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This modern-day Lord of the Flies is a haunting existential novel, both award-winning and and provocative. Now in paperback as part of the Atheneum Collection!
“Nothing matters.”
“From the moment you are born, you start to die.”
“The Earth is 4.6 billion years old. You’ll live to be a maximum of one hundred. Life isn’t worth the bother!”
So says Pierre Anthon when he decides there is no meaning to life, leaves his seventh-grade classroom, climbs a plum tree, and stays there. His friends and classmates cannot get him to come down, not even by pelting him with rocks. So to prove to him that there is a meaning to life, they set out to give up things of importance, challenging one another to make increasingly serious sacrifices. The pile is started with a lifetime’s collection of Dungeons & Dragons books, a fishing rod, a pair of green sandals, a pet hamster—but then, as each demand becomes more extreme, events take a morbid twist. And what if, after all these sacrifices, the pile is still not meaningful enough to bring Pierre Anthon down?
Publisher : Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date : March 20, 2012
Edition : Reprint
Language : English
Print length : 240 pages
ISBN-10 : 144244116X
ISBN-13 : 978-1442441163
Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
Reading age : 12 years and up
Dimensions : 5.88 x 0.7 x 8.25 inches
Grade level : 7 – 9
Lexile measure : 1000L
Customers say
Customers find the book thought-provoking and well-written, with one review noting how it explains complex life through children’s words. The story receives mixed reactions – while some find it interesting, others describe it as disturbing and depressing. The pacing receives mixed feedback, with some customers saying it’s great for young readers while others note it’s not suitable for 12-year-olds.