In her highly anticipated new novel Judy Blume the New York Times best-selling author of Summer Sisters and of young adult classics such as Are You There God Itrsquos 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 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 s when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere she paints a vivid portrait of a particular time and placemdashNat King Cole singing ldquoUnforgettablerdquo 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 Blumersquos 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 ldquoLike 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 settingmdashthe early smdashis especially well realized through period references and incidentsrdquo mdashBooklist starred review and ldquoIn Blumersquos 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 humanrdquo mdashPublishers Weekly From the Hardcover edition.
