We Are Unprepared

We Are Unprepared: a novel by Meg Little Reilly. MIRA, 2016. Reader's Guide: Questions for Discussion. 353 pages. *****

Millenials Ash and Pia move from Brooklyn to a remote town in Vermont and are trying to get pregnant with their first child. Months after moving in they find out that their chances of having a child are slim and a superstorm is forecast in the near future. Uncertainty builds as to the extent of the predicted storm and the appropriate ways to prepare. Ash becomes friends with a neighboring child and wants to save him from his dysfunctional family, Pia is uninterested and not ready to be responsible for another person when the world they know may be ending. Both Ash and Pia react differently to impending disaster and what could have brought them together seems to be tearing them apart.

I really enjoyed this book and it made me soul search as to what my reaction would be if I were faced with the same choices. Ash and Pia are both good people dealing as best they can but find themselves on opposite sides of a very serious issue. Having experienced the Air Raid drills of the 1950s and 1960s, I can see how a town can get caught up in disaster preparedness and become victims of religious zeal when faced with the need to survive. Reilly masterfully tells many sides of the issue without preaching or weighing in on who is right. Very thought provoking plot!

I received a copy for review.

Meg Little Reilly is a former treasury spokesperson under President Obama, deputy communications director for the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), communicator for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and producer for Vermont Public Radio. A native of Vermont, she is a UVM graduate with deep ties around the state. She currently lives in Boston with her husband, Daniel, and two daughters.

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