Cover Image: The Great Unknowable End

The Great Unknowable End

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Member Reviews

This book is about a girl struggling to walk in her dead mom’s footsteps, and a boy leaving what he’s known his whole life to check out the world. This is set in 1977, which I thought was interesting and I loved the musical references within this book!

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Galliard thinks about the commune where he grew up when he’s passed over for resident artist. While outside he meets Stella, the sister of Phoenix, the person who was chosen. With the weird happenings going on will there even be an outside world to go to if he decides to leave. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Galliard and Stella this is the story of two teens who feel stuck where they're at. 1977 Slater, Kansas where a series of environmental abnormalities are taking place is the impetus for these two to start exploring the possibility of doing something other than what's expected of them. That's a theme a lot of teens could relate to which may convince teens who are reluctant to read "historical fiction." Setting the book in 1977 after the release of Star Wars actually makes this book accessible to teens since Star Wars is still culturally relevant. Ormsbee perfectly captures the voices of her young characters although her adults, particularly those from the commune, are a bit two-dimensional. This book is a good gateway into YA historical fiction for those who enjoy realistic fiction and could handle a touch of magical realism in their fiction. This is a good book for those libraries who want to expand their YA historical fiction offerings.

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The Great Unknowable End focuses on the story of 2 main characters: Stella and Galliard.

Stella is a recent high school who has dream of better than but life is holding her back. Her mother died 9 years ago and her brother left to live on a common 2 years ago. She now works 2 jobs and takes care of her little sister because she believe its the right think to do.

Galliard was born and raised on the Red Sun commune. He prays to the likes of Janis, Jimi, and Holly. He has always planned to live his whole life on the commune. After not getting his requested job assignment as local artist for the Red Sun, he starts question what he really wants and if he wants to stay on the commune.

This book was enjoyable and i loved see how Stella and Galliard story not only intertwined with each other but how they helped each other grow.

The only thing I prevented me giving it 5 stars was the "doomsday" story line. The weird weather (red rain, pink lighting, etc) and the countdown to what felt like nothing. This part was anticlimactic.

If you hoping for some sort of slow burn romance this isnt it. Its more about journey of self discovery.
Overall, I still would highly recommend.

Thanks to netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review

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I wasn’t expecting this book to be set in the 70’s, so first of all that threw me off. Second of all, I expected the weird phenomenons going on in town to be explained. I didn’t really care all that much about the characters or the resolutions of their personal storylines. I wanted to know WHY the weather was acting so crazy! I was disappointed with the end result.

I didn’t mind Stella and Galliard. Kathryn Ormsbee created some well rounded characters, but I just didn’t care about their storylines. In the beginning I did, but after page 200 the issues in their lives became too repetitive. Yes, we get it. You have problems. You’re dealing with them. We got it. If the book would’ve been shorter and gotten to the point quicker, I probably would’ve liked it more.

The writing I really enjoyed reading, I just couldn’t connect to this book and thought the romance was unnecessary. I’m definitely interested in reading more books by Kathryn Ormsbee in the future. This particular premise just didn’t mesh with me.

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I love the premise of this book. A dark and twisty girl. A boy in a cult. The 70's and the end of the world. But, I found myself bored within 50 pages. The fact that this one was almost 400 pages didn't help. I thought the plot moved very slowly, and nothing really happened until three-quarters of the way through. I had high hopes for this one that were not fulfilled.

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I didn't finish The Great Unknowable End. I got about 1/3 of the way through and it was just too weird and moved too slowly to promise that we were going to get anywhere in the story soon. At 400 pages, that just doesn't hold my attention. I loved Ormsbee's Tash Hearts Tolstoy, which is why I was looking forward to The Great Unknowable End. Instead, I am disappointed by this newest work of hers.

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I wasn't sure what I was getting into with this book but I ended up really enjoying it!

"The Great Unknowable End" is set in 1977 through the lives of Stella and Galliard we learn about the weird happenings in Slater, Kansas (pink lightning, animals acting strangely, and weird weather). Stella is navigating the stress of her family while Galliard is discovering his identity amidst a reclusive commune. They meet and help each other discover more than they expected.

I really enjoyed the magical realism in this book - probably because I wasn't expecting it considering I thought this was just a historical fiction novel! However, the inexplicable magic is woven in beautifully with the character development of both Stella and Galliard.

There were a few parts that I felt were repetitive but I really enjoyed the narrative overall. :)

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I loved this book! The full review will be posted soon at kaitgoodwin.com/books! Thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity to connect books to their readers!

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