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In the Unlikely Event - Judy Blume

In the Unlikely Event

By: Judy Blume

Paperback | 3 May 2016

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In her highly anticipated new novel, Judy Blume, the New York Times # 1 best-selling author ofSummer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, creates a richly textured and moving story of three generations of families, friends and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed by unexpected events.
 
In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen, and in love for the first time, a succession of airplanes fell from the sky, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events that Blume experienced in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and place-Nat King Cole singing "Unforgettable," Elizabeth Taylor haircuts, young (and not-so-young) love, explosive friendships, A-bomb hysteria, rumors of Communist threat. And a young journalist who makes his name reporting tragedy. Through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.

In the Unlikely Event is vintage Judy Blume, with all the hallmarks of Judy Blume's unparalleled storytelling, and full of memorable characters who cope with loss, remember the good times and, finally, wonder at the joy that keeps them going.

Early reviewers have already weighed in: "Like many family stories, this one is not without its life-changing secrets and surprises. There is no surprise that the book is smoothly written, and its story compelling. The setting-the early 1950s-is especially well realized through period references and incidents." -Booklist (starred review) and "In Blume's latest adult novel . . . young and old alike must learn to come to terms with technological disaster and social change. Her novel is characteristically accessible, frequently charming and always deeply human." -Publishers Weekly
 
 
 

Industry Reviews

"Makes us feel the pure shock and wonder of living. . . . Judy Blume isn't just revered, she's revolutionary." --The New York Times Book Review

"[A] page-turner, emotionally resonant and down-to-earth. . . . Reading In the Unlikely Event is like reconnecting with a long-lost friend." --The New Yorker

"Gives us everything that Blume is known (and beloved) for. . . . This novel is her most ambitious to date, and she lives up to its reach with her characteristic frankness, compassion, and charm." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Judy Blume is back--and on her game! . . . You won't want to turn the last page." --People

"A page-turner with cross-generational appeal. . . . Will appeal to loyal fans as well as new readers." --Minneapolis Star Tribune

"A fascinating novel. . . . Blume, in clear and forthright storytelling, creates realistic characters searching for happiness. . . . Just as dramatic as the devastation and panic caused by the crashes are Blume's ruminations on the mysteries of the human heart. " --Chicago Tribune

"Judy Blume is still here, opening our eyes to the daily astonishments of life all these years later." --USA Today

"Quite simply, extraordinary. . . . Utterly brilliant." --The Observer (London)

"Blume succeeds in capturing the condition of an entire community. . . . No one captures coming-of-age milestones and stomach butterflies like Blume, and those scenes are worth waiting for." --The Boston Globe

"Judy Blume's writing is simply a delight. . . . Blume is a master at presenting the complexities of life. This novel is entertaining, heartbreaking, and redeeming." --The Missourian

"Heartwarming." --New York Daily News

"Satisfying, heartfelt. . . Delivers on the warm nostalgia that we remember from Blume's earlier books and will appeal to her admirers--of which I am absolutely one--who regard any new book by this trailblazing literary and cultural icon as a celebratory event." --Melissa M. Firman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Blume creates characters who are real and sympathetic." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Excellent and satisfying. . . Has all the elements of Blume's best books: the complex relationships between friends and family members, the straight talk and lack of shame about sex, and, most of all, the compassionate insight into the pleasures and pains of growing up." --Chicago Reader

"Has [Blume's] signature warm, personal touch." --Vogue.com

"Vividly rendered. . . Blume deftly demonstrates just how different the personal fallout from tragedy can turn out to be. . . . As Blume proves over and over again not just in In the Unlikely Event but in all of her fiction, life does go on in spite of hardship. We love. We lose. We fail. We may fall. But the lucky ones, we try our best to endure." --The Oregonian

"Soars. . . . It's Judy Blume and, therefore, it's gold." --Newark Star Ledger

"Judy Blume is revered. She is claimed, and cherished, and clutched close to the hearts of American adolescents and former adolescents, everywhere that books are read. . . . Blume's great gift is [her] personal touch; her unflinching but reassuring voice--that of a no-nonsense big sister who gives it to you straight, then gives you a hug." --Buffalo News

"Characteristically accessible, frequently charming, and always deeply human." --Publishers Weekly

"Compelling. . . . Smoothly written. . . . A new Blume novel will always be big news." --Booklist (starred review)

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