I really enjoyed this book and read it quickly.
I had no idea about the 3 plane crashes in Elizabeth, NJ in the early 50's but, I was a toddler and wouldn't know. But I wonder if those events were the cause of my mom's fear of flying. She was a fearful person, in general, but especially fearful of flying. And at the time of these three crashes, she was a young mother living in Buffalo, NY.
Review from Library website:
"...the story of three generations of an Elizabeth, New Jersey, family: her
protagonist, 15-year-old Miri; Miri's mother, Rusty; and Miri's
grandmother, Irene. Their lives and those of their friends are impacted
when a plane falls out of the sky over Elizabeth, and, in the course of
the next 58 days, two others follow. Miri's friends are sure it's the
work of aliens or zombies or, more simply, sabotage. Miri's reporter
uncle, Henry, who will make his reputation covering the crashes for the
local newspaper, says they're coincidences. But who is to say? In the
meantime, Miri's boyfriend, Mason, becomes a hero in the wake of the
third crash, but will their relationship survive? Like many family
stories, this one is not without its life-changing secrets and
surprises. There is no surprise that the book is smoothly written, and
its story compelling. The setting the early 1950s is especially well
realized through period references and incidents: God Bless America sung
by Kate Smith, praying in public schools, reading the new novel Catcher
in the Rye, watching Your Hit Parade on TV, and more. With its focus on
Miri's coming-of-age, this could have been published as a YA novel, and
it will doubtless reach a wide crossover readership.
I really enjoyed this book and read it quickly.
