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    Coming of Age at the End of Days: A Novel
    Coming of Age at the End of Days: A Novel
    Coming of Age at the End of Days: A Novel
    Ebook334 pages6 hours

    Coming of Age at the End of Days: A Novel

    By Alice LaPlante

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    A girl is lured into fanaticism in this psychological thriller with “stunning twists”—by the New York Times–bestselling author of Turn of Mind (San Francisco Chronicle).
     
    Never one to conform, Anna always had trouble fitting in. Earnest and willful, she quickly learned, as a young girl, how to hide her quirks from her parents and friends. But at sixteen, a sudden melancholia takes hold of her life. Then the Goldschmidts move in next door.
     
    The new neighbors are active members of a religious cult, and Anna is awestruck by both their son, Lars, and their fervent violent prophecies for the Tribulation at the End of Days. Within months, Anna’s life—her family, her home, her very identity—will undergo profound changes. But when her newfound beliefs threaten to push her over the edge, she must find her way back to the center, in this “crisp meditation on the deadly mixture of mental illness and religious charlatanism” (San Francisco Chronicle).
     
    “LaPlante crafts prose that cuts to the quick and is the perfect vehicle for this dark tale. . . . A compelling read.” —The Seattle Times
     
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateAug 4, 2015
    ISBN9780802191342
    Coming of Age at the End of Days: A Novel
    Author

    Alice LaPlante

    Alice LaPlante is an award-winning writer whose bestselling books include Half Moon Bay, A Circle of Wives, Method and Madness—The Making of a Story, and the New York Times bestseller Turn of Mind. She taught creative writing at Stanford University where she was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and in the MFA program at San Francisco State University. She lives with her family in Mallorca, Spain.  

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    Reviews for Coming of Age at the End of Days

    3/5

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    • 2/5
      Anna is a depressed teenager living with her parents in a conventional California suburb. One day, she finds herself pulled out of her "melancholia" by meeting Lars, another teen who moves into her neighborhood, and his parents. Lars and his family introduce Anna to the world of his "church," which is more of religious cult that has a forceful prophecy about the upcoming end of days.

      As Anna becomes more and more drawn into this religious world, she finds herself beset by visions and otherwise withdrawing from life around her, including her parents, who are confused and upset by her religious fervor. Anna's only other real contacts are her neighbor, Jim, a mid-20-something who has returned home to live with his parents after a string of disgraces, and Jim's crush/sweetheart, Clara, who also teaches chemistry at Anna's high school.

      I'll be honest - I just didn't like this book. It wasn't what I was expecting from this author, or even the description of the novel. I loved LaPlante's "Turn of Mind," but this was nothing like that novel. The plot was odd, disjointed, and really seemed to make no sense. Anna is not a sympathetic character to me -- I completely empathized with her bewildered parents. There really seems to be no reason why Anna would become so drawn into this religion (which perhaps may be the point, but if so, it's not really made well). There are odd plot twists and turns that seem just to pop up out of nowhere, for no reason, including the oddly inserted ending and epilogue. Even's Anna's visions aren't really explained well.

      I don't know; I was disappointed by this read. Perhaps I just missed a greater point this book was trying to make, but it didn't do it for me.

      (Note I received an ARC of this book from Negalley in return for an unbiased review.)
    • 2/5
      I read Coming of Age at the End of Days because I thoroughly enjoyed Alice LaPlante's Turn of Mind, a nifty psychological thriller featuring that most unreliable of narrators, a woman suffering from Alzheimer's. What I expected from her latest novel was the same level of complexity in puzzle-solving (albeit not in the context of a murder mystery); what I got was a hot mess.LaPlante's teenage protagonist is certainly unpredictable: Is she depressed and suicidal (although she prefers the term "melancholy")? A religious visionary à la Joan of Arc? An epileptic? Whatever else she is, Anna is an unsympathetic character (as are both of her parents), whose mental health issues feel like an artificial construct imposed by LaPlante to give her the "tangled relationships" her publisher extols. None of the characters' actions are believable, and LaPlante conveniently glosses over the major issues she has created for them by fast-forwarding almost three years to an epilogue, which contains no explanation as to how those issues were resolved.From my two vastly different reading experiences, I have concluded that LaPlante's strength lies in her mystery plotting, not in emotional family sagas. Fortunately the remaining LaPlante novel, A Circle of Wives, appears to be a mystery as well, so I can still look forward to reading it. My advice is that others do the same, skipping Coming of Age at the End of Days as an anomaly (I hope) in LaPlante's oeuvre.I received a free copy of Coming of Age at the End of Days through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      A special thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. COMING OF AGE AT THE END OF DAYS by Alice LaPlante is a quirky dark look inside a troubled girl’s mind, spiraling out of control, and her search for a higher purpose and meaning— with a dystopian, apocalyptic twist, highly charged psychological suspense, and haunting exploration of family, cause, faith, and relationships. Following a desperate search for meaning in life, a depressed teenager turns to a doomsday cult for answers and support.Anna a teen, living in Sunnyvale, California in a sixties housing development subdivision, she is sixteen when the darkness descends. She has had hints it was coming with interludes of deep sadness over the past twelve months. Mourning, triggered by the smallest things. Depression. She feels her body is the true enemy. She is awaiting for the expiration date to be released from the pain.Her mom begins reading her the Bible (literature purposes), which once belonged to Anna’s grandmother, giving them some time together. Anna is fascinated. Dismayed as much by Anna’s fixation on death found in Revelation as by her depression, Anna’s parents and her therapist try to trace Anna’s current state back to its roots. She was a loner and had trouble sleeping. She never really fit in. She has a therapist, Dr. Cummings. They continue feeding her pills and she is terrified when her therapist mentions hooking her to a machine and shooting her with electricity. Her parents remove everything in her closet, and razors, afraid of suicide. She is in love with death. Her therapist tells her to go through the motions. Her mother enjoyed music and her dad loved charting and graphing geological seismic activity. They are running out of options to help their daughter. Have they already lost her?In February of Anna’s junior year of high school, the Goldschmidts move in next door, active members of a religious cult and there is Jim, as well and teachers in her life. Anna is drawn in by their prophecies and beliefs as well as their fifteen year old son, son, Lars. Anna and Lars are both outcasts at school. Anna is drawn to something and grabs hold and she is content hearing about the Tribulation. The earthquakes, the Antichrist, the evil, corrupt, the armies – exciting to her. The church members are stockpiling, goods, saving money, preparing for the end. After Anna begins dreaming of a cryptic Red Heifer, she is even more excited about the Rapture, and is no longer in her depressed stage. The religious community is a breath of fresh air for her, with her cold parents – offering her a real connection.Her parents are atheists, and liberal-minded, and have no clue how to handle their daughter’s new found obsession. She feels she is part of the prophecy. However her new beliefs may push her over the edge. However, she now has found a purpose, she is driven, and alive. An intimate story of destruction, loss, death, love, sacrifice, and renewal--a dark, and haunting exploration into complex relationships. Having read Alice LaPlante’s previous books, a gifted writer --deep and psychological. Even though the book was dark and deals with religious cults, many young teens are drawn to a cause, and can get caught up and mislead in dangerous ways. Even adults have a purpose as the mother loved music and the dad science--Anna needed a connection. I did not enjoy this topic as much as LaPlante's other books; however, Anna’s character was well-developed, as we get to experience her journey. A thought-provoking and entertaining novel, and an ideal choice for book clubs or discussions with a variety of perspectives. May also have a strong appeal for the YA audience. Turn of Mind Circle of Wives

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    Coming of Age at the End of Days - Alice LaPlante

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