Welcome to the Ark

by Stephanie S. Tolan

Book Overview

Can four brilliant young misfits confined to a mental hospital in the Adirondack Mountains use their newly discovered powers of mind to slow the escalating violence that is engulfing the world? This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0380733196
• ISBN13: 9780380733194
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.0" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

SHE GETS IT

I'm going to be frank--I read this book because I am smart, and I wanted to know what the author's take on the world of smart people was.I'm tired of stereotyping. You know who I am. There's one of me in every school. The Kid Who Makes A's On Report Cards--100s, even. The Smart Kid. The Geek. I'm that person, but I'm not like an stupid steroetype. I don't wear glasses, and I'm not a kiss-popular-butt-pushover. I'm loud and like to have fun.I just think a lot. I don't really like math or science--I like writing. I'm thirteen, and I'm writing a book. Unfortuantely, most people have bought into the Hollywood image of smart people: "geeks", interested only in facts. I'm not a geek. Facts are OK, but they're not that great.And I don't try to learn them. They just happen. It's not my fault, but most people think it is.This is why I liked "Welcome to the Ark" so much. Stephanie S. Tolan completely understands how smart people think. We are normal. You just have to get to know us. Sure, we're a bit extraordinary, but we're still people. It was refreshing to read a book that depicted smart people as real.I highly recommend that every teenager, intelligent or stupid, read this book. It will help you gain understanding for the smart kid in your school. We're really not all that bad, and Miz Tolan reveals that fact far better than I could. So please, read this book. It's an easy read, and at the end, you might just understand more than you did when you started it. P.S. If you want a real review, read the Editor's Reviews. I've got better things to do.

The most awesome book!

I first read this book when I was in the 6th grade. When I first started reading the book I was very confused, afterall I was only about 11 years old,and the book was rather difficult to understand, but I instantly fell in love with it. I became so indulged, it was as if I was in the character's shoes, it was so awesome. I would spend hours on end reading this book and I feel it was more than worth the time. Never had I read a book that had such an impact on me, that opened my eyes, keep in mind how young I was and, though I was more mature than your average 6th grader, how little I knew. I never forgot about this book, & for 3 years I've been looking for it thinking it was entitled "The Ark", tonight I found it & am overcomed with joy. I can't really explain this book or why it had such an impact on me, you just have to read it yourself to find out, but all I can say is that it is beyond awesome.

Amazing

So rarely do books come out that deal exclusivley about bright people, bright CHILDREN no less, we must give it a fair shot. In this book two psychologists took brilliant children, and helped them realize that they weren't all so very different from one another. Each child was bruised in someway, in every way from feeling different from the rest of the world so intensley that they can barely stand it, to being physically abused. Ms. Tolan did the (expected) wonderful job I was hoping for with this book. From the ending, I believe that a sequel may be published in awhile, but I am not sure. You will be astounded by the outcome, and how much you connect to these amazing characters.

Exceptional insights about exceptionally gifted children!

Stephanie Tolan's experience in the real world of very gifted children is obvious in this well written story. It is one of the first books I recommend to parents of even moderately gifted youngsters. The best indication of this book's value, however, is that my 12 year old son has re-read "Welcome to the Ark" at least twice since we purchased it a year ago.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

I really hate depressing gang books, and that's all I could gather from reading the back cover. I honestly only picked this because I needed a book to fill some spare time in the winter, and this looked like a book I could get through relatively quickly and painlessly. I have a pretty one-track mind when it comes to literature which is always headed down sci-fi avenue. But as I prepared for the worst I got a big surprise. The book effectively combines the approach of a group of child "psychotics" and turns it into a plot which can be considered nothing less than spiritual. And despite that, the author has still managed to mix in an amazing amount of action. The author has combined all of these elements spectacularly into one great book. Two thumbs up.