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Life: An Exploded Diagram Hardcover – October 11, 2011

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Mal Peet (Author)
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Mal Peet (Author)
4 out of 5 stars 16 customer reviews
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100 Young Adult Books to Read in a Lifetime
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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Candlewick; 1 edition (October 11, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 076365227X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0763652272
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.3 x 8.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #837,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Shining Five out of Five Stars!
By Young Mensan BookParade on March 2, 2012
Format: Hardcover
Mal Pete's "Life: an Exploded Diagram" is an outstanding example of what truly astounding literature should be. The storyline of this novel explains the remarkably realistic recounting of the life of Clem Ackroyd and his family's history. The story unfolds by describing the trials and tribulations of Win Little and her daughter Ruth Little as they live in the quite British town of Borstead Norfolk.

The story smoothly progresses into the main plot, which is the account of Clem Ackryod's life. Clem's lifetime is filled with as many twists and turns as that of a babbling brook flowing down a rocky mountain. His tale is filled with love and joy, but also with loss and grief. The narrative of Clem's lifetime is helplessly knotted with that of president John F. Kennedy and his battle with the Russians during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Mal Pete's style of writing features incredibly well written prose that often had an almost poetic ring to it. Along the course of the novel, Pete often goes off on historical tangents that boost the appeal of the book overall, while still retaining the flow of the story. The first thirty pages of the book are a little dry, but you just have to keep with it because it's really an amazing read.

In addition to having an amazingly good plot, this novel also teaches the reader a few good life-altering lessons. Though, unlike the lessons of other books like The Giving Tree where the didactic messages are apparent, the lessons in this book are more secretive. One of the lessons is that you should always remember the unpredictability of life, because you never know what might happen. The book likewise explains the reality of how people and their views change over their lifetimes.Read more ›
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3.0 out of 5 starsLovely Book - But NOT "Young Adult" or "Teen"
By M. Lee on August 6, 2012
Format: Hardcover
This was a very strange book. Actually, no. This was a beautifully written, sharply ironic and deeply moving book - except I don't understand why it is being marketed as "Young Adult." This is the point at which I usually write "As a mother of a 13-year-old daughter who screens everything she reads ... ", and I admit that I picked up "Life: An Exploded Diagram" because Mal Peet's previous work has been so highly lauded. Also, as another reviewer mentioned, the story is set primarily against the Cuban Missile Crisis, and that is an event of some historical significance, and I was curious to see how a coming-of-age love story would work in that setting.

By page 2, however, it was quite clear to me that this book would be better grouped with others by Charles Gidley, David Nicholls - even Gabriel Garcia Marquez. With quotes from "Lady Chatterley's Lover" by D.H. Lawrence and Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress", it's certainly no Stephanie Meyer (I am no fan of "Twilight"), Alison Noel or even Robert Cormier.

I'm guessing the reason for the book being thus marketed is the current temperature of the Young Adult reading market. Many adults are finding stronger appeal in the YA market, so, yeah, why not - just slap the label "YA" on a book, and you'd get middle schoolers, high schoolers, college and post-college readership.

My gripe is that no, this book is not suitable for middle schoolers or even high schoolers. This is not a "Teen" book. I can't imagine it to be of any appeal other than maybe "forbidden fruit" unless the reader is at least in his / her twenties - even though, yes, I see there is a 15-year-old reviewer here. There are more pages (300 or thereabouts out of 385) devoted to the romance between Ruth and George than Clem and Frankie's story.Read more ›
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4.0 out of 5 starsFrom WWII to 9/11
By R. Kyle VINE VOICE on November 30, 2011
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
I loved "Tamar," so picking up "Life: An Exploded Diagram" was pretty much a no-brainer. Mal Peet's got a gift for characters and describing social situations that few contemporary authors can equal. Peet's got a wicked dry sense of humor as well.

"Life: An Exploded Diagram" spans almost sixty years, from the beginning in World War II where the protagonist, Clem Ackroyd, is born during a Nazi bombing, to the ironic end where Clem and his longtime lover meet in Manhattan on 9/11/2001.

