The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker

Breathtakingly good book.
11 year old Julia lives in Southern California, hanging out with her best friend Hanna and avoiding getting teased on the school bus when the earth starts spinning more slowly.
This was just hauntingly good- brilliant writing, a startlingly original voice, and one of the most moving coming of age stories I have ever read.

Violet in Private, by Melissa Walker

3rd book in the Violet series, it took me a long time to remember to look for it, but it was as fun and fast as the first two, and Violet remains one of the stronger series heroines around.

Violet by Design, by Melissa Walker

The second Violet book was as good as the first. I love the way Melissa Walker makes Violet such a believable, relatable chaeacter without resorting to cliches- like the perennially leggy clumsy creatures who stumble and prat-fall their way through everything from The Princess Diaries to Twilight.

Violet doesn't need to fall over to make her likeable- she already is. That adds a lot of weight to a teen series about the challenges of being a 19 year old model on the verge of becoming huge in the field.

Violet on The Runway, by Melissa Walker

Fun YA. Gawky Violet is spotted and recruited by a modeling agent, moves to NYC, life changes. Fluffy YA but interesting, seems like it might even be slightly realistic. Fun read, looking forward to the follow-ups.

Buying In: The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are, by Rob Walker

Interesting but not groundbreaking book on consumerism as identity creation. I think James Twitchell covers this area better, but still, a tasty read anyway. In fact, Walker spent quite a lot of time quoting Twitchell and Paco Underhill, which I guess is inevitable when crossing such well travelled territory.

Walker did delve a little more into some kind of underground/pseudounderground consumer niches, like the sneaker freaks, etc, and the influence these subgroups have is pretty incredible. Still, it was nothing I hadn't read or known before. I guess I wouldn't really pass it on to a friend who I thought would be interested in this stuff- I would, however, recommend Twitchell's Living It Up: Our Love Affair With Luxury and his Lead Us Into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism without hesitation.