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Aftershocks
A gripping YA novel about two strangers struggling to survive a massive California earthquake
When a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits California, Ruby is trapped in a laundromat with Charlie, a boy she had her first conversation with only moments before. She can’t see anything beyond the rubble that she’s trapped beneath, but she’s sure someone will come save them soon. As the hours and days tick by, Ruby and Charlie struggle to stay hopeful—and stay alive. Ruby has only Charlie’s voice and her memories to find the hope to keep holding on. Will the two make it out alive? And if they do, what will they have lost to the earthquake? Riveting, tense, and emotionally complex, Aftershocks weaves together the terror and hope of a catastrophic event while showing the ways that disasters can change and unite us.
When a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits California, Ruby is trapped in a laundromat with Charlie, a boy she had her first conversation with only moments before. She can’t see anything beyond the rubble that she’s trapped beneath, but she’s sure someone will come save them soon. As the hours and days tick by, Ruby and Charlie struggle to stay hopeful—and stay alive. Ruby has only Charlie’s voice and her memories to find the hope to keep holding on. Will the two make it out alive? And if they do, what will they have lost to the earthquake? Riveting, tense, and emotionally complex, Aftershocks weaves together the terror and hope of a catastrophic event while showing the ways that disasters can change and unite us.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published September 29, 2020
15 people are currently reading
2952 people want to read
About the author
Marisa Reichardt
5 books259 followersMarisa Reichardt is the critically acclaimed author of the YA novels UNDERWATER, AFTERSHOCKS (2020), and A SHOT AT NORMAL (2021). She has a Master of Professional Writing degree from the University of Southern California and dual degrees in English & American Literature and Creative Writing from UC San Diego. Before becoming a published author, Marisa worked in academic publications, tutored high school students in writing, and shucked oysters. These days, you can probably find her huddled over her laptop in a coffeehouse or swimming in the ocean.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
November 10, 2020
this is a very interesting premise. nearly all of my moms side of the family lives in california, so i am very familiar with hearing about ‘the big one,’ the earthquake that will dramatically wipe the state off the map. or so they say. lol.
and i think MR did a pretty decent job for the limited story she could tell - theres only so much that can happen when two people are trapped under fallen debris. its a lot of personal reflection and internal narration. which is okay, considering the MC is at that coming-of-age age, so i think she learned a lot of good, important lessons.
but this is just a tad bit too simple, a little too short for my liking. for a survival story, i expected more tension, for the story to feel like there is more at stake. but i wasnt getting that. its a little one note all the way through.
overall, not bad at all. i think those who are in the target demographic will get a lot out of this story, but i was hoping for a little bit more, personally.
↠ 3.5 stars
and i think MR did a pretty decent job for the limited story she could tell - theres only so much that can happen when two people are trapped under fallen debris. its a lot of personal reflection and internal narration. which is okay, considering the MC is at that coming-of-age age, so i think she learned a lot of good, important lessons.
but this is just a tad bit too simple, a little too short for my liking. for a survival story, i expected more tension, for the story to feel like there is more at stake. but i wasnt getting that. its a little one note all the way through.
overall, not bad at all. i think those who are in the target demographic will get a lot out of this story, but i was hoping for a little bit more, personally.
↠ 3.5 stars
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November 16, 2020I sat down to start this and blew through it in a day. Ruby is angry at her mother when she learns her mother and water polo coach are dating. Rather than attend practice, Ruby makes her way to the local laundromat, where she knows she can get someone over 21 to buy her alcohol. But just as she's zoomed in on Charlie as the person she'll ask to do the deed for her, the big earthquake hits and everything about their lives changes.
Told primarily over the course of a week, this is a book about survival. What does it mean to survive? To get through something challenging? To allow the memory of another person to survive? Well-paced and engaging, the book offers the present interspersed with glimpses of the past and what caused Ruby's friendship with Mina to begin falling apart.
Readers who love stories of natural disasters, of triumph in the wake of tragedy (without ever dismissing the raw, real circumstances one is in), and contemporary YA that tangoes with the power of relationships, forgiveness, and what it means to love and care for someone, this is a winner.
Told primarily over the course of a week, this is a book about survival. What does it mean to survive? To get through something challenging? To allow the memory of another person to survive? Well-paced and engaging, the book offers the present interspersed with glimpses of the past and what caused Ruby's friendship with Mina to begin falling apart.
