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A.S. King is the author of the highly acclaimed Reality Boy; Ask the Passengers, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize winner; Everybody Sees the Ants; and the Edgar Award nominated, Michael L. Printz Honor book Please Ignore Vera Dietz. She is also the author of The Dust of 100 Dogs, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. When asked about her writing, King says, "Some people don't know if my characters are crazy or if they are experiencing something magical. I think that's an accurate description of how I feel every day." She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and children.
Glory O'Brien's History of the Future
by A. S. King
eBook
$8.99
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ISBN-13:
9780316222747
- Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: 10/14/2014
- Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
- Format: eBook
- File size: 2 MB
- Age Range: 14 - 17 Years
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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.
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The New York Times Book Review - Rick Yancey
…wickedly clever…King has written a genre-busting battlefield of a book, in which melodrama wars with magic realism and the banal duels with the Big Idea…In the finest absurdist tradition, King stirs dark comedy into the mayhem…Maybe there are writers more adept than King at capturing the outrageous and outraged voice of teenagers, but it's difficult to think of one. Her Glory is a wondrous creation, sarcastic, witty, sensitive, insightful, the kind of girl other girls (O.K., guys too) wish they were…From the Publisher
"Wickedly clever...a genre-busting battlefield of a book."—Bestselling author Rick Yancey for The New York Times* "This beautifully strange, entirely memorable book will stay with readers."—School Library Journal, starred review
*"Not only thoroughly original but also uniquely compelling and deeply memorable."—Horn Book, starred review
* "A novel full of provocative ideas and sharply observed thoughts about the pressures society places on teenagers, especially girls."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "An indictment of our times with a soupçon of magical realism.... Will inspire a new wave of activists."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "King performs an impressive balancing act here, juggling the magic realism of Glory's visions with her starkly realistic struggle.... [A] powerful, moving, and compellingly complex coming-of-age story."—Booklist, starred review
* "King continues to be one of the most original (yet accessible) YA writers today, and the magical realism element accentuates the humanity of the narrative."—The Bulletin, starred review
"This book reminds you to get scared. It reminds you that battles fought aren't always won, that history repeats itself, that what we take for granted can easily be dismantled."—"Birthday by Birthday, a Starter Library for Young Feminists" —BNTeenblog
"You won't be able to put down this futuristic story about a girl who starts having visions of both the past and the future-in which she sees an end to women's rights and a civil war between sexes."—Teen Vogue
"The characters will stay with readers long after they finish the novel....Highly recommended."—VOYA
"Glory is a wry, occasionally acerbic narrator, exhibiting the balance of truth-telling and blindness so common to smart teens. In trademark King style, the chapters alternate between daily life and troubled future, despair and humor, rage and acceptance."—Shelf Awareness
VOYA, December 2014 (Vol. 37, No. 5) - E.Frank
Seventeen-year-old Glory is about to graduate from high school. She has never been the “popular” type and has avoided most of her peers ever since her mother’s suicide when she was four. In this coming-of-age novel, Glory and her sometimes-best friend/sometimes only friend, Ellie, share the blood of a petrified bat and begin to see everyone’s past and future at the same time. Glory matures, and the world opens up to her, both literally and symbolically. She begins to see things apart from her past, and begins to have hope for the future, despite the dire predictions she sees for the world around her. King has written a teen novel that seems more like a warning for depressed parents in a troubled world. The characters will stay with readers long after they finish the novel, and the lessons and short dialogue produce many quotable life lessons. “Suicide isn’t something people do to hurt other people. It’s something people do to release themselves from pain.” “Everything we see is based on where we’re standing when we see it.” “Not living your life is just like killing yourself, only it takes longer.” Themes of suicide, depression, growing up, and growing apart are all handled seriously around the teen slang in the dialogue. It would be a great discussion starter for a parent/teen book group. This is highly recommended for the way suicide, sex and friendship are handled. Reviewer: E.Frank; Ages 15 to 18.Children's Literature - Amanda Huneke
High school graduation holds the promise of pursuing any future, but Glory O”Brien has never pictured a future for herself, even after receiving glimpses of what the future holds for everyone else? Glory is haunted daily by the suicide that cut her mother’s life short over a decade ago, and perhaps that’s why it’s hard to picture a future for herself—Glory fears she will reach the same fate. Or, maybe it’s because Glory has yet to meet Max Black (aka God). After drinking the remains of a petrified bat named Max Black, Glory and her best friend, Ellie, are finally able to glimpse the future. In fact, Glory can see everything. She sees the history of the world and the future for the world. Glory’s story leaves readers with the question of whether they would be brave enough to face the future if they feared they did not have one; or, more so, if they would have the courage to pursue a future in which they have already viewed all of the challenges it holds? The story’s title is incredibly fascinating and should intrigue readers; however, there are far too many unanswered how’s and why’s following the reading. The world King has created feels incomplete; readers will never really know how or why drinking bat remains gave Glory glimpses of the future. The story is also lacking character development, leading readers to care little about Ellie, Peter, or even Glory. There are many truly interesting moments, such as those that delve into the psyche of Glory’s deceased mother and her uncovered diary, but the story has far too many fragments that never quite piece together, leading the overall delivery feeling unfinished. Reviewer: Amanda Huneke; Ages 14 up.