Armageddon Summer [Hardcover]

Bruce Coville (Author), Jane Yolen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

The world will end on Thursday, July 27, 2000. At least, that's what Reverend Beelson has told his congregation. Marina's mom believes him. So does Jed's dad. That's why they drag Marina and Jed to join the reverend's flock at a mountain retreat. From the mountaintop they will all watch the Righteous Conflagration that will end this world--and then they will descend and begin the world anew. But this world has only just begun for Jed and Marina, two teenagers with more attitude than faith. Why should the world end now, when they've just fallen in love? Told in alternating chapters from both Jed's and Marina's points of view, this first-ever collaboration between two masters of children's literature is a story about faith and friendship, love and loss . . . and the things that matter most at the End of the World.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Armageddon Summer provides a front-row seat for the type of event most of us only witness on a TV screen. Reverend Raymond Beelson is gathering 144 "Believers" atop Mount Weeupcut in Massachusetts to camp out, pray, and await Armageddon--July 27, 2000--when he predicts that his faithful flock will be saved as the rest of the world is set ablaze in fire and brimstone. We experience the month leading up to this climax through the eyes of two teenagers who have never met before, Jed and Marina, each of whom have come to the compound out of a sense of responsibility toward their families. Young Jed is only on the mountain to watch over his father who "went a little crazy" after his wife left the family: "When my father told me that the world was going to end I figured he was making some sort of weird joke." Jed's sarcasm, humor, and flippancy toward the Believers does not erase the love he feels for his newly devout father, nor his capacity for empathy toward members of the congregation. Marina is a Believer, or so she tries to be, in the hope that somehow her faith will restore harmony to her family. She has traveled to the mountain with her younger brothers at her mother's fervent insistence, but her fear that her father will remain below with the rest of the nonbelievers to burn alive unnerves her.

Coauthors Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville artfully sculpt the alternating voices and perspectives of Marina and Jed, and readers will be swept up in the thoughts and emotions of these complex young people. The skillful writing raises this novel above others--these characters are immensely believable as they struggle with matters of family and faith, while maintaining a smart, convincingly adolescent outlook. Excerpts from sermons, FBI files, camp schedules, and e-mails keep the story lively and suspenseful, as the Believers begin to stockpile weapons and the media adds fuel to the flames. But perhaps more resonant than the apocalyptic ending are the careful, distinct portraits of the two teens, thrust into a frightening situation that shuttles them suddenly into adulthood. (Ages 12 to 16) --Brangien Davis

From Publishers Weekly

On the heels of Paula Danziger and Ann Martin's P.S. Longer Letter Later (Children's Forecasts, Feb. 16) comes another novel (on a very different subject) co-written by a pair of popular YA authors. The two alternating narrators, Marina and Jed, are both children of religious fanatics, so-called Believers who dedicate themselves to the Reverend Beelson. The Believers have brought their families to the top of a mountain to prepare for the end of the world, only two weeks away, according to Beelson. Marina and Jed are instantly attracted to each other, even though Marina believes the world really will end and Jed thinks the whole thing is a hoax. Their different points of view?and occasional interleaved "memos" from FBI agents, excerpts from sermons, etc.?yield a multidimensional description of cult dynamics and dangers. As Beelson predicts, there is a type of Armageddon on July 27, 2000 (Marina's 14th birthday), but, as Marina sadly concludes, it is one "made by man. Not by God." Yolen's and Coville's styles and narrative voices, though different, complement each other well, so that both protagonists emerge with the same depth and the action builds smoothly and steadily. Providing action, romance and a provocative message, this novel could well get teens talking. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1st edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152017674
• ISBN-13: 978-0152017675
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #815,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Armageddon Summer- a must read., April 9, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Armageddon Summer (Paperback)

Do you have that certain book you always check out from the library and re-read, just because it feels like an old friend, and you can't get enough of it?

That's Armageddon Summer for me.

This book follows the lives of two very different kids. Marina Marlow is a homeschooled girl who loves Emily Dickenson poems. Recently, her mom has decided to follow the beliefs of Reverend Beelson- and he says that the world will end on July twenty-seventh- and it will do so in fire. How convenient- right when Marina turns fourteen! Her mother drags Marina and her five brothers up to the mountain- the only place where God will spare people- and leave her dad to be "Fried". Marina is torn, and doesn't know what to believe.

Sixteen year old Jed is dragged up on the mountain too, but not by his mother. His mom ran off with a photographer to live in the mountains in Colorado, and he's stuck with his weepy dad, who turned to religion to cope with the devastating break up. He doesn't believe any of this crap, and has smuggled in a computer- which is against the rules.

This book details the experiences in each of their perspectives, and eventually they both notice each other. As the book progresses, they begin to know each other better.

Armageddon Summer is five stars for me- you should read it too!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Armageddon Summer, July 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Armageddon Summer (Hardcover)

This time the world will end in fire on July 27, 2000. That is what Reverend Raymond Beelson has told his 2 congregations of the Church of Believers. Reverend Beelson makes plans for 144, a number from scripture, Believers to escape the fire and brimstone destruction of the world. The Believers are led atop Mount Weeupcut in Massachusetts where they live by camping, pray and wait for the day of Armageddon. The days leading up to July 27 are shared with us through the alternating view point of Jed and Marina, who have never met before and came to the fortified mountain because of their families. However, the two teenagers find something compelling about each other as they struggle to find out what is going on in their lives. Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville have skillfully developed the characters of Jed and Marina in this novel. Read this book that explores the nature of faith, the dangers of cults, and relationships that are formed by friendship and love to see how Jed and Marina survive Armageddon Summer.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE END OF THE WORLD IS THURSDAY, JULY 27 2000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, November 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Armageddon Summer (Hardcover)

I've just completed reading this book! When I first read the plot, I was eager to go ahead and read the rest of the book. What an exciting plot! The story was told from two people's point of view in short, alternating chapters. That was my favorite element of the story. If you got bored of one person, the next person's story was only a page or two away. One was a 13 year old girl named Marina and the other a boy named Jed. The basic plot was that these kids' parents belonged to a new faith called the "Believers." The Believers believe that the world will END on July 27, 2000. Only a couple of weeks away! They believe that at the termination of the world, the earth will go up in flames and everything will burn and die. Everyone- except for the Believers- because they'll be safe on Mount Weeupcut. ONLY 144 Believers can be saved on the mountain...and their duty would be to save the earth when the fire was gone. While waiting for the end of the world, the Believers prepared for what was to happen. Armageddon Summer was a truly suspenseful novel. I was begging for the end the entire time, would the world actually end as the believers thought? Would everything burn up EXCEPT for the mountain they were on? Jed and Marina, the ones telling the story, had so much in common and had very similar reasons for "being" a Believer and for being on the mountain. The ending of the book, (which of course I wouldn't share with you!) was okay. It's hard to explain... it was predictable, yet I was suprised- and I was disappointed. I think there could have been a better ending,.. after all, that's the whole point of reading the whole rest of the book! With the year 2000 coming up in less than 2 months, there has been a lot of talk and controversy about the end of the world. A lot of faiths have said what needs to be done and when. This book compiles a lot of faiths and beliefs together to come up with some new faith- The Believers. This story was, for the most part, realalistic- and it could actually happen. So, here's a question- will the world really end? Find out when you read this book! :)