A review by reading_rainbow_with_chris
A Children's Bible, by Lydia Millet

adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 
“A Children’s Bible” by Lydia Millet
A group of children and teenagers are frustrated by their parents, holed up in a shared vacation home where the parents act without care or responsibility. When a hurricane sweeps through and begins what appears to be the end of the world, the children take fate into their own hands guided by the prophecies of a child’s bible. I deeply enjoyed Millet’s writing style, especially the mostly consistent use of “we” and “they” as the primary pronouns. Although the narrative is from one teen’s point of view, the use of the collective reframes the story as a community narrative. I will admit that for the me the narrative point about the irresponsibility of past generations was a bit heavy handed at points, but I still felt that there were enough surprises in the story that I remained engaged despite catching the theme very early on. I listened to the audiobook and was compelled to keep listening, but the style of the book was such that I expect I would have been absolutely riveted reading it as well. I strongly recommend this novel. 

 
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