Scholastic Book Club Selection
Young Adult. Ages 12+
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.
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
“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
“Carol Snow’s provocative novel asks teens to consider various ways in which people escape from reality.” —Shelf Awareness
“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
"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
“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