Glory is going to graduate from high school. Her best friend, Ellie, isn't because she's home schooled by her mother at the commune right across the street from Glory's house.
Glory lives with her father. They have some issues. Her mother committed suicide by putting her head in the oven when Glory was four years old. Her dad quit painting after that and also got rid of the oven. They only have a microwave, and they don't speak of Glory's mother.
Glory and Ellie found a dead bat that they put in a jar a couple of years ago. Ellie's mother finds the jar in a shed, and shakes it until the bat literally becomes powder. Glory and Ellie are staring at the stars one night, drinking beer, and they decide to pour the powder in their beer and drink it.
After they drink the bat, they can see things about people when they make eye contact. Sometimes it's things about the person's past. Sometimes it's the future. Glory seems to see bad things, but the things Ellie sees are fun and happy.
Glory begins to urge her dad to talk about her mom, and she finds some old scrapbooks of her mother's. Glory loves photography, just like her mom, but she can't figure out what to do with her life. She feels doomed to repeat what her mother did. No one talks about her mom, so she doesn't know if they are alike or not.
That's a pretty convoluted and non-detailed description that doesn't sound like much. I just can't go into every detail that makes Glory O'Brien's History of the Future special--there are too many of them. But the book is very emotional and dramatic. There are many side stories that contribute to Glory's trying to find her way. Suffice it to say, if you have read A. S. King before, you will want to read Glory O'Brien's History of the Future. If you haven't, this is as good a place to start as any. If you've read Ask the Passengers (probably my favorite one) this book has the same feelings and emotions as that one. And, Gerald, the main character from Reality Boy, gets a mention.
What a talented author. King will always be one of my favorites, and I'll make sure to read anything she writes. I love putting her books in the hands of my teens. You should try it.
Published by Little, Brown BFYR (October 14, 2014)
eARCobtained from Edelweiss
320 pages
Rating: 5/5
Hm, I might give this one a try. I've only read Reality Boy by A.S. King and it didn't end up working for me. I guess I didn't connect to Gerald and the story was a little too miserable. Still, this one sounds even more quirky and hopefully more dramatic than Reality Boy? Idk...
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I like how King's books are all so different. I'm looking forward to picking this one up.
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