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Judy Blume

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In the Unlikely Event: A Novel Paperback – May 3, 2016

by Judy Blume (Author)

4.0 13,501 ratings

Editors' pick Best Literature & Fiction

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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The author of Are you There God? It’s Me, Margaret returns with an adult novel that takes us back to the 1950s and introduces us to the town where she herself grew up, where a community is left reeling after a real-life tragedy when a series of airplanes fell out of the sky.

“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

“No one captures coming-of-age milestones…like Blume.” —The Boston Globe

Here she imagines and weaves together a vivid portrait of three generations of families, friends, and strangers, whose lives are profoundly changed during one winter. At the center of an extraordinary cast of characters are fifteen-year-old Miri Ammerman and her spirited single mother, Rusty. Their warm and resonant stories are set against the backdrop of an extraordinary real-world tragedy.

Gripping, authentic, and unforgettable, In the Unlikely Event has all the hallmarks of this renowned author’s deft narrative magic.

Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Publication date

May 3, 2016
Dimensions

5.13 x 0.89 x 7.98 inches
ISBN-10

1101873981
ISBN-13

978-1101873984
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“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)

About the Author

JUDY BLUME is one of America’s most beloved authors. She grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and was a teenager in 1952 when the real events in this book took place. She has written books for all ages. Her twenty-eight previous titles include Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret; Forever; and Summer Sisters. Her books have sold more than eighty-five million copies in thirty-two languages. She is a champion of intellectual freedom, working with the National Coalition Against Censorship in support of writers, teachers, librarians, and students. In 2004, Blume was awarded the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. She lives in Key West and New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Miri
Miri was not happy when Rusty showed up at the Osners' party. And even less happy to see she was wearing her good black dress, her dress shoes and stockings with seams. Then there was the hair. Rita Hayworth hair. To her shoulders. Heads turned when Rusty came into the living room. She waved at Miri but Miri turned away. "What is my mother doing here?" she asked Natalie.

"My mother wants to introduce her to Cousin Tewky from Birmingham."

"Tewky? What kind of a name is Tewky?"

"Some family nickname. He's my mother's first cousin, from the banking side of the family. You know, Purvis Brothers Bank."

Miri didn't know.

"My mother's from the department store side."

Miri didn't know that, either. "You should have warned me," she told Natalie.

"How was I supposed to know your mother didn't tell you she was coming?"

Corinne greeted Rusty and led her straight to a man, a man who must have been Tewky Purvis, balding, not especially handsome, but not ugly, either, with a mustache. Well, half the men in the room had mustaches, including Dr. O. She couldn't hold that against him. They were talking now, her mother and Tewky Purvis, and laughing, maybe even flirting. Miri didn't like it. She didn't know how grown-ups judged each other, especially how women judged men. It never made sense to her. It's about character, Rusty once told her. Strength, goodness. A sense of humor doesn't hurt, either.

She didn't ask how men judged women because she already knew. It was obvious, and Rusty looked glamorous tonight. "That's not all of it," Rusty had once argued. "But you're right--looks are certainly a starting point. Chemistry, too." Miri understood chemistry now. Chemistry turned your legs to jelly and made your insides roll over.

If Mason hadn't had to work tonight Miri might not be at the Osners' party. She hoped she'd never have to choose between her best friend and the boy she loved. Since seventh grade, New Year's Eve had been for just the two of them, Natalie and Miri. She didn't think Natalie would have invited Mason. Maybe someday when Natalie was also in love, they'd invite dates to the Osners' party, but not now. Rusty must have thought that Miri would be out with Mason when she accepted Corinne's invitation. Now she'd have to deal with her daughter keeping an eye on her.

Rusty
She decided to go to the party at the last minute when Irene urged her to get out and enjoy herself. Seeing the worry on Miri's face now, she began to regret her decision. Maybe it had been a mistake to keep the men in her life a secret. Not that there had been many. But she'd never brought a date home. Not one man in fifteen years. She hadn't done a thing to get Miri used to the idea, to the possibility. In all these years, there had been just two serious boyfriends. One of them had been married. She certainly wasn't going to introduce him to her family. She knew from the start he would never leave his wife and children. She knew she wasn't his first affair. Yet she kept seeing him. For five years she saw him every week. If you asked her about him today she wouldn't be able to explain it. Just that she'd been young and she'd enjoyed the attention, the thrill, the sex.

