Singularity [Paperback]

William Sleator (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Sixteen-year-old twins Harry and Barry Krasner stumble across a gateway to another universe, where a distortion in time and space causes a dramatic change in their competitive relationship. Reissue. K. AB.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (December 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140375988
• ISBN-13: 978-0140375985
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #191,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Horror

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's face it..., December 6, 2004

By 

Jeffrey Williams (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Singularity (Paperback)

Lets face it. Sleator has made a lot of garbage lately. His best books were made in his prime, which ended maybe 7-8 years ago, and include: Others See Us, Oddballs, House of Stairs, Interstellar Pig, The Green Futures of Tycho and, of course, Singularity. In these books he treated the audience intelligently and dealt with science fiction problems in new ways, while keeping the reader sympathizing with the main character.

I'll summarize the plot quickly. Barry and Harry are twins, but Barry is strong and popular, and he bullies Harry, who is weak. Harry, eventually getting fed up, locks himself inside a room that holds a singularity, where time flies inside the room while time slows to a crawl outside. He keeps himself in the room for a year while a night passes on the outside world.

The best part of Singularity was not the psychological rivalry between the twins, but how Harry managed to keep himself sane through a regimented routine of diet, exercise, meditation and reading. I found it very interesting how someone could find inner peace, and grow up to be a man, through such a regimented, solitary program.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 8 Years Later and I'm Still Entertained, December 1, 2005

By 

Jessica N. Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Singularity (Paperback)

Singularity was my favorite book in middle school. I just read it again for a class in college and I still really enjoy it! Below is a review that I wrote for my class about Singularity that may be helpful. **Just a warning - it gives away the ending!
William Sleator writes of Harry and Barry Krasner, twin brothers who could not be more opposite. Harry, the narrator of the story, is the scientific, mathematical, timid brother, while Barry is athletic, out-going, and domineering. When the two are sent to their late great uncle Ambrose's farm to house-sit, they come across a very strange playhouse in the backyard. The brothers find out from Lucy, an attractive female neighbor, that the Krasner's Uncle Ambrose was a very creepy man who could make his neighbor's cows dry up and grow feeble over night.
As a team, Harry, Barry, and Lucy find the keys for the playhouse and being exploring. They soon find that time goes faster within the house, and that there is a portal to another universe that they can see reflected in water in the playhouse's sink. From the portal, strange things arrive such as a small blinking device that Harry realizes must be a clock for another life form. Other things also arrive like a green hairball and a purple furry fruit peel, but the three truly begin to worry when they see a large set of jaws coming through the portal. However, by now, they realize that it will take many days for it to arrive in their world.
In the meantime, Harry and Barry's relationship grows increasingly competitive, and Harry begins to worry that Barry will go into the playhouse at night and stay in there until he ages enough that they are no longer twins. Harry, who's character by now is getting a little annoying because he is so whiny and insecure, does something startling to both the reader, himself, and, later, Barry: Harry goes into the playhouse. He spends a year in "playhouse time" within the confines of the little shed, but in real time it is only a few hours. During this time, Harry develops a regimented schedule to keep himself from going crazy. This part is more interesting than one would expect. Through journal entries, Harry shares his deepest concerns and theories about his brother, the monster coming through the portal, and about life in general. As Harry ages, he truly becomes more wise and confident in himself, and this mini bildungs roman is exciting to view, as a reader, in such a short time.
When the playhouse year is finally over, Harry confronts his brother, which is actually only the next morning. Barry's reaction is satisfying for both Harry and the reader. Unlike many readers might expect, however, the brothers actually get along better when Harry is a year older. Sleator does a good job of emphasizing that Barry's new behavior is not just because Harry is now the older brother, but also because Harry has more confidence in himself and is more controlled in his reactions toward his brother.
That same morning, the monster arrives. As soon as Harry opens the door to the playhouse, the monster violently jumps out, destroying the playhouse and the portal, and consumes itself. Harry explains to Barry and Lucy that it was probably a robot sent to destroy the portal on purpose because it was a danger or an annoyance to have an exposed portal to another universe. Older readers may connect the end of the playhouse's power to the end of Harry's childhood, however, even if they do not fully understand the deeper intentions of this story, it is still an exciting sci-fi journey for readers ages 12 and up.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The sci-fi is just icing on the cake, August 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Singularity (Paperback)

The last time I read this book was probably about 10 years ago, and plausible or not, the sci-fi time warp aspect of it is not what has stuck with me all these years. What I remember most (and loved best) was the development of the relationship between the brothers and how the picked-on brother became a mature, thoughtful human being through self-discipline, meditation, physical strengthening and intense study. It was a wonderful message about what is possible for the dedicated under-dog, and how very simple and accessible the tools for self-improvement are.