Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Things That Keep Us Here


By Carla Buckley

From the book jacket:


“A year ago, Ann and Peter Brooks were just another unhappily married couple trying – and failing – to keep their relationship together while they raised two young daughters. Now the world around them is about to be shaken as Peter, a university researcher, comes to a startling realization: A virulent pandemic has made the terrible leap across the ocean to America’s heartland.”


Gosh, what can I say about this book that would describe how much I liked it? I read this book for an author discussion at Author Exposure Book Club on March 17 and we had a great discussion.


First off, Ms. Buckley takes the recent bird flu scare and turns it into a pandemic. But she doesn’t focus on the entire world or country. Her story revolves around a little neighborhood in the Midwest where people’s only concerns are providing a good family life for their children. Suddenly, they are faced with something so horrific – their children could all die – and they must make some tough decisions to ensure their survival.


I just can’t believe how well this book is written. It’s amazingly candid and I was totally gripped by the story. In fact, I couldn’t put it down and finished it within a couple days because I picked it up whenever I could squeeze in a few minutes to read.


This is, indeed, one of the best books I’ve read in a long time and I highly recommend it to all my reading buddies.




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