expect from this book, but I was definitely intrigued by its premise. I read and loved A.S. King’s Please Ignore Vera Dietz a while back and I knew this was one book I was very eager to get at BEA when I went in May. The line to meet A.S. King and get a signed ARC of this book was probably the biggest line I experienced at BEA. Everyone was excited about Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future!
This is not an easy book to review. It’s also not an easy book to explain. Things happen, but it also feels like nothing much happens.
The story felt much more character focused, versus plot, and I really liked this book. I was fascinated by the future civil war, I loved that Glory was a feminist and not afraid to say it, and I loved the writing. Sometimes the book felt a little slow, though.
While the book wasn’t perfect for me, it was overall pretty great, and one that I definitely recommend!
