In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

About
The new adult novel from the beloved and best-selling author Judy Blume

When a series of passenger airplanes crashed in Elizabeth, New Jersey within a three-month period in 1951–1952, Judy Blume was a teenager. “These events have lingered in my mind ever since,” says Blume. “It was a crazy time. We were witnessing things that were incomprehensible to us as teenagers. Was it sabotage? An alien invasion? No one knew, and people were understandably terrified.” Against this background, Blume uses her imagination to bring us the lives of three generations of families, friends, and strangers, who will be profoundly affected by these events, either directly or indirectly. But life goes on and Blume digs deep into her characters—we see them coping not only with grief but with first love, estranged parents, difficult friendships, familial obligations, divorce, career ambitions, a grandparent’s love, a widower’s hope, and everything in between. . . . Most important, In the Unlikely Event is filled with the same warmth and authenticity that have won Blume the hearts and minds of readers of all generations.

My Thoughts
As a fan of Judy Blume growing up, I had HIGH hopes for this book. But alas, I only sort of liked it. It’s a very interesting story about Elizabeth, NJ and the plane crashes that took place there years ago. I just am not a fan of books that jump around to SO many characters POV. It’s hard to keep track of who is who, and what is what. I did like Miri, the main character but I honestly couldn’t tell you a lot about the others because it got to be so much back and forth, it got confusing. Miri is a smart girl, if not a little naive. Even with 3 plane crashes all within 6 months of each other, she still has a lot of growing up to do. Her best friend, loses her mind and her body due to the terrifying ordeals.
I always like to see active parenting in books. And Miri’s mom is very active in her life but she’s one that expects the truth but doesn’t necessarily tell it. Their relationship is interesting and only goes from good to bad in the end since Rusty steals her best friends dad. Like I said, confusing.

It’s an interesting tale though. I can’t imaging living through not 1 plane crash, but 3 plane crashes in the same city growing up. Not to mention, having my heartbroken by my first love, my best friend hating me and developing anorexia because she thinks her body has been taken over by a dancer that died on the first plane, and then my mom steals my bff’s father and says we’re moving to another city (Las Vegas). I mean a lot goes on but the way it goes on is just not my liking of reading.

3 out of 5 stars!