Readers who love stories of natural disasters, of triumph in the wake of tragedy (without ever dismissing the raw, real circumstances one is in), and contemporary YA that tangoes with the power of relationships, forgiveness, and what it means to love and care for someone, this is a winner.
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September 28, 2020 “Heavy things drop. Shift. Move. Walls and windows blow out. The building rains down around me. A boom. A screech. A bump. A roll. And just as quickly as it had started moving, the earth takes a final gasp. Its waves slow like it is out of breath. Until finally, stillness.”
When Ruby decides to skip water polo practice, she never thinks she’ll end up in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Now, she’s trapped in the rubble of a laundromat with Charlie, a boy she met minutes before. With only a sliver of light, each other’s voices, no water or food, and pain from injuries they can’t even see, Ruby and Charlie struggle to keep their hopes up…and stay alive. Will they survive? And if they make it out, how will their lives have changed?
I can’t stop thinking about this book. I read it in a matter of hours because I could not put it down. Gripping, tense, and emotionally complex, it grabs you from the moment the earth starts shaking and refuses to let you go. Ruby is a fantastic heroine: strong yet flawed, positive yet terrified, and persistent. Reichardt’s writing is fast-paced and urgent but also lyrical and fluid, making it easy and enjoyable to read this high-stakes survival novel in one sitting. Having never experienced an earthquake myself, Ruby’s narration placed me directly in the center of her situation and taught me so much about what happens when disaster strikes. Readers will be able to sympathize with themes of loss, fear for those we care about, and the fight to find one’s courage. Fans of young adult survival stories will love this powerful book.
(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)
Trigger Warnings: Strong language, death, alcoholism, graphic descriptions, underage drinking, referenced death of a parent
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
When Ruby decides to skip water polo practice, she never thinks she’ll end up in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Now, she’s trapped in the rubble of a laundromat with Charlie, a boy she met minutes before. With only a sliver of light, each other’s voices, no water or food, and pain from injuries they can’t even see, Ruby and Charlie struggle to keep their hopes up…and stay alive. Will they survive? And if they make it out, how will their lives have changed?
I can’t stop thinking about this book. I read it in a matter of hours because I could not put it down. Gripping, tense, and emotionally complex, it grabs you from the moment the earth starts shaking and refuses to let you go. Ruby is a fantastic heroine: strong yet flawed, positive yet terrified, and persistent. Reichardt’s writing is fast-paced and urgent but also lyrical and fluid, making it easy and enjoyable to read this high-stakes survival novel in one sitting. Having never experienced an earthquake myself, Ruby’s narration placed me directly in the center of her situation and taught me so much about what happens when disaster strikes. Readers will be able to sympathize with themes of loss, fear for those we care about, and the fight to find one’s courage. Fans of young adult survival stories will love this powerful book.
(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing us with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)
Trigger Warnings: Strong language, death, alcoholism, graphic descriptions, underage drinking, referenced death of a parent
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
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September 27, 2020Aftershocks was a fast-moving book about a girl who suddenly finds herself trapped under debris after a huge earthquake. While she's stuck there with no way to move or call for help, she gets to know the guy who's trapped there with her, and thinks about her life: her friend's drinking problem and the fact that her mom is dating someone she's not sure she approves of.
I think this book would be a great fit for reluctant teen readers and for anyone who likes plot driven books. At times to me it felt a little heavy handed on the emotional manipulation, but I know there are readers out there who will really enjoy it.
Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
I think this book would be a great fit for reluctant teen readers and for anyone who likes plot driven books. At times to me it felt a little heavy handed on the emotional manipulation, but I know there are readers out there who will really enjoy it.
Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!
Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!
August 6, 2020
How long could you survive? Faced with life and death, could you do what it takes to make it through a major natural disaster? And if you do survive, how do you know what to do next? Aftershock is an original and insightful novel about survival, friendship, doing the right thing, facing your mistakes and learning to continue to live after surviving it all, all set against the heart-stopping suspense of an earthquake.
We often hear about natural disasters on the news. The number count of who survived and who didn’t. But what about the stories of those who live through such an event? I don’t often see disaster novels come across my radar and I’m so glad I found this one. It a great mix of realistic fiction and action. Every moment is both tense and yet also introspective. It’s a story about connections. It’s a story about mistakes and learning to live with them. It’s also a story about doing the right thing in really hard situations. Aftershock touches on some interesting and important themes alongside the main story of surviving an earthquake.
