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Book Summary and Reviews of Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy

Learning to Swear in America

by Katie Kennedy

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (1):
  • Published:
  • Jul 2016, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. The good news is that Yuri, a prodigy from Russia, knows how to stop it; the bad news is that he is seventeen, so nobody will listen to him...

An asteroid is hurtling toward Earth. A big, bad one. Maybe not kill-all-the-dinosaurs bad, but at least kill-everyone-in-California-and-wipe-out-Japan-with-a-tsunami bad. Yuri, a physicist prodigy from Russia, has been recruited to aid NASA as they calculate a plan to avoid disaster.

The good news is Yuri knows how to stop the asteroid - his research in antimatter will probably win him a Nobel prize if there's ever another Nobel prize awarded. But the trouble is, even though NASA asked for his help, no one there will listen to him. He's seventeen, and they've been studying physics longer than he's been alive.

Then he meets (pretty, wild, unpredictable) Dovie, who lives like a normal teenager, oblivious to the impending doom. Being with her, on the adventures she plans when he's not at NASA, Yuri catches a glimpse of what it means to save the world and live a life worth saving.

Prepare to laugh, cry, cringe, and have your mind burst open with the questions of the universe.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

A Summer/Fall 2016 Indies Introduce selection

"Starred Review. This novel is made to savor - readers will want to catch every nuance of Kennedy's multidimensional characters." - Publishers Weekly

"The book starts off slowly but then really dives into a roller-coaster ride of emotions and characters ... Kennedy has created wonderful characters who are quirky and endearing." - School Library Journal

"An end-of-the-world romp that will prompt readers to think and to laugh, this novel ultimately teases more suspense and romance than it genuinely delivers. Ages 14-18." - Kirkus

"Hand to readers who prefer their romance brainy or their sci-fi a little heart-fluttery." - Booklist

This information about Learning to Swear in America was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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John McFarland

Learning to Swear In America
Best book of the year. Delightful characters, exciting story, wonderful writing.

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Author Information

Katie Kennedy

Katie Kennedy is a history professor in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (closer to Wisconsin, really). She studied Russian History in college. She has a son in high school, and a daughter in college. This is her first novel.

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