Armageddon Summer
by Jane Yolen and Bruce CovilleReviews
Amazon.com
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
powells.com:
The world will end on July 27Marina's mom is a Believer. So is Jed's dad. That's why they've dragged Marina and Jed to a mountain retreat with the rest of Reverend Beelson's flock. From the mountaintop the Believers will watch the Righteous Conflagration that will scour the world clean — and then they will descend to begin God's world anew.
But this world has only just begun for Jed and Marina, two teenagers who aren't sure they believe in anything, let alone that everything they've ever known will soon vanish in a blaze of fire. Why should the world end now, when Marina and Jed have just fallen in love for the first time in their lives?
secondaryenglish.com
Reverend Beelson tells his small congregation that he believes the world is going to end in three weeks, on July 27, 2000. Being a strong believer, Marina’s mother takes her six children up to the mountain camp where Reverend Beelson claims that the Lord will save exactly 144 people from the coming Armageddon. Jed’s father also believes the prediction, so he and Jed head up to the camp as well. Once on the Mountain, the group waits until exactly 144 Believers to join. When exactly 144 people have arrived, the perimeter of the camp is fenced and guards are posted to keep latecomers out and those with second thoughts in. The "Believers" begin a grueling preparation for the end under the dictatorial direction of Reverend Beelson. Plans are made for life after Armageddon, plans that include the men of the sect divvying up the women and girls to be their "Eves" in the new world. Against this background, Jed and Marina discover each other and find first love, struggle with family traumas, and question the beliefs which brought them to the mountain compound.Where to get the book
Amazon
Written by: Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville
15 December 2005
