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Joanne Proulx
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Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet Paperback – April 1, 2008

by Joanne Proulx (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars 52 ratings
“Joanne Proulx’s debut novel is an impressive literary feat. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is a pitch-perfect glimpse of that powerful yet paradoxically fragile moment in adolescence when the world is rushing at you and you are rushing at it.”—Katharine Weber, author of Triangle

“Proulx is . . . a talented inhabitor of people unlike herself . . . every new writer so blessed should be cherished.”—Toronto Star

“A narrative rippling with the author’s insight slyly encoded in the hormone itch and cooler-than-thou posturing of a mixed-up teen. . . . Beguiling.”—The Globe and Mail

“Joanne Proulx’s debut novel rocks, and her teenage protagonist, Luke Hunter . . . rules. . . . This is a great book.”—National Post (Canada)

"A contemporary coming of age story that feels authentic to its times. It has some rough language and doesn’t shy away from depicting the kinds of things that a lot of teens do—in other words, they’re not squeaky clean the way the kids are in the Stephenie Meyer Twilight books….what I like about Proulx’s writing is that, throughout the book, the reader never quite knows where she’s going with the various elements of her plot, yet once we get to where she takes us, it all makes perfect sense. And boy, does she get the voice right. Highly recommended.”—Charles de Lint for Fantasy & Science Fiction



When seventeen-year-old Luke Hunter foretells the death of his friend with freakish accuracy, his life gets complicated. Everyone in Stokum, Michigan, his rank little pinprick of a hometown, knows about the premonition and wants to know more. But Luke holds everyone—the local news crew, his parents, his buddy Fang—at arm’s length, telling no one that the death premonitions keep happening. Terrified, he lurches through a personal minefield studded with previously unconsidered existential ponderings, Christian fundamentalists, and a dream girl who his dead friend left behind. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is a darkly comic coming-of-age novel that nails contemporary youth culture.

Joanne Proulx’s short stories have been published in literary magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is her first novel. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Soho Press
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    5.27 x 1.06 x 7.51 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1569474877
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1569474877
  8. Lexile measure
    1040L
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A teenager's gift of premonition becomes a curse in Proulx's confident debut. It's the fall of 2002 in Stokum, Mich., a rank little pinprick of a town, where a night of pot smoking brings about Luke Hunter's prediction that his friend Stan will be crushed by a red van with out-of-state license plates. When the random prophecy comes true, a media madhouse infiltrates Luke's quiet life while his parents remain confused and frustrated. Dubbed the Prophet of Death, Luke experiences more death flashes that become reality. Terrified by his new ability, Luke gets a prescription for a powerful sedative, which stops the visions for a while, but soon they—and his general disillusionment with life—return. As Luke tries to make peace with his psychic abilities, he crushes out on a girl at school and is the subject of an attempted religious intervention. Though a couple of plot points are left unexplained or unresolved, Proulx channels the ennui, insecurity and inner yearnings of a teenage boy to produce a fast-moving tale of struggling youth that has a great potential for YA crossover. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Joanne Proulx has had short stories published in literary magazines on both sides of the Atlantic, including Exile and Upstairs at Duroc. Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is her first novel. She lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Soho Press (April 1, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1569474877
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1569474877
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1040L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.27 x 1.06 x 7.51 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 52 ratings

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Joanne Proulx

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4.4 out of 5 stars
52 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Eric Hernandez
    5.0 out of 5 stars Really good read.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    AMAZING BOOK. It was written brilliantly, A very good read for young adults.
    I would definately recommend this book to anyone.
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  • JMack
    4.0 out of 5 stars 21st Century Teenage Angst
    Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2009
    The premise of the plot for "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" is well developed and well thought out. The real flaw comes in the presentation. At times, I found it hard to believe the book was written by a woman. Yet at other times, the author seemed too anxious to present the main character in proper context. For example, the constant name-dropping of rock bands seemed forced. In the overall picture, the debut novel is solid.

    Luke Hunter's problems begin when he predicts his friend Stan's death. With the conflicts between his parents, problems with friends and girls, and pot smoking are factored in to the equation, Hunter is a pretty average teenager. The predictions of other deaths torment him throughout the book as he tries to forge a relationship with his dead friend's girlfriend. Faith becomes a focus to Luke as his other friends drop out of the picture. And when Astelle, a girl Luke thinks is dead, enters Luke's life, it becomes hard to empathize with the main character.

