Judy Blume’s first book in 17 years has been widely anticipated and having been an avid reader of hers as a young girl, I was one of the first to check it out at the library.

The plot of In the Unlikely Event revolves around astonishing real life events that happened in Blume’s hometown. Taking place within three months in late 1951 and early 1952, three commercial planes crashed in Elizabeth, New Jersey, resulting in the death of passengers and town people alike. The plane crashes serve as a backdrop for Blume’s look into how everyday life in an American town is defined by not one, but three tragic events.

For the first hundred pages or so, I struggled to keep the characters straight and fully engage with the story. However, somewhere along the way, the cylinders started clicking and I was committed.