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The Center of Everything
The Center of Everything
Author: Laura Moriarty
A dazzling debut in the tradition of Jane Hamilton and Mona Simpson. — In Laura Moriarty's extraordinary first novel, a young girl tries to make sense of an unruly world spinning around her. Growing up with a single mother who is chronically out of work and dating a married man, 10-year old Evelyn Bucknow learns early how to fend for herself. — Of...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780786888450
ISBN-10: 0786888458
Publication Date: 7/14/2004
Pages: 352
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 180

3.7 stars, based on 180 ratings
Publisher: Hyperion
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Center of Everything on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 12
A delicious read. A touching, and compelling story told through the eyes of Evelyn Bucknow, starting at the age of 10. It shows that unquestioning love a kid has for their parent, and then the day a child realizes that parent is human, and in this case, a disappointment.
reviewed The Center of Everything on + 38 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
Though there are several anachronisms in the early eighties section, this is a decent, quick read. The foreshadowing is a bit heavy-handed and the protagonist is sort of humorless (despite the reader being told otherwise), this book is worth a look when you have nothing better to do.
Phantene avatar reviewed The Center of Everything on + 72 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
An engrossing novel. I enjoyed this immensely, but was sorely disappointed by the ending. It just sort of - ends. No resolutions or answers.
vprosser avatar reviewed The Center of Everything on + 161 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
I flew through this book. I really enjoyed it and it was engrossing. The main character is 10 in 1982, just as I was, and the author hit the nail on the head about growing up in that time period. I was amazed at the little things I forgot about that were oh-so-true back then! I related to the character, even though my circumstances were different. I didn't find this book depressing at all -- it is a bit predictable -- but the symbolism in it really stands out. I would recommend this one to a friend. :)
reviewed The Center of Everything on + 58 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Evelyn Bucknow is the main character who is a young teenage girl. This book shows us her way through her adolescence. This is a wonderful story that anyone can read. Don't think because it's centered around an adolescent that adults shouldn't read it. It's a terrific book!
Read All 38 Book Reviews of "The Center of Everything"

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reviewed The Center of Everything on + 5 more book reviews
THIS WAS A GREAT BOOK FROM START TO FINISH.I REALLY ENJOYED READING IT.
reviewed The Center of Everything on
A great book - reads like a diary in some ways, but has Forrest Gump-like quality in how the story is told. I found myself rooting for the protagonist and hoping she would find her way through her story.
reviewed The Center of Everything on + 71 more book reviews
I enjoyed this one. It was a quick read and would be good for someone around high-school age.
simba avatar reviewed The Center of Everything on + 2 more book reviews
Laura Moriarty's books focus on a life dilemma that any one of us could face. This is a quick read that is both thought provoking and beautiful.
reviewed The Center of Everything on
Enjoyed it quite a bit.
reviewed The Center of Everything on + 44 more book reviews
Evelyn Bucknow, 10 years old, living with a single mother in kansas. Life is hard and full of bad luck, bad decisions, precarious at best.
We follow Evelyn through her rocky adolesence, fueled by politics, food stamps, right wing religion, the birth of a severly handicapped
brother, and an unrequited love, and emerge on the other side much wiser and more forgiving. Sometimes what seems to be clearly right, is not, and we see that everyone has their own reasons for the choices they make. An inspiring coming of age story that goes right to the center of teen age angst, then comes out the other side with a firmly established sense of self. Who cannot remember how difficult this time in life is? An intelligent young girl growing up under very difficult circumstances learns to make the right choices for herself.
WildOrchid avatar reviewed The Center of Everything on + 222 more book reviews
Well...I enjoyed listening to this book. The narrator was great. I'm not sure if I had tried to read it that I would have finished it. It just sort of plodded along, going nowhere, but then again, I am not a person that delves deeply into the hidden meaning of things. I will say that when the tape ended, to me, it seemed liked she had forgotten to write the last chapter. I think I'll stick to mysteries, but at least now if anyone discusses the book I can throw in my two cents.

Unabridged 8 cassettes


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