    The angle of the story that draws Christianity into the story is a little uncomfortable. Particularly with other themes presented in the story, any statement making risks drawing away from the story.

    There is a lot to like about "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" as it is a quick read; though being written in contemporary teenager dialect makes the wording cumbersome at times. Yet most of the teenage dilemas explored in the book are not really are not that far from the average teenager.
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  • Gio
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not just for teens
    Reviewed in the United States on February 25, 2023
    I read this as a teenager, and a couple times as an adult. Great read each time. Angsty in the best way. Somber, yet hopeful.
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  • Buddha Baby
    5.0 out of 5 stars In depth character study that I could not put down.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2014
    BOOK 19 - -Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet] by 

    Proulx is a Canadian author who has created one of my all time favorite  characters.  Luke is stunned and almost completely knocked out when he experiences a premonition that one of his friends is going to die.  When the premonition comes true, his life becomes a nightmare surrounded by media and freaked out friends.  Although the book cover said nothing about paranormal happenings, some reviews have tagged it so.  I found that to be misleading.  This is an amazing piece of writing describing in detail, thoughts, attitudes and complicated relationships.  It is the wonderful story of Luke learning to love and appreciate others in all of their glory, the loving pieces and the hateful parts.  He gives up, he tries again.  I love him! Proulx nails it.  She is brilliant and I'll be following her work.

    A couple of my favorite quotations:

    I was so all over the place I could barely cast a shadow.

    I had to  pilfer the idea  from John Asscraft.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Renfield
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good for a rainy day teen read, nothing more
    Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2009
    While it was in the Library looking for a good read after finishing "Everlost", I came across this. A glance at the black cover had me all interested- A kid foretells a friend's death for no reason and it ends up being true. How do you imagine that happening? I checked it out, took it home and finished it in 2 days, ANd I'll be honest- I thought it was good, but nothing really special. I can understand that this was Proulx's debut novel, and most debut novels are not that great, but this one... meh. I dunno what to think.

    THE GOOD:

    -Proulx must be a mother, because she manages to capture the teenage boy voice very well. Sadly, I know a lot of people who live like Luke Hunter- very spoiled, angst, and do drugs. And believe it or not, Teens do swear that much- ever since age 13, I swear like a pirate!

    -It's well paced- some bits are slow, some move fast, and the book draws its conclusion wonderfully.

    -The storyline- this mixes in a "Thirteen" type teen slang with the paranormal. Nobody would ever have thought that the two could merge very well.

    THE BAD:

    -There are so many unnecessary bracketed sentences and details. Yeah, lucky you, you went to Spain and on vacation you lost your virginity. Keep that in your diary, Luke, don't share it with the world.

    -The story. "But you just praised the story!" True, I do like the story, I just don't think it was written the way it should have been, or at least how I wanted it to be told. Basically, as the story unfolds, Luke tries to pretend certain events in the book that happened earlier didn't happen. Well guess what, they did. We were there. We read it.

    -THe main character, Luke, is such a male Mary Sue character, if there ever was such thing. Everything seems to be perfect, yet he hates it. Come on, wake up and smell the sunshine! You have many expensive electronics and stuff, you have a roof over your head. Think of the homeless people who DON'T have that...

    Overall I am very mixed about this book. It's good in some parts, bad in others, and as a whole, feels rather disjointed.
    2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Duncan McKirdy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't let you go
    Reviewed in Canada on November 12, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I picked this book up once long ago in a second hand book shop.

    Probably due to the fact I was also going through the hormonal fits of adolescense I was enraptured by the book. I related heavily with Luke. Screw the adults, they don't know what they're doing. They're all just out there to make themselves seem better. I'm the only one who knows what it's like to be me. Certainly a naïve (though now I've entered adulthood, it's not a totally inaccurate) view, that carries you through the story swinging from cringing to delighting, to wincing and beyond.

    I've loaned this book out at least a good half dozen times, and unfortunately lost it with whoever I loaned it to last. Despite losing it to a mysterious friend a half dozen years ago, I still think of this story regularly.

    Delighted to find it's on Amazon, and more than happy to spend the money to grab myself another copy.
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  • Aurora
    5.0 out of 5 stars So full of character! :3
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 9, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I really enjoyed this book! The protagonist was great - very believable, excellent humour, someone you were rooting for for the whole story. The relationship with him and his parents was also very different than in most books that centre on a teenager but it's definitely one of the most realistic ones that i've read. Loved pretty much everything about it.
    Stunning work. Needs more recognition.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent read!
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