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In the Unlikely Event

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In the Unlikely Event

By: Judy Blume
Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
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Summary

In 1987, Miri returns to her hometown to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Beautiful, gripping and deeply moving, In the Unlikely Event is an unforgettable novel from Judy Blume.

Thirty-five years ago, when Miri Ammerman was fifteen and in love for the first time, three planes fell from the sky within three months, leaving the commmunity of Elizabeth, New Jersey reeling.

The plane crashes bring some people closer together and tear others apart; they create myths and unlock secrets. As Miri experiences the ordinary joys and pains of growing up in extraordinary circumstances, a young journalist makes his name reporting tragedy. And through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on.

Against this backdrop of actual events in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, Judy Blume weaves a haunting story of three generations of families, friends, and strangers, whose lives are for ever changed in the aftermath.

 20th Century Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Aviation Heartfelt
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I wasn't sure how the book would suit me, not understanding how the story would be told. (Quite an unusual subject!) But I thoroughly enjoyed it, got into the characters and their lives. Another triumph for Judy Bloom

Excellent Saga

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What did you like most about In the Unlikely Event?

Beautifully told story of the people whose lives would be forever changed by the tragic plane crashes. The atmospheric setting of the Fifties so perfectly captured, and characters so real it was hard to believe they were all fictional.

What other book might you compare In the Unlikely Event to, and why?

None.

What does Kathleen McInerney bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Kathleen McInerney was fantastic and brought the characters to life. She greatly added to my enjoyment of this book

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

A wee bit of both - but mainly it made me to ponder deeply about the experiences and reactions of the people involved, and recollect the stories of that time from my parents.

Any additional comments?

As a teenager I loved reading Judy Blume books, and I can now only hope she writes many more books for adults as she has such a wonderful understanding of human relationships and our day to day lives. This story was obviously close to her heart, having lived through the plane crashes herself, and the characters were so authentic I fell sure they must be based on people she knew.

Wonderful story, beautifully narrated

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loosely based on a true story I enjoyed this book. I wouldn't describe it as a page Turner I couldn't put down but I liked the characters and narration and wanted to find out what happened and was happy to do so at my own pace as I am a busy person. at the start it was a little difficult to keep up with the many different characters but it soon falls into place.

A nice comfortable book

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I always read Judy Blume as a child and this took be back to then.

Brilliant book by a favourite childhood author

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While i understand and sympathise with the fact that this novel contains alot of fact with the plane crashes i have to admit i found it hard to keep up with about half way into it.

I didnt really like the characters and the ones i thought were ok i soon got bored of and it felt like it dragged out alot 2/3 's into the story.
the actual narration was good, voice was soothing.

Im gutted i didnt like this book as i was always a huge Judy Blume fan in my youth but then you cant like everything!

Ok but hard to keep up sometimes

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