Ruby has blown off water polo practice after learning her mother is dating her coach. She knows how her friends will react, especially volatile Mila. Her plan is to convince the cute guy waiting at the laundromat to buy her alcohol. What better way to drown her sorrows than getting drunk? That plan goes awry when a massive earthquake brings the building down around them. Trapped and alone, Ruby and the guy - Charlie, she learns - struggle to survive. But as they wait hours for a rescue that might never come, they find themselves sharing their secrets, regrets and a desire to do things differently once they escape.
I’ll start by saying this book didn’t unfold like I expected it to. In fact, I think it was the opposite of expected. But in a really good way. It isn’t a romance, as I expected. And the story isn’t just focused on the immediate events of the earthquake. Flashbacks and reflections to times in Ruby’s life give readers a better picture of her life and the relationships with her family and friends. It gives power to the emotions Ruby and Charlie are feeling - the guilt and regret over their last conversations with loved-ones, the desire to do something different if they could have the chance again, a new perspective on something that seemed so important but seems trivial now. This also allows the story to delve into other themes.
Both Charlie and Ruby have friends who are connected to alcoholism. Charlie shares with Ruby a story in which he tried to help someone who overdosed on alcohol and died. Ruby reflects on her best-friend’s constant need for alcohol and the ways in which it has changed her and their friendship. Both Charlie and Ruby reflect on their actions and their guilt that they couldn’t do more. It’s a powerful way of addressing teen alcohol use and abuse.
A gripping story about survival - both in the midst of a disaster and in all the moments that follow - that will stay with readers long after they finish the story.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library
We often hear about natural disasters on the news. The number count of who survived and who didn’t. But what about the stories of those who live through such an event? I don’t often see disaster novels come across my radar and I’m so glad I found this one. It a great mix of realistic fiction and action. Every moment is both tense and yet also introspective. It’s a story about connections. It’s a story about mistakes and learning to live with them. It’s also a story about doing the right thing in really hard situations. Aftershock touches on some interesting and important themes alongside the main story of surviving an earthquake.
Ruby has blown off water polo practice after learning her mother is dating her coach. She knows how her friends will react, especially volatile Mila. Her plan is to convince the cute guy waiting at the laundromat to buy her alcohol. What better way to drown her sorrows than getting drunk? That plan goes awry when a massive earthquake brings the building down around them. Trapped and alone, Ruby and the guy - Charlie, she learns - struggle to survive. But as they wait hours for a rescue that might never come, they find themselves sharing their secrets, regrets and a desire to do things differently once they escape.
I’ll start by saying this book didn’t unfold like I expected it to. In fact, I think it was the opposite of expected. But in a really good way. It isn’t a romance, as I expected. And the story isn’t just focused on the immediate events of the earthquake. Flashbacks and reflections to times in Ruby’s life give readers a better picture of her life and the relationships with her family and friends. It gives power to the emotions Ruby and Charlie are feeling - the guilt and regret over their last conversations with loved-ones, the desire to do something different if they could have the chance again, a new perspective on something that seemed so important but seems trivial now. This also allows the story to delve into other themes.
Both Charlie and Ruby have friends who are connected to alcoholism. Charlie shares with Ruby a story in which he tried to help someone who overdosed on alcohol and died. Ruby reflects on her best-friend’s constant need for alcohol and the ways in which it has changed her and their friendship. Both Charlie and Ruby reflect on their actions and their guilt that they couldn’t do more. It’s a powerful way of addressing teen alcohol use and abuse.
A gripping story about survival - both in the midst of a disaster and in all the moments that follow - that will stay with readers long after they finish the story.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Find more reviews, reading age guides, content advisory, and recommendations on my blog Madison's Library
September 26, 2020
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.
This was fantastic. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours and loved every minute of it. It is a great blend of adventure/survival (two strangers are trapped in a laundromat under rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in California) and contemporary fiction (their time spent trying to survive is intermixed with vignettes and stories from their past about their relationships) and both blend to make a compelling story about what really matters in life. To be fair, the last 15% does get a bit cliched, but the rest of it is so amazing, I couldn't even hold that against it.
Ruby is a talented water polo player, but when she finds out that her mother has started dating her coach, she seriously considers quitting the team. It would be awful to have him at her house, in her life in that way, so she blows off practice and heads to the local laundromat. There she sees a boy writing in a notebook with paint on his knuckles. The next thing she knows, the walls are rattling, the floor is shaking and she's heading to the ground with her hands over her head to protect herself from the rubble. She and Charlie are trapped and help doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon. As they try to keep each other awake and hopeful, they begin to share stories about themselves. A bond is formed in their tragedy and it is what keeps them pushing on until the end.