The second man was decent and available. He'd proposed after a few months, with a diamond as big as her thumbnail. For a minute she thought she could learn to love him, could be happy with his promise of a big house in the suburbs, a maid to clean and cook, summer camp for Miri. But when it came time to introduce him to the family she couldn't do it. They would see right through her. They would see the truth--she didn't love him, wasn't the least attracted to him and didn't want to marry him, not even for an easier life.

Sometimes she wondered about her first love, but not often. A girl gets in trouble, she marries the boy. They wind up hating each other, resenting each other and finally they get a divorce. By then it's taken its toll on both of them and their children. No, she never wanted that, which is why she'd refused to allow her mother to call the Monskys and force Mike to marry her. Maybe she would fall in love again. If and when that happened she would introduce him to Miri. But until then, what was the point?

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; Reprint edition (May 3, 2016)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1101873981
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1101873984
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.13 x 0.89 x 7.98 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #93,626 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,018 in Sisters Fiction
- #1,517 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
- #2,616 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction

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4.0 13,501 ratings

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Judy Blume

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Judy Blume spent her childhood in Elizabeth, NJ, making up stories inside her head. She has spent her adult years in many places, doing the same thing, only now she writes her stories down on paper. Adults as well as children will recognize such Blume titles as: Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret; Superfudge; Blubber; Just As Long As We're Together; and Forever. She has also written the best-selling novels Wifey; Smart Women; and, Summer Sisters. More than 75 million copies of her books have been sold, and her work has been translated into twenty-six languages.

She receives thousands of letters each month from readers of all ages who share their feelings and

concerns with her.

Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year that American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. She has won more than ninety awards, none more important than those coming directly from her youngest readers.

She serves on the boards of the Author's Guild, currently as Vice President; the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, where she sponsors an award for contemporary fiction; and the National Coalition Against Censorship, working to protect intellectual freedom. In Spring 2002, Judy was a spokesperson for the Cheerios "A Book for Every Child" literacy campaign which benefited Reading is Fundamental, America's largest literacy organization. She is also the founder and trustee of The Kids Fund, a charitable and educational foundation.

Judy's first book in the Fudge series, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, was published in 1972. She is thrilled to be celebrating its 30th Anniversary with the publication of Double Fudge. Just as generations of fans have loved the Fudge books, generations of Judy's family have inspired them. Thirty years ago, Fudge was inspired by her son, Larry, and now Double Fudge was written at the request of her grandson, Elliot.

Judy lives on islands up and down the East Coast with her husband George Cooper. They have three grown children and one grandchild.

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“I’ll See You in My Dreams”

Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2015

Verified Purchase

It’s in the early 1950’s (the Korean War is still raging) and there are three airplane crashes in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Judy Blume recalls these actual incidents. She was an eighth grader in Elizabeth at the time. She weaves a fictional tale drawing on these events while providing a description of the impact of the crashes. They seem all too real. The massive flames, the wreckages, bodies strewn all over, and some of the passengers are real (Truman’s Secretary of War).

She centers the story on Miri (Miriam) Ammerman, the daughter to a single mother, Rusty, a beautiful woman with red hair (Rita Hayworth allure). They live with her nana, Irene, and are part of the community. Rusty, who works every day, is not the typical mother who has a husband to support her. Miri’s father is rather a mystery but later revealed.

Miri has a tight group of friends but know no one seems to feel the sensitivity of the losses of others as much as Miri. She can’t sleep, she thinks about dead pilots, children, newlyweds, a dancer who supported her family and many others who get on a plane and hope it is not an unlikely event.

For those that cannot remember the impact of print journalism, Henry Ammerman (Miri’s uncle) portrays a journalist whose excellent writing and analysis of the crashes provide the town and country with information. Few had TV’s and, of course, there were no computers or Internet. Because Blume’s characters had to rely on non-mobile telephones, print journalism, word of mouth and actual incidents, her cast of characters is portrayed in a day-to day reality. Families that seemed perfect exploded after these crashes, even though they lost no one. Two boys who live in an orphanage integrate with townspeople and try and hide their past. They become heroes to many during one of the crashes, particularly Mason.
Blume touches many other subjects: divorce, hopes and dreams of college, Jewish families and customs, early mental illness and intransigent school administrators.

