Clem, a working-class boy living in government-assisted housing, and
Frankie, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, must keep their
relationship secret. If it's discovered, their world will be blown
apart.
But unknown to them, President John F. Kennedy and the Russian leader,
Nikita Khruschev, are shaping up to do just that--blow the world
apart--as the two leaders fight over a small island in the Caribbean
Sea, leading up to the events that will later be known as the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
For Frankie and Clem, "time, like everything else, is against them."
In his most brilliant and ambitious novel yet, Mal Peet portrays the
shattering power of love and the ricocheting effect of war through
generations.
"Witty, super-smart, heartbreakingly generous, it's so good, you almost
want to keep it a secret." -Patrick Ness, author of the award-winning
Chaos Walking series
"Life: An Exploded Diagram is Mal Peet's finest work to date, by turns
hysterically funny, sad, poignant, bitter, and rude, but always with
that unfakeable sense of deep truth." -Anthony McGowan, author of The
Knife That Killed Me
"A new novel by Mal Peet is always something to be eagerly anticipated:
finely drawn characters, ambitious storytelling, a broad historical
canvas, piercing social critique--and now, much more than in previous
novels, a delightfully irreverent streak of humor." -Jonathan Hunt,
blogger for School Library Journal's Heavy Medal blog
"An astonishingly engaging, wonderful, un-put-downable book. His
gorgeous writing makes one reread sentences over and over again for the
pure joy of experiencing the language." -Carol Stoltz, Porter Square
Books, Cambridge, MA