Highly recommend. Appropriate for grades 9 and up.
This was fantastic. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours and loved every minute of it. It is a great blend of adventure/survival (two strangers are trapped in a laundromat under rubble after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in California) and contemporary fiction (their time spent trying to survive is intermixed with vignettes and stories from their past about their relationships) and both blend to make a compelling story about what really matters in life. To be fair, the last 15% does get a bit cliched, but the rest of it is so amazing, I couldn't even hold that against it.
Ruby is a talented water polo player, but when she finds out that her mother has started dating her coach, she seriously considers quitting the team. It would be awful to have him at her house, in her life in that way, so she blows off practice and heads to the local laundromat. There she sees a boy writing in a notebook with paint on his knuckles. The next thing she knows, the walls are rattling, the floor is shaking and she's heading to the ground with her hands over her head to protect herself from the rubble. She and Charlie are trapped and help doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon. As they try to keep each other awake and hopeful, they begin to share stories about themselves. A bond is formed in their tragedy and it is what keeps them pushing on until the end.
Highly recommend. Appropriate for grades 9 and up.
April 28, 2020
I was utterly enraptured by this book. I can't think of another author who handles the combination of emotional heft and physical suspense so beautifully. Marisa Reichardt creates the kind of tension that will make you keep turning pages, and the way she draws relationships between her characters is so complex. A gripping, compelling read on so many levels, and one of my favorite 2020 books!
March 2, 2022
This is such a heartbreaking yet powerful read
October 18, 2020
Thank you for the Giveaway Win!
From a YA perspective, this was a wholesome and enjoyable read. It was nice to read something cover to cover that wasn’t oozing sex and drama.
From a YA perspective, this was a wholesome and enjoyable read. It was nice to read something cover to cover that wasn’t oozing sex and drama.
September 29, 2020
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
Aftershocks is a positively lovely and heart-wrenching story of what happens when the "big one" hits. True story, I have been high key scared of earthquakes ever since I saw an episode of Full House where Stephanie has some real trauma after an earthquake. (Also good on you, Full House, for actually promoting mental health and therapy positivity back in the '80s! I digress, but the point is, earthquakes are terrifying.) Ruby is physically trapped in a laundromat after a hugely devastating one hits her California home. She's alone, save for Charlie who is a stranger who was also in the laundromat at the wrong time, and is injured and scared.
And the bulk of this book takes place exactly in these moments, moments in which Ruby has to fight to stay alive- and face the possibility that she might not. She and Charlie share stories, and the reader is given insight into Ruby's life through both flashbacks and her current thoughts about her family and friends.
The story is compulsively readable, both because I wanted to learn the fates of Ruby, Charlie, and everyone they care for (and the city at large), but because they're incredibly sympathetic characters who I genuinely wanted to know more about. The author also does a great job of making the reader feel the desperation and horror that Ruby would have been feeling, and it's so clear to see how easily this sort of disaster can happen to any one of us.
Also, as a random aside, Ruby is a water polo player and this is the first book that I have ever encountered a water polo-playing main character, and the author did a great job depicting the sport.
Bottom Line: Both beautiful and devastating, I could not put this book down as I yearned for positive fates for the characters I had grown to love.
Aftershocks is a positively lovely and heart-wrenching story of what happens when the "big one" hits. True story, I have been high key scared of earthquakes ever since I saw an episode of Full House where Stephanie has some real trauma after an earthquake. (Also good on you, Full House, for actually promoting mental health and therapy positivity back in the '80s! I digress, but the point is, earthquakes are terrifying.) Ruby is physically trapped in a laundromat after a hugely devastating one hits her California home. She's alone, save for Charlie who is a stranger who was also in the laundromat at the wrong time, and is injured and scared.
And the bulk of this book takes place exactly in these moments, moments in which Ruby has to fight to stay alive- and face the possibility that she might not. She and Charlie share stories, and the reader is given insight into Ruby's life through both flashbacks and her current thoughts about her family and friends.
The story is compulsively readable, both because I wanted to learn the fates of Ruby, Charlie, and everyone they care for (and the city at large), but because they're incredibly sympathetic characters who I genuinely wanted to know more about. The author also does a great job of making the reader feel the desperation and horror that Ruby would have been feeling, and it's so clear to see how easily this sort of disaster can happen to any one of us.
