The House of Tomorrow

The House of Tomorrow follows sixteen-year-old Sebastian Prendergast, who lives with his grandmother in a geodesic dome where he's been homeschooled according to the futuristic teachings of R. Buckminster Fuller. Sebastian has minimal contact with the outside world until an unexpected event forces him to engage with his community and peers. After meeting a teenage punk rocker named Jared Whitcomb, Sebastian discovers music and begins to question his sheltered upbringing. The two boys form a punk band, despite Sebastian's grandmother's disapproval and Jared's heart condition that limits his activities. Through music, friendship, and rebellion, Sebastian navigates his first experiences with independence, romance, and self-discovery. His journey challenges the principles that have defined his life and forces him to reconcile his past with his emerging identity. The novel explores tensions between isolation and connection, tradition and progress, safety and risk. At its core, the story examines how individuals construct meaning from the conflicting wisdom of their elders and their own lived experience.

Readers connect with the unique friendship between the two teenage protagonists and their journey of self-discovery through punk music. Many note the authenticity of the teen voices and appreciate the unusual premise involving geodesic domes and Buckminster Fuller's philosophy. Readers liked: - The realistic portrayal of teenage rebellion and angst - Sharp, humorous dialogue - Complex family relationships - The blend of architectural concepts with punk rock culture Readers disliked: - Slow pacing in the first third - Some found the geodesic dome elements too technical - Several mentioned the ending felt rushed - A few found the teenage characters' voices too precocious Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (3,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.1/5 (116 ratings) LibraryThing: 3.8/5 (89 ratings) Common reader comment: "A fresh take on the coming-of-age story with distinctive characters, though it takes time to find its rhythm."

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🏠 The author was inspired to write the book after discovering that architect/futurist Buckminster Fuller had actually operated a "Guinea Pig B" experiment on himself, meticulously documenting his life for decades. 🎸 The punk music featured prominently in the novel reflects Peter Bognanni's own teenage years playing in garage bands in Iowa. 🌐 The geodesic dome homes central to the story were popularized by Buckminster Fuller in the 1950s, and about 300,000 such domes were built worldwide by the 1970s. 🏆 The novel won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction and was adapted into a 2017 film starring Asa Butterfield and Ellen Burstyn. 📚 Bognanni wrote much of the book while completing his MFA at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was taught by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson.