Judy Blume’s In The Unlikely Event [Book Review]

JUDY BLUME AND CHILDHOOD

Judy Blume’s books are usually read by those in their younger years, like sixth, seventh and eighth grade and even into high schools for her most of her books are based during those times in a girl’s life. But they are also read by adults who wish to relive those days (by re-reading the books), or those, like me, who wish to relive those younger years and forget about adulthood for a bit. I started with Summer Sisters and fell in love with the book and, to this day, outside of Cater in The Rye (J.D Salinger) is one of my favorite books that I could read again. After I read Summer Sisters I decided to visit her other books such Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret, Here’s To You Rachel Robinson, and Just As Long As We’re Together.

When I found out that Blume was coming out with a new book via @goodreads, I was ecstatic for I missed reliving the childhood I wish I had; I went so far as to pre-order the book via Barnes and Noble (Nook e-reader). And the day finally came when I received an email stating my book was ready for download, and a-downloading I went and a-reading I began.

THE PLOT

Elizabeth, New Jersey is hit with not one, not two plane crashes, but three plane crashes within months of each other. Granted, I didn’t know what the book was about save for it’s about a tragedy that this town has to live through, but I wasn’t expecting plane crashes to be the tragedy.

We are introduced to the characters in the book before the first plane crash: Miri, 15, Natalie, a few years old and a wanna-be dancer, Daisey, assistant in Dr. Osner’s dental office, Steve, senior in high school, Mason, Miri’s boyfriend (senior high school), Catherine, high school age, etc., etc., There are a gang of characters in this book that it’s hard to keep up at times; both kids and adults and those entering adulthood.

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES

As I’m reading the book I’m wondering what the tragedy could have been during that time from of 1952 (the Korean war was going on and it wasn’t log after WW II ended in 1945). Then the first plane crash happened and it put a bit of twist in the book because now you have to see how everyone is going to handle/react to the plane crash, and this is what I love about Blume…she draws you into her characters that you want to call them and make sure they are OK. Just when you have lived through the first plane crash with them another one takes places place about a month or so after the first one. Blume incorporates actually news articles written about the crash into the book and it’s interesting to read how people wrote back then. This is another aspect of Blume’s books I like, she has a way of transporting you to the time period she is writing about.

TIME PERIODS

I’m going to divert for a bit regarding the time period. As mentioned, this is during the early 1950’s and I didn’t think much about the time period until one of the characters (I believe it’s Catherine) decides she wants to become a stewardess for TWA and two things the jobs requires besides having that Hollywood look is to be between 5’2 and 5’6 and…get this one…you have to be white. This took me aback a bit, but then I had to remember the time frame of the story. I believe Blume was pointing this out as showing how ridiculous things were back then when it came to race without being over the top about it. I like her subtle mention of it, but it didn’t make me angry at all, I just forgot the time frame, for the quick second, how things were back then.

I was OK with the first plane crash, started getting annoyed with the second plane crash, but was through with the book when the third plane crash took place. I was starting to find the book a bit hard to believe for I couldn’t see how a small town as Elizabeth, NJ could have three plane crashes in less than year of each other. The third plane crash had me stop reading the book and giving it one star on Goodreads. Yeah, I rated it before I finished it, that’s how bad this book was irritating me and I felt, taking me for a fool. Who the frack would believe that three plane crashes would take place in that short amount of time? Well, the book wasn’t taking me for a fool, I was taking myself for a fool, but wouldn’t learn that until later after I finished the book.

KEEP COMING BACK

I tried reading other books, but something kept nagging at me to finish Blume’s and I would go back to it, leave it for a few days, go back and so forth for about two weeks. Finally, I decided to stick with it and am I glad I did. This is another one of my favorite Blume books I could read again and again. I had to let the number of plane crashes go and just concentrate on the characters and things going on their lives and man, is there plenty going on or what? I’m not going to say what’s going on for I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone, but let’s just say my jaw dropped a few times during the course of the book.

I like the way book ended with you feeling like you know these people personally and want to call them up to see how they are doing. Some lives ended good and some didn’t. I changed my one star on Goodreads to four stars (not sure why I didn’t give it five stars when I’m basically giving it five stars here..hmmm).

I highly recommend this book to any and everyone. I don’t think anyone can call themselves a reader without reading a Judy Blume book (and age does not matter AT ALL!), I don’t care which one it is……yeah I do..start with Summer Sisters, but make sure to read In An Unlikely Event. Oh yeah, I forgot to add, you’ll find out later in the book why the book titled that.
I am so looking forward to Blume’s next book.


You can read more about the plane crashes that took place in Elizabeth, NJ (Blume’s hometown) HERE
You can purchase In The Unlikely Event from Amazon or Barnes and Noble (hard copy or download)
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Pages: 416
Release Date: 2 June 2016

Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Possible Spoiler) [Book Review]

GOODREADS FOR GOOD BOOKS

I belong to a reading challenge group on @goodreads (not sure if I mentioned this in my last book review of Judy Blume’s In An Unlikely Event already already) and September’s book is The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I usually read my books via my iPhone or the Fire HD 6 (getting rid of that and getting an iPad mini soon), but I find a lot of distractions with reading from those devices, mostly with Candy Crush Soda (yeah, I’m hooked liked a fool), so I decided to head to Barnes and Noble and get a hard copy of the book so I could spend Labor Day weekend reading without being distracted.

CHARLIE AND THE LETTERS

The protagonist tells the story via letter he (Charlie) is writing to someone but we don’t know who. He starts his letter off with the date and Dear Friend. He explains in his first letter why he’s writing the letters but doesn’t give a clue as to who the person is. Even at the end of the book we don’t know how the person is he’s writing to, but it doesn’t matter. By the mere fact that he starts each letter with Dear Friend we become that person he is confiding in, and that’s what he’s doing in each of these letters, confiding in us.

We follow Charlie through a year of school (freshman year when we meet Charlie). He introduces us to his friends Patrick, Sam (Patrick’s sister), Bill (Charlie’s English teacher who thinks the world of Charlie), Charlie’s sister, brother and parents and those he comes in contact with. We learn secrets of these people, things that happen to them that only Charlie can share with us and things that happen to Charlie that he can only share with us. There are somethings he won’t tell us, which is fine.

THINGS WE LEARN ABOUT CHARLIE

-Patrick (high school senior) is gay and having a secret affair with Brad, the star quarterback of the school

-Charlie’s sister (high school senior) gets pregnant and has an abortionCharlie has a crush on Sam (but you’ll have to read the book to find out what happens with those two)
-Charlie takes LSD, has taken up smoking cigarettes and weed and drinks at times
-Charlie gets a girlfriend and loses that girlfriend and his friends in the process (you have to read the book to understand it more).

We learn how dysfunctional Charlie’s family is but not in a disturbing way. More in a normal dysfunctional way, where the sister hates the brother at times. Father ignores the son at times. No likes Charlie at times. But mostly, we grow to like Charlie right away and hope for the best for him.

ONCE A WALLFLOWER ALWAYS A WALLFLOWER

Although Charlie is a wallflower by nature, he still remains a wallflower in his own way throughout the book when he’s with his friends at parties or at Big Boy. He becomes part of the party while still sitting on the sidelines. He is apart of the many conversations while still sitting on the sidelines. Not physically of course. His letters are detailed that it’s like he was watching everything go down as well be apart of everything.

Charlie has a way of staying positive throughout the letters even when things are going really wrong for him, because he has us to talk to. These letters are a way for him to remain sane through it all the best he can.

Perks reminds me of my high school days and how simple things really were then. Charlie begins realizes this too through the book.

CONFUSION FOR ME TO BE HAD

There were some things I didn’t understand since the book is written between 1991 and 1992. For instance, the time Charlie comes home to find his sister watching Gomer Pyle. Gomer Pyle was in the 70’s. The author fails to tell us if the sister is watching via TVLand or another station that plays old shows. Doesn’t it matter? Yeah, it does to me, but then again, I’m probably being too particular.

Charlies bring up VHS tapes, but I had remember this was the early 90’s and that’s what we had then. He talks about writing letters; again, the 90’s and email was not known or used widely then.
I don’t find the 90’s as being that long ago and reading this book really made me realize how primitive (compared to today’s standards) we were. In essence, pen and paper were the tools of the day. Not Facebook, not emails, not Twitter, but pen and paper.

There is a point in the book that Charlie is given a typewriter by Sam..a typewriter. Again, it’s the time period. I still think typewriters are great.

Some have Said that Charlie is this generation’s Holden Caulfield from Catcher In The Rye and I strongly disagree. Holden was a rebel from the beginning; Charlie was a loaner and never did become a rebel in my opinion.

This book will resonate with anyone of any age and I feel it will become a favorite among those that are teenagers now when they get older, like Judy Blume books are with us adults now.

You can purchase the book via Amazon or Barnes and Noble in both e-reader format or hardcopy
224 pages broken up into four sections.
Publisher: MTV Books
Release date: 14 August 2012