Also, as a random aside, Ruby is a water polo player and this is the first book that I have ever encountered a water polo-playing main character, and the author did a great job depicting the sport.
Bottom Line: Both beautiful and devastating, I could not put this book down as I yearned for positive fates for the characters I had grown to love.
July 20, 2020
In this gripping young adult novel set in Los Angeles just as ‘the big one’ hits the San Andreas fault, two strangers trapped together in the rubble of a laundromat find themselves sharing their deepest secrets as they wait to be rescued. Marisa Reichardt has created an intensely captivating story that centers around Ruby, a teenaged water polo star, and Charlie, a Stanford dropout. Charlie was at the laundromat to do his laundry. Ruby was there, avoiding water polo practice after she found out that her coach and her mother had recently started dating, and hoping that she could talk Charlie into buying her some beer at the liquor store next door.
Then the earthquake hits, and Charlie and Ruby are each trapped beneath a table, with mountains of debris atop them. They can’t see each other, but they can hear each other, and the thin connection of their voices is all that is keeping them sane and alive as the days drag slowly by.
The reader will be engrossed as Ruby shares her worries about her mom and her water polo teammates, and Charlie tells her about the fraternity night that went so terribly awry. Reichardt does a brilliant job balancing the immediate terror that Ruby and Charlie face with the mundanity of their pre-earthquake lives. Not to be missed, Aftershocks is a wonderful, nuanced look at exactly what is lost in the wake of a terrible tragedy; and the sheer power of storytelling against incredible odds.
Thanks to the publisher/Netgalley for the advance copy.
Then the earthquake hits, and Charlie and Ruby are each trapped beneath a table, with mountains of debris atop them. They can’t see each other, but they can hear each other, and the thin connection of their voices is all that is keeping them sane and alive as the days drag slowly by.
The reader will be engrossed as Ruby shares her worries about her mom and her water polo teammates, and Charlie tells her about the fraternity night that went so terribly awry. Reichardt does a brilliant job balancing the immediate terror that Ruby and Charlie face with the mundanity of their pre-earthquake lives. Not to be missed, Aftershocks is a wonderful, nuanced look at exactly what is lost in the wake of a terrible tragedy; and the sheer power of storytelling against incredible odds.
Thanks to the publisher/Netgalley for the advance copy.
January 18, 2021
I don't even know what I should rate this so I am just going to say 4.5 stars for now. Marisa Reichardt is extremely good at writing about hard topics. in this case she wrote about all the destruction and death and terror after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in California. Ruby at the time of the earthquake was in a laundromat, and when the earthquake hit she was trapped under the rubble with no way to get out and her only company a boy she had met moments before. I personally felt really terrified by the prospect of not being able to move or see the sun, because I am an extremely claustrophobic person. living practically on a fault line, our teachers in school always warn us about the "big one" meaning the big earthquake that is bound to happen sometime in my lifetime. now I am absolutely terrified of the said earthquake happening. with all the destruction and terror, and mistrust and death going on around this town in California, Ruby still manages to find hope in all the little things, like playing cards with two little children who can't find their parents, or giving her water to a family who has nothing left. this was an incredible story about hope, and I would recommend.
Content: I took off the 1/2 star because there was some pretty bad swearing.
Content: I took off the 1/2 star because there was some pretty bad swearing.
July 2, 2021
I was in the mood for a survival story so I bought this one based on the premise. What I got was so much more and in the best way. Not only did this author pace the story to perfection, but even without experiencing the physical pain myself, I felt as if I were going through this agonizing natural disaster along with Ruby. The emotional and mental ups and downs mimicked the many aftershocks of an earthquake. Ruby's character growth and realization of what is truly important in life reminded me so much of what our current world's population has been through with the pandemic--it's the small things in life and the people who are with you and love you through the small things that matter. The friendships and family are also favorites in this book. This book was not easy to put down and I did lose some sleep because I had to know if Ruby was going to make it and if her mom and friends did too.
