This was an easy book to read and some aspects of it brought the Judy Blume of my youth back to life for a few minutes. It's mostly just a nice old fashioned story about romance in the early 50s.

I'd never heard about the plane crashes in Elizabeth, NJ and the tragedy of those events make for an interesting backdrop for the characters.

The book lost me in the last portion when we jumped into the modern day. I didn't really care much for learning what happened to our characters, I would have preferred just the snapshot of their life during that one tragic winter.

This is another book I'd throw into the category of "Fine". Not hurrying to press it into somebody else's hands but wouldn't steer anyone away from it either. ( )

When Judy Blume was a child living in the small city of Elizabethtown, NJ, during the winter of 1951-52 three separate airplane crashes occurred in quick succession. In this adult novel she revisits that period and place, drawing on the facts and layering them over with fiction. At its heart this is a novel about secrets; the ones we keep, the ones we tell, and who we are willing to tell them to. The harm of withholding information, even when we believe in our reasons. The hurt that can be inflicted by a well or ill-timed revelation. Miri is the central character, only fifteen but remarkably level-headed. She learns the power of secrets over the course of the novel; their pleasures at first, and later their pain. We get to know the thoughts of a host of other characters as well. I scoffed a bit over the cast of characters offered as a reference, but very shortly and often I was referring back to it - there are a LOT of people to immediately keep track of, but it gets easier.

Besides secrets, there are important lessons here as well about the different ways that people grieve and cope when tragedy strikes. The airplane crashes are a catalyst for much of what happens, but the offshoots are myriad and Blume knows how to keep her story going even after she runs out of planes. Her spare approach isn't my preferred style. I like a higher percentage of descriptive passages so that the story doesn't feel like it's plunging forward even in periods of low action. It does have the advantage of keeping the pages turning, provided that you can get past its rapid-fire opening and find your bearings. I love her capturing of the 1950s like only someone who was there can do: the music, the fashions, the pastimes, the way people spoke, the cultural mores. There were many characters to like, several developments I didn't see coming, and the ending ties things together without becoming too neat and tidy a package. Thank you again, Judy. I feel like we have an adult-to-adult relationship now. ( )

3.75/5 ( )

This review originally appeared on my blog at www.gimmethatbook.com.

Thanks to Penguin Random House for the ARC!

Judy Blume is such a beloved author that I’m almost reluctant to write this review. Let me just get it over with: I didn’t like this book.

There, I said it.

It wasn’t the anticipation that made the book such a letdown–it was the style and way the plot unfolded. Many other reviews will note the large cast of characters and the fact that each chapter is written about one character at at a time. For me, this didn’t work. (I’ve recently read other books constructed that way and once I got into the flow, enjoyed everything just fine. None of these characters actually grabbed me.)

The writing style wasn’t as Blume-esque as I recall, and the plot seemed to zig and zag, even though it was fairly linear. I read on and on, hoping I would get to that sweet spot where everything clicks and it becomes unputdownable.

It just never happened for me, and I grew annoyed. Yes, the work is epic. Yes, she winds the characters’ lives around and eventually it all makes sense. Yes, the hopes and dreams of everyone looms large as the plot unwinds, and the maturation of the characters, especially Miri Ammerman, provides a backdrop to keep the average reader turning the pages. I could say it’s like going to Disney World in the rain; the idea of it should be magical, but the weather just doesn’t cooperate.

One thing that was agreeable: the exact perfection in which Blume describes the 50’s. Little details like products, clothing, attitudes, home decor—this is done wonderfully and provided the only bright spots for me. Sad when you spend time reading a book just to pick out the background details.

Ms Blume will sell a lot of copies of IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT based on her status as a literature goddess. I’m still going to worship at her altar, but this book won’t have a place there.

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https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2023/06/2023080-in-unlikely-event-judy-blume.html ( )