Glory doesn't have any plans after graduation. The only thing she has is a fear that she might turn out to be exactly like her mother, who killed herself when Glory was only four. But when Glory and her only friend Ellie decide to drink the ashes of a bat, everything changes. She can see the past and the future of every person she looks at.

She sees inequality and war and death and corruption and rebellions. Glory doesn't know how this is happening, but she knows how unbelievably important this is, if it isn't just a figment of her imagination--another example of how she's going crazy like her mother. So she decides to keep record--The History of the Future--and do everything she can to try to live, and make a difference.

THE PLOT
This plot was so unusual and completely mesmerizing. All of A.S. King's novels have some magical realism, but this one undoubtedly had the most. The idea that doing something so weird like drinking the ashes of a petrified bat could give you powers, is completely mad. And genius. It's incredibly unique. The plot was interesting, because it was distictly separated by Glory's visions of the future, and her depression over her mother. It battled two completely different plots and brought them together.

THE CHARACTERS
Glory was magnificent. Kind, mean, snarky, emotional, strong, broken. She was her own person. She didn't fit in a box; she overflowed. She had a power to see the future, sure, what made her the most interesting was her relationship with her dead mother. As a person who lost their mother at four as well, A.S. King nailed every emotion you feel growing up without one. The pain, the uncertainty, the ignorance of others. I was incredibly impressed and felt completely understood.

THE RELATIONSHIPS
There wasn't a lot of romance in this novel, practically none, and I loved it. It didn't need it. Glory had enough issues on her plate already. It just has the possibility of more, which I loved. I swooned over a relationship that didn't exist. But I really loved her relationship with her Dad. It was broken and a little weird, that's what they were. They were grieving and could barely take care of each other or themselves. But there was so much love, even when it was unsaid.

THE WRITING
It's A.S. King. It's marvelous. I've said it once, but I will keep on saying it until the end of time: A.S. King writes some of the most realistic teenagers I have ever read. They are genuine and well thought out and just spectacular. But the way the visions were integrated into the writing and dialogue was really interesting, and fit perfectly. I loved them.

If you haven't read anything by A.S. King, change that immediately. She is a perfect example of high quality YA fiction.