This book can be read and enjoyed by both young adults and children. Some of the incidents seem contrived which makes sense if she is also targeting young adults. If a reader wants to know how many lived in the 1950’s and reacted to tragedy as communities and families, this is an innovative novel.

9 people found this helpful

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J. C. Sandoval

Living and learning

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023

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This book took a while for me to really get into, but once I understood the depth of the characters and appreciated their development in the story, I enjoyed the book. The tale is told chronologically, and jumps from person to person, with Miri being the main character. Miri is a teenager, with teen-aged angst living in a world and generation very different but not so different from today's teenagers. As the title suggests, "in the likely event," words that we have heard countless times on an aircraft before take off, who is to say what is likely and what is not? Judy Blume does an excellent job tying those words together and making sense of a somewhat senseless world with perspective seen through the lens of Miri and those surrounding her.

One person found this helpful

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S. Warfield

Not quite what I expected

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2015

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I was looking forward to reading "In the Unlikely Event" by Judy Blume since I've been to Elizabeth, NJ and my husband is from Maplewood, NJ. We used to go to Grunings for ice cream as Miri, a main character, once did on her outing with her aunt. I started the book twice and put it down twice because I just couldn't get into the early part of the story and the way it is written switching back and forth from character to character distracted me. Finally on the third try I sat down and finished it.

The story is an incredible one and nearly unbelievable. It did happen and it was tragic that three airplanes crashed into Elizabeth, NJ within 60 days in 1952, killing many people. Newark Airport was shut down after the last crash until improvements were made. These were terrifying events that traumatized people for a long time as they made efforts to get their lives back to normal.

The list of characters in this novel is very long and I often had to check back to make sure I remembered who some of them were. The number of characters that I found myself really caring about was limited to about two or three out of all of them. I cared about what happened to Miri, the main character, who was going into adolescence during the time period, and her immediate family. I found her mother's love interest unrealistic and disappointing and also the move they made.

Years later I didn't care for Miri as an adult as much as I did for her as a child. Several things about her surprised me and she really didn't seem like the same person at all.

I found the book just okay and nowhere near a 5-star rating. However, others might have a completely different opinion and that's the fun of reading reviews, to see what others find that I didn't or the other way around. Either way, it was a good history lesson for those days in Elizabeth, NJ in the 1950's when three planes crashed within weeks of each other.

13 people found this helpful

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L015

So wortg it!

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2023

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I began this book because it was being read by a former book club. I began it as an audio book, which challenged me because I was listening in small bursts. I wasn't sure I'd finish it-- really hard to keep track of the changing perspectives. Then I downloaded the ebook, and began reading it, with the cast of characters bookmarked for frequent review.

From that point, I read it compulsively, all the way through the author notes. For me, a 66 year-old who grew up in Washington state, it provided a glimpse into a time period and setting of which I knew very little, or had ever given much thought.

I highly recommend, especially for those in my age range.

4 people found this helpful

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Michelle Maddox

Interesting story

Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2023

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I wish I would have read her acknowledgments before reading and it would have had more meaning (I think). Love how she has ties to my hometown-Key West. Hope to see her there at her bookstore when I visit.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Ken Klein

Price

Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2023

Verified Purchase

A good read

Ale

Another Blume success

Reviewed in Italy on August 21, 2020

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Judy Blume never disappoints.

Constanze

Boring

Reviewed in Germany on October 17, 2015

Verified Purchase

More boring. Could not get beyond the first twenty pages. Perhaps when I have loads of energy I might try again.

One person found this helpful

Joanne Sheppard

Evocative chronicle of an extraordinary year in the life of a small town and its people

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 24, 2015

Verified Purchase

Although Judy Blume has written previously for adults, anyone – certainly any girl – who grew up in the 70s or 80s will be familiar her novels for children and teenagers. Blume was one of a relatively small number of children’s writers prepared to address awkward topics in a way that was non-judgemental and empathetic but often also funny. Friendships, sibling rivalry, the mortifying anxieties of puberty, divorce, first love, racism and even the death are all part of Judy Blume’s fictional world, and yet her stories are full of warmth, wit and hope. I'm sure there are plenty of girls who can truthfully say that they only found what periods were from reading Judy Blume, but in fact, the most important thing I took away from books is that however embarrassing your adolescent mistakes, however different from your peers you think you are and however infuriating your family and friends, you will, eventually, Be All Right.

In The Unlikely Event is in fact not a children's or YA novel, although its main character is a teenager throughout much of the story and Blume's breezily straightforward prose style makes it an easy read that many young adult readers would also enjoy. Set in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1951 it’s a fictional account of an extraordinary year in the town’s real-life history: a year in which three separate passenger planes crashed in the town, entirely by coincidence, killing 118 people. Blume herself, as she explained at an ‘Audience With...’ event I attended at Manchester Central Library while she was promoting the book, was a teenager in Elizabeth at the time, and In The Unlikely Event draws strongly from her own memories of that year, and from local newspaper reports at the time.

Forming the backdrop to the three plane crashes is a fascinating chronicle of various characters' lives, which combine to form a pin-sharp portrait of small town American life in the 1950s that at times reminded me of Grace Metalious' greatly underrated Peyton Place. Although the main character is 15-year-old Miri Ammerman , there are also numerous sections told from the points of view of many other characters – including, most poignantly, a number of crash victims – and beneath the bright, aspirational, wholesome exterior of 1950s America, almost everyone has something to hide.

Miri lives with her pretty, hardworking mother Rusty, her indomitable grandmother Irene and Uncle Henry, a kind, principled local journalist: Rusty has never had a husband but this is rarely spoken of within the family, let alone outside it. By contrast Miri’s friend Natalie appears to have the perfect 1950s nuclear family - affluent, well-dressed and charming. But Natalie herself is soon showing signs of serious emotional disturbance, and her charming father Dr Osner smashes plaster figurines in his office to let off steam. His receptionist Christina has a long-term secret boyfriend her family will never accept because he isn't Greek. Miri's orphaned boyfriend Mason is reveals some shocking facts about his troubled past, but has another secret he can't bring himself to reveal.

Options for the women of Elizabeth are terribly limited – a young woman who dreams of becoming an air stewardess notes that candidates must be ‘single, not married, divorced or separated’ and Miri's headmaster is openly disapproving of her mother's work in a New York department store.

As speculation starts to grow over how three planes could possibly crash over the same town in one year, we're reminded of the paranoia of 1950s McCarthyism and the Cold War - the pupils at Miri's high school constantly share their conspiracy theories, yet are forbidden from writing about the plane crashes in the school newspaper.

And yet, despite the repression and the secrets, the fear that hangs over the town of Elizabeth in the wake of the disasters and the terrible things the people have witnessed, the crashes seem to be a catalyst for change. For some, adversity simply seems to bring out the best in them: Henry, for example, makes his name as a journalist with his perceptive, distinctive reports on the disasters. But for others, the simple realisation not only that life is short but that death can be random seems to spur them to make decisions that will change the course of their lives forever.

In The Unlikely Event is a beautifully evocative read – with cashmere sweaters and powder compacts, dancing to Nat King Cole with a boy who has a pack of Lucky Strikes in his shirt pocket and lingerie shops that specialise in girdles, Blume conjures up a perfect picture of 50s America. Each chapter is introduced by one of Henry’s newspaper articles, all of which are so pitch-perfect for the journalism of the time that it’s hard not to hear them being read in the voice of Ed Murrow. There are occasional appearances by real-life Jewish gangster Longy Zwillman, and Las Vegas is talked of as a soon-to-be-built land of opportunity for modern-day pioneers.

If you read Judy Blume’s books as a child and liked them, you’ll almost certainly like In The Unlikely Event too: Blume’s warmth and sympathy for her own characters really shines through, even as they make terrible mistakes, and her ability to see an adult world through Miri’s teenage eyes is second to none. But this isn’t just a book for Blume fans – it’s an excellent and extremely readable portrait of a community, its relationships and its secrets. The language throughout is straightforward and the plot is episodic rather than complex, but none of this matters, because what Blume is interested in is people: the worries they have, the mistakes they make, the lies they tell and the secrets they keep. The tone of In The Unlikely Event is always understanding, never judgemental, and its end note is very much one of life going on.

7 people found this helpful

Glenys Broadhead

I loved this book and was stunned to learn that it ...

Reviewed in Australia on July 13, 2015

Verified Purchase

I loved this book and was stunned to learn that it was true that 3 planes crashed in that one town - truly incomprehensible! Beautiful writing.

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