Meg Little Reilly

Ecofiction meets thriller. In near-future Vermont, Ash and his wife Pia are settling into their new house and town in his home state after leaving NYC.

But now the storms may be beginning. A series of hurricane-from-the-south-and cold-storm-from-the-north have begun, getting worse over time, as the seasons and temperatures aren't following historic patterns.

This novel looks at the different ways townspeople react to and prepare for these mega-storms. Some are in denial, some are only out for themselves, some think they can save everything, some talk a lot but actually do little.

I thought way too much of this book was about THE COMING STORM but then the storytelling of the storm and flooding aftermath was somewhat anti-climatic and quite short. But the look at home different views can affect relationships was quite interesting.… (meer)

We Are Unprepared was slow to start so it took me a few tries to really get into it. The concept is great but I don't feel like it was executed as well as it could have been.

When news of a superstorm breaks it creates a divide between the citizens of a rural town in Vermont. The focus is on Ash and Pia, a married couple who've recently moved to Vermont from New York in order to lead a simpler life.
I really enjoyed seeing how news of the storms affected the characters. As the weather conditions begin to deteriorate, so does their relationship. They both have different ways of dealing with the news - Pia joins the preppers (those who want to go off the grid) while Ash gets involved with town politics - and as time passes they find that they no longer want the same things out of life.

As for The Storm, when it finally happens it was a bit of a let down. With so much build up it just felt a bit anticlimactic and rushed. I also would have liked to read a little more about the aftermath.

Overall, I would recommend We Are Unprepared if you're a fan of disaster stories.… (meer)

We Are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly is a thought-provoking novel that delves into the effects of climate change and the various reactions of people living in a small Vermont town who are preparing for a catastrophic weather event. Written in first person from relative newcomer Ash's perspective, the story also focuses on his rapidly disintegrating marriage to Pia as they deal with the impending disaster in completely different ways.

On the cusp of hearing the alarming news about the upcoming weather season, the only issue Ash and Pia are facing is distressing news from their recent appointment with a fertility specialist. Before they can fully absorb the unexpected diagnosis, Pia shifts immediately into disaster planning mode while Ash takes a more relaxed wait and see approach to the alarming weather forecast. As the months pass, Pia's erratic behavior is just as unpredictable as the weather as she becomes more entrenched with the local "preppers" who distrust the government and fall into the gloom and doom category. Ash, on the other hand, is slow to react and relies on local government problem solving to hopefully minimize the damage to the community from the impending cataclysmic storm. With each of them on such opposite ends of the spectrum, the cracks in their marriage begin widening and by time The Storm hits, their once happy union is on the verge of collapse.

Ash has happy memories of his idyllic childhood in a Vermont town similar to the one where he and Pia now reside. On some level, he always knew he would return to a less hectic life in a rural town and they have barely settled into their farmhouse when the weather becomes the focus of their lives. Ash has always embraced Pia's quirks and her somewhat neurotic behavior but since she has not yet found a job to give her days more structure, she is soon obsessed with prepping for The Storm. The traits Ash once found endearing and essential to Pia's creativity, he now recognizes as most likely symptoms of an undiagnosed mental disorder and he grows impatient with her erratic behavior and somewhat illogical ideas.

Not only do the couple disagree over preparations for the storm, but they also clash over Ash's unexpected desire to become a foster family for their neighbor's neglected seven year old son, August. He is completely charmed by the imaginative young boy whose love of nature reminds Ash of himself as a child. Hoping to save August from becoming lost in the foster care system, his suggestion to foster the boy is met with resistance from Pia and she stubbornly remains opposed to the idea. This is just one more major difference that widens the gap between them but it is not until The Storm and its aftermath that he figures out what he wants in life. Whether or not Pia is on the same track as Ash remains to be seen so their future remains uncertain for much of the story.

With a realistic and unique storyline, We Are Unprepared is an engrossing novel about the effects wrought by impending disaster. Diverse reactions along with philosophical differences between preppers and local government provide readers with an insightful and informative viewpoint of the various ways to handle such a calamitous storm that could, theoretically, happen at some point. Meg Little Reilly presents an intriguing scenario about the all too real effects of climate change and the disastrous impact this can have on weather systems. An unsettling but riveting debut that I highly recommend.… (meer)

3.5 stars.

Everything That Follows by Meg Little Reilly is a character driven novel about a fateful boating trip that ends in tragedy.

Kat Weber, her boyfriend Sean Murphy and their friend Hunter Briggs are celebrating the sale of a piece of Kat's artwork. With their evening winding down, Sean heads for home while Kat, Hunter and bartender Kyle decide to go out for a spin on Hunter's boat. What happens next shakes the very foundation of Kat's relationship with Sean and their future together. For Hunter, this is just another scandal that must be swept under the rug in order to protect his father's re-election campaign. Will Kat and Hunter be able to live with consequences of their decision?

Before the boating incident, Kat is happy with where she is at in her life. She has come a long way from her dysfunctional childhood and she has a lucrative career she loves. The best part of her life on Martha's Vineyard is her romance with Sean and the love she feels for his mother and her mentor, Orla. In the aftermath of the night on Hunter's boat, Kat is overcome with guilt and she becomes obsessed with finding as much information as possible about Kyle. Her memories of what happened on the boat are unclear and with the passage of time, she becomes even less certain about the events that occurred.

Hunter is the son of a wealthy US Senator and he has been embroiled in one scandal after another for the past several years. With his father in the midst of his re-election campaign, Hunter knows he and Kat have to keep quiet about what happened on his family's boat. Trying to maintain a low profile, Hunter becomes a bit of a recluse in the weeks after the boating trip.

"Everybody loves Sean" is an oft-repeated phrase throughout the story but in all honesty, he is a bit of a jerk towards both Kat and Hunter. He knows they are a keeping something from him and he jumps to an erroneous conclusion so fast it will make readers' heads spin. Sean is rigid and unbending with an uncompromising viewpoint of right and wrong.

While there is a hint of mystery surrounding the exact circumstances of what happened on the boat, the story is mostly a character study of Kat, Hunter and to some degree, Sean. Kat is barely able to function after that night and both she and Hunter are in a panic about whether or not someone will figure out they were involved. Sean's dilemma revolves around his future with Kat and he is extremely judgmental and unforgiving once he learns what she and Hunter are hiding from him.

Although the premise of Everything That Follows is intriguing, the storyline soon becomes repetitious. Some of the transitions between scenes are a little choppy and clunky. Sean is an annoying character and it is impossible to understand what Kat ever saw in him. The coastal erosion aspect of the storyline is fascinating but the grad student who inserts herself in the drama between Hunter, Kat and Sean is very irritating. The pacing of the novel is slow and it takes way too long for Kat to come to figure out what she wants for her future. Meg Little Reilly brings the novel to a satisfactory conclusion that readers might find just a bit too perfect.… (meer)