As most girls (maybe boys, too?) my age I grew up reading Judy Blume books. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret was a personal favorite; along with all the Fudge books. Gosh, I spent hours reading her books. So when I saw In the Unlikely Event was being released, I naturally scooped it up and immediately read it as quickly as I could; naturally assuming it was going to amazing. In the Unlikely Event is apparently based in some truth; Blume lived through a similar phenomenon as to what happens in the story therefore making it just that much more interesting.
The Plot
It’s 1987 and Miri Ammerman is returning to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey to attend a commemoration of what she considers to be the worst year of her life. A mere 35 years earlier, when she was 15 years old, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky - leaving the community of Elizabeth reeling.
My Thoughts
Knowing that these airplane crashes actually happened blew my mind. Now, I realize that air travel was brand spanking new, but still! That’s absolutely insane. I would never get on a plane if I grew up in Elizabeth or anywhere NEAR where this happened. My main complaint about this book is the number of narrators and the way it jumps between them without really any indication as to who is now telling the story. So you have to read a bit before you figure it out, which in general is fine - but made the story seem a lot choppier than necessary. But other than that, the book is super engaging and the main character of Miri is fantastic. She’s a great, non-annoying teenager - which is kind of rare! I give this book a solid 4 stars and recommend it to even non-Blume lovers.
The Plot
It’s 1987 and Miri Ammerman is returning to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey to attend a commemoration of what she considers to be the worst year of her life. A mere 35 years earlier, when she was 15 years old, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky - leaving the community of Elizabeth reeling.
My Thoughts
Knowing that these airplane crashes actually happened blew my mind. Now, I realize that air travel was brand spanking new, but still! That’s absolutely insane. I would never get on a plane if I grew up in Elizabeth or anywhere NEAR where this happened. My main complaint about this book is the number of narrators and the way it jumps between them without really any indication as to who is now telling the story. So you have to read a bit before you figure it out, which in general is fine - but made the story seem a lot choppier than necessary. But other than that, the book is super engaging and the main character of Miri is fantastic. She’s a great, non-annoying teenager - which is kind of rare! I give this book a solid 4 stars and recommend it to even non-Blume lovers.
