A few facts about Glory O’Brien:
- Her mother, Darla O’Brien, killed herself by sticking her head in an oven.
- It was on the letter “N” day at school
- Glory is the one who found her
- Darla was a photographer, Glory has followed in her mother’s footsteps
- Glory’s best friend is Ellie, she lives on a hippie commune across the street
- Ellie has crabs from her boyfriend Rick
- Glory isn’t so sure she wants to be best friends with Ellie any more
- Glory and Ellie celebrate graduation by drinking a petrified bat Glory has named Max Black
- Max Black gifts them with the ability to see the past and future of everyone they meet
Looking into the future through the people she meets, Glory sees a world torn apart by civil war over women’s rights. As Glory tries to write down her history of the future she grapples with her mother’s suicide, her growing distance from her best friend and her own lack of future after graduation.
In true A.S. King style this book is painted with colors of feminism, sarcasm, wit, melancholy and a hint of hope. Just as Glory sees the past stretching behind and the future stretching forward in every person she meets, she is simultaneously living in the past and trying to record a vicious future. King has a way of making the most ridiculous plots seem normal by the end of the book, and like with all of her characters, I was sad to say goodbye to Glory on the last page.