Armageddon Summer

The plot follows two teenagers, Jed and Marina, as their parents drag them into a millennium cult known as The Believers as they prepare for the world to end on July 27th. The Believers, led by a reverand from Boston, decide to camp on a mountaintop in western Massachusetts where they believe they will be saved from the end of the world. The story is told in alternating voices between Jed and Marina who meet on the mountain and consequently fall in love. Neither teenager believes in the mission of The Believers but they both follow their parents in order to protect them and their siblings.

Many may not view this work as a distopian novel because it is set in present day and does not have any fantasy or science fiction elements. However, show more it is perhaps scarier than the "traditional" distopian works because it is set in the present day and concerns a social issue that could easily arise within our lifetime. What makes this book a distopian novel are The Believers who remove themselves from conventional society in order to build their own distopian civilization at the top of the mountain. As is with all distopian societies, The Believers come to a tragic and brutal end. Though the reader can see something horrific apporaching on the horizon, the ending is still a surprise.

Many adult readers may disregard this book because it is marketed to young adults. However, I found the novel to be an excellent read for all ages. There is, of course, a young romance between the two main characters that can be annoying at times but the majority of the book focuses on The Believers' rise and fall as a society which is extremely fascinating. I would recommend this work to any person interested in dystopian literature regardless of age.

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A short but powerful novel about two teens caught up in their parents' cult involvement in the year of the millennium, when they believe the world is going to end and climb a mountain in preparation to be saved.

This book does a wonderful job of capturing all the uncertainties of being a teenager - how fast things happen, how deep they feel, how it is both confusing and exhilarating to balance in that place between child and adulthood, between carefree and responsible. Most especially, it captures that moment when you start to think about a world bigger than yourself and what your parents have taught you. When you start to doubt - to doubt what you believe, to doubt your parents' infallibility, to doubt the existence of easy answers in show more the world. To doubt whether you want to doubt, or whether it is better, easier, safer to wrap yourself in belief.

I was a little wary going into this to see how Yolen and Coville handle the ultra-religious, but I'm pleased to say that the answer is 'deftly'. The variety of characters gives a variety of viewpoints. Our two main characters - Marina, who believes, and Jed, who doesn't - struggle with the complexities of who they are, what they believe, and what it means that the adults in their lives are so fully sold on something the rest of the world things of as crazy.

This book is sold as a romance, and there is that - but Marina and Jed are drawn to each other for bigger reasons, and those reasons are surprisingly fulfilling. show less

This is not science fiction or fantasy. It is a treatment of a real world phenomenon of millenialism. And it is done well, with plenty of sensitivity and sympathy for all convictions. An excellent bildungsroman.

I started reading this book with my daughter, but it didn't reach her. Wanting to know what was going to happen, and finding myself reading a forgettable magic book, I read most of this wonderful YA yet mature, horror-filled yet very real novel in a few hours. Reverend Beelsen has told his followers in Boston and Western Massachusetts that the world will end on July 27, 2000. Only the 144 followers who make it to Mt.Weeupcut will be saved. Jed and Marina, the teenage narrators, who become heroes, only come to the mountain to help their crazed parents. Like the Branch Davidians and Jim Jones, the Believers bring on their own apocalypse, perhaps with the help of the FBI. Scary, scary book.

Marina and Jed meet at an armed Millenialist camp where each has accompanied a Believer parent, both of whom are followers of Reverend Beelson and believe his revelation that the world is going to end on July 20, 2000. While discovering their feelings for each other, both teens also have to deal with discovering their feelings about faith, God, and their own places in the universe as they wait with exactly 142 others for the end times. “Told in alternating voices, this gripping tale gives a close look at people caught up in events over which they have little control” (School Library Journal). The authors’ choice of narration style enriches this unique story. --SJ Cournoyer

Following a cult leader, 144 people go to live on top of a mountain to wait for the earth to be smothered in fire and brimstone. Two teenagers with very different points of view on the situation meet and fall in love. This book takes a difficult subject and makes both sides of the religious debate believable and sympathetic.

Armageddon Summer by Jane Yolen and Bruce Coville is a quick look at how adults' religious choices can affect their children and how teens can assess those choices to find their own ways and beliefs.

Jed's father is a Believer. He became a Believer after his wife ran off with a photographer and alchohol did not fill the void left behind.

Marina's mom is a Believer. She has taken her 5 children firmly with her into Believing even though her husband resisted and has been left behind.

The rigid quidelines of Reverend Beelson's church appeal to both adults. So many choices are just not needed when the strict restrictions are in place for the congregation. Reverend Beelson doesn't just know The Way; he knows The Day. July 27th is the day of show more armageddon so the Reverend has gathered 144 Believers and they have made their way to the top of a mountain to wait for the new world.

Jed and MArina have chosen to be with their parents but are not sure about their own beliefs. Is Reverend Bleeson right about the necessity of having every one and every thing below the barrier killed? What kind of God is that anyway? There is some consolation in thinking that after the set date either nobody will care or else the worst the children will face is knowing that the adults were wrong and look foolish.

In the camp, the realities of a post-apocolypse world start to filter in. Marina struggles to make friends with girls who are so different from herself and with whom she cannot seem to make a connection. Jed worries about the electric fence and the desperation of the family members turned away from the gate. They are both shocked to learn of the plans for breeding which do not include personal decisions.

Marina and Jed are unsure of each other but start to develop a close relationship despite the anger of Marina's mother. Their trust is tested when The Day arrives and things go horribly wrong in a way that neither of them had ever imagined. show less