Scholastic Book Club Selection
Young Adult. Ages 12+
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Bubble World
Henry Holt BYR, July 2013
Reality is overrated.
Freesia Summers lives on the tropical island of Agalinas, where she has an enormous closet, her own ocean-view balcony, a pink itty car, singing peacocks, and a magical bubble that lets her talk to her besties and keep track of her de-vicious clothes.
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If Freesia’s life seems too good to be true, well, there’s a reason for that. She does her best to ignore the signs that something in her world has gone terribly wrong: the electrical outages, the time slips, the sudden departures that border on disappearances. But when a blackout lands her in an unbeautiful place — and in an equally unbeautiful but oddly familiar body — reality hits her head-on.
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REVIEWS
“Freesia lives on a seemingly magical island where every whim is answered in this nifty sci-fi comedy . . . With constantly clever comic writing, Snow disguises her serious examination of the dangers involved in immersion in fantasy and living by whim. . . . Freesia’s plenty spunky, and so is this hilarious book.” ” —Kirkus Reviews
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“Snow nestles a powerful message about bravery, self-confidence, and integrity in the midst of fluffy, irreverent talk of fashion and teen idols and a virtual world at the crossroads of The Matrix and Barbie’s Dreamhouse.” —Booklist
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“Carol Snow’s provocative novel asks teens to consider various ways in which people escape from reality.” —Shelf Awareness
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“Freesia’s world is perfect: sunny weather, extensive wardrobe, no homework. But when she discovers that ‘Freesia’ is an avatar in a virtual reality experiment, she’s forced to contend with a real world she barely remembers. Snow contrasts the flawless, eerily possible ‘Bubble World’ with a messy, unattractive, but still appealing reality, raising interesting questions about the nature of technology and truth.” —Horn Book Guide Reviews
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"Themes of privacy, beauty, free speech, and education are explored in a subtle, effective way. The quick pacing will propel readers forward, and a few nicely placed plot twists will keep them satisfied." —School Library Journal
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“Carol Snow’s novel . . . considers questions of parental responsibility, teen agency and the potential perils of being more invested in a virtual world than in one’s actual life. BUBBLE WORLD is a satire, for sure, but it’s also a surprisingly rich character study of one young woman’s growing disillusionment and her decision to take her life into her own hands.” —Teenreads.com