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3.5 Stars

This was a story about a married thirty-something named Annie who was 9 months pregnant. It's her first day of maternity leave as she drives out alone to her local IKEA in Portland, Oregon to buy a crib. While there, a massive earthquake hits. The chapters weave back and forth from past to present as Annie recounts her relationship with her husband, as she is one among the masses of people trying to get to their loved ones amid this environmental catastrophe.

I liked the honest way the main character looked back at her life with her husband, weary and cynical about the fact that her husband relentlessly persued his passion to be an actor. She watched other friends take more traditional job trajectories and build lives with financial security, feeling wistful and a bit depressed that their own best lives were possibly passing them by. I also admired her inner and outer strength, navigating this natural disaster and the dangers all around her...while 9 months pregnant. The present day story takes place within one day, and the tension/suspense kept me tethered as I cheered for Annie to get home and keep her unborn baby safe.

Thank you to the publisher Simon Element / Simon & Schuster/ Marysue Rucci Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.