It’s Judy Blume. As in the Judy Blume who wrote Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. My absolute favorite book as a tween, in addition to about a dozen of others she wrote. I have always loved JB, and when her book came in my June PopSugar Box, I just about died of excitement.
OK, so what is this book about? It’s actually based on a true story, in which 3 planes crashed and burned in the town of Elizabeth, NJ in the winter of 1952. All three planes fell from the sky within two months of each other, leaving a complete and total path of destruction, confusion, fear, and sadness through the community. From this, Blume built a large cast of characters, each telling their side, and continuing to carry on with their lives as best they can. It centers around Miri, a sweet 15 year old girl, her first boyfriend, her friends, and her family.
There are SO many characters in the book, that I found myself constantly flipping back and forth trying to remember who was who (which got a tad annoying), but eventually, everything tied together nicely. It moves with a quick pace, as the chapters are broken up by short one page, half a page, or even two quick paragraph entries given in each characters point of view.
The last 50 pages were hard to put down, and I felt like I was 12 again- in the best way possible- reading another JB book well after I should have been asleep. It’s heartwarming, sweet, and makes you want to call your mom.