June 17, 2024
Aftershocks gives a relatively accurate depiction of the aftermath of a major earthquake. While I thought it was an excellent book overall, there were a couple things that bothered me. When Ruby, the main character, left the hospital no one followed her and she didn’t try to get help from any of the rescue workers outside the hospital. Instead she stumbled upon two teens who were helping with rescue efforts and just happened to be able to drive around on broken and blocked roads and get to where Ruby needed to go, quite a distance away, with relative ease. Also, I thought it kind of was tied up a little too neatly with a little bow. I feel like one of her friends remaining unaccounted for or something would have been more realistic. Other than those things, I enjoyed Aftershocks a whole lot. The way it was told in the present plus flashbacks worked well. I recommend this book to people who enjoy YA books.
September 17, 2020
This book surprised the heck outta me.
I was fully expecting this to be a book about survival. But it was so much more.
It’s about friendship, family, appreciating life and the importance of kindness. I read this in a couple of hours. I just couldn’t stop reading.
In this story we follow Ruby who is having a bad day and decides to skip school. She ends up in a laundromat when “The Big One” hits. From then on it’s nothing but suspense and we get to see how strong Ruby is.
This book had me crying, I’m not even gonna lie.
Aftershocks has suspense, action, but it also has love.
It is YA but it didn’t always feel like it was.
I truly enjoyed it and I loved the writing style of the author.
I was fully expecting this to be a book about survival. But it was so much more.
It’s about friendship, family, appreciating life and the importance of kindness. I read this in a couple of hours. I just couldn’t stop reading.
In this story we follow Ruby who is having a bad day and decides to skip school. She ends up in a laundromat when “The Big One” hits. From then on it’s nothing but suspense and we get to see how strong Ruby is.
This book had me crying, I’m not even gonna lie.
Aftershocks has suspense, action, but it also has love.
It is YA but it didn’t always feel like it was.
I truly enjoyed it and I loved the writing style of the author.
September 27, 2020
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to be an early reader of Aftershocks. This YA novel hooked me from page one and I read in within 12 hours. Ruby plays water polo and finds out her mom is dating her coach. She storms out of the house after lashing out at her mom. After skipping practice, she winds up at a laundromat hoping to find someone who will buy her beer. She meets Charlie and before she can ask for beer, their town is hit with a 7.8 earthquake. While Ruby and Charlie are trapped in the rubble, they speak honestly and openly with each other. It’s a quick read, but the message is deep. I’ll be sharing this one with my students.
November 21, 2020
I'm still laughing that I read a disaster book during a pandemic-- who does that?? But it's Marisa! Everything she writes is wonderfully done, with heroines I'm both in awe of and empathetic to. My favorite parts, of course, were the water polo scenes, which she just NAILS. (More water polo books, please!) But the concept as a whole was intriguing and unique and so realistic. (And I actually ended up feeling better about being in a pandemic. Who knew??)
September 18, 2020
I won this ARC from Goodreads. I’m not really into YA, but this story sounded good and I was not disappointed. The author sure knows how to write a good story. I felt like I was in there with Ruby especially the earthquake.
Ruby and Charlie are trapped in a laundromat after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits California. They don’t know each other but become friends through this trauma.
Ruby and Charlie are trapped in a laundromat after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits California. They don’t know each other but become friends through this trauma.
August 14, 2022
Really interesting concept and was definitely engaging all the way through! Loved Ruby and how realistic a lot of the book felt even though it was a rare disaster situation. Definitely some things I felt like could be added, especially regarding what happened after that initial week, but overall, I did really enjoy this book☺️⚡️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 8, 2020
A well-paced, tense novel about the importance of kindness, friendship, and family. I love YA that doesn't tread the same trope-y paths, and this one does not. More people need to be reading Reichardt. Hopefully, this will be the novel that moves her into the upper echelon. She deserves it.
May 17, 2024
I'm going it say it's a 4.5 if for no other reason than uniqueness in storyline.
It didn't have the best character development but I did read it in one sitting so I can't say it didn't keep me interested.
It didn't have the best character development but I did read it in one sitting so I can't say it didn't keep me interested.
January 26, 2021
Read this in under 24 hours. Fast-paced, intense, hard to put down.
October 8, 2020
In this compelling story, teenage water polo star Ruby becomes trapped in a laundromat following a major earthquake, and, while struggling to survive, reflects back on her life before the earthquake and reevaluates what matters. Ruby's authentic character comes to life in this moving account of survival and loss.
June 20, 2020
This book grabbed me immediately and didn't let up. Two strangers, trapped in rubble. So simple, but so full of heart and fear and life. The beautifully clean writing lent strength to the book's superb tension and pacing. LOVED this book. Would make an incredible movie.
June 11, 