Clem's a bright enough and artistically skilled youth to test into a scholarship for a school where only the wealthy and privileged may attend. There, he meets Francoise, the love of his life and nowhere near his social equal since his father works as a mechanic for Francoise's father.

Nevertheless, we travel through from World War II with a hair-raising stop at the Cuban Missile Crisis and on to 9/11 with the pair. The story's intense, full of some of both Britain's and the UK's history and society. Characters are beautifully drawn and events are often page-turners.

This is not a book you'd take to the beach or even to your bed for some pre-sleep reading. You'll want to think this one over and even re-read a few passages.

Rebecca Kyle, November 2011
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3.0 out of 5 starsBeautiful prose, but just not that compelling.
By J.Prather TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on December 13, 2011
Format: Hardcover Vine Customer Review of Free Product ( What's this? )
As a fan of YA fiction, historical fiction and literary fiction, my expectations for this book were quite high. This book has been billed as a combination of all three of those genres, and has enough starred reviews to fill the night sky. Unfortunately, it never took off for me. I found the characters to be less than compelling, and the author's mode of storytelling to be rather off-putting. This book is much more sophisticated than the usual YA novel, and in fact I really don't understand why they are calling it one. It is more of a multi generational family novel set against the events occurring from World War II through 9/11.

While the prose is often poetic, and provides many keen observations into the very nature of war and peace, it just wasn't compelling. One of my favorite passages in this book occurs pretty close to the end when our narrator states that "History is the heavy traffic that prevents us from crossing the road. We're not especially interested in what it consists of. We wait, more or less patiently, for it to pause, so that we can get to the liquor store or the laundromat or the burger bar". That is great stuff and in a way sums up my feelings about this book. The history got in the way of the love story, and the love story got in the way of the history. The story and the history never seemed to mesh for me. The pacing was odd, with historical interludes that were meant to enhance the story often killing off the momentum. This was not a book that I ever had an urge to continue reading, forcing myself to follow it through to the end.

The love story often seemed more of a lust story, with the reader given few clues to the character's actual emotions.Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starswonderful evocative tale conjuring up the times

Great story of a Norfolk dumpling who does well

Published 11 months ago by cliff farthing
5.0 out of 5 starsTerrific mix of history and family saga

I really enjoyed this book a lot. The story is wonderful, the characters interesting and the writing great. Read more

Published 12 months ago by jazzycar
5.0 out of 5 starsA wild ride

Reading this book was like being in a car with a boy you didn't know on a dark and winding road. Eventually you start to trust him, but you are just not sure you really should. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Maddalena
3.0 out of 5 starsLife an exploded diagram

a little too jumpy from one scenario to another. would have liked more consistency. more detail in Clem's life not Cuban missile crisis.

Published 22 months ago by Robert John
3.0 out of 5 starsThis book had started out fantastic.

This book had started out fantastic. Clem’s ancestry, and indirectly Frankie’s, was captivating. Their, Clem’s Grandparents and parents, story alone could have made an excellent... Read more

Published on March 24, 2014 by Team LitPick
5.0 out of 5 starsMy son absolutely loved this book

After a slow start my son was engrossed. He told me its the best book he has ever read and he has not stopped talking about it. Read more

Published on February 21, 2013 by Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 starsNOT FOR KIDS

An extremely good book, very interesting, but as per the reivew title not for kids. There are some parts that may be innapropiate for the younger crowd

Published on February 5, 2013 by RT
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat book!

This book...was nothing like I expected. To be fair, I didn't really have any idea what it was when I started it, but still it was a surprise. It was also very very good. Read more

Published on September 24, 2012 by Samantha Boyette
3.0 out of 5 starsExcellent writing, but easy to put down

This book came to me after sitting on my "to be read shelf" for quite some time. I had other books ahead of it, that I needed to read for more pressing reasons, but I eagerly... Read more

Published on March 29, 2012 by Meghan
4.0 out of 5 starsA unique and profound look at how a multigenerational family survives...

LIFE: AN EXPLODED DIAGRAM is a unique war story narrated by Clem Ackroyd, who begins his tale with some in-depth family history. Read more

Published on January 13, 2012 by Teen Reads

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