In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

In the Unlikely Event

by Judy Blume

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.

Reviewed by Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews on

2 of 5 stars

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I always enjoyed Judy Blume's young adult novels growing up, therefore, I was looking forward to her foray into adult fiction.


Unfortunately, In The Unlikely Event read like a young adult novel. Blume's book had a grown-up topic, but the simplicity and continual reminders of what happened previously made it repetitive and a little annoying screaming Y.A.


The novel also had a lot of characters and was told from numerous points of view, and while this was a good idea in theory, it became a bit confusing and had to go back several times to place who the character was. If a person were to read In The Unlikely Event straight through I do not think this would be a problem, but for those like myself who could not read the book in one sitting it could become tedious.


There were four character plots that irked me as well. One was Miri's best friend Natalie who inhibits the souls of one of the crash victims. She becomes obsessed with dance (as was the deceased) and is all a bit schizophrenic. It seemed unnecessary to the story.


The second was the identity and reconnection with Miri's birth father (she was raised in a single parent household). The friction between Father and Daughter added drama to the story and helped with the development of the character and exploration of her family unit but, the author dropped the subplot halfway and was only a deterrent.


Lastly, I really dislike affairs in stories, I believe this is mainly due to the fact that I am personally disgusted by the idea of this magnitude of betrayal. That being said there are not one but two such incidents. One by Miri's boyfriend (with a much older woman I may add) and the second was by Miri's mother Rusty with Natalie's father. If Judy Blume was aiming for a soapbox, she succeeded but it just didn't work for me.


I think In The Unlikely Event had great potential but didn't quite make the mark. If it had focused more on the aftermath instead of small town drama this could have been an okay book but instead it was typecasted into young adult literature and was just all over the place. In other words, it crashed and burned.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 20 September, 2015: Finished reading
  • 20 September, 2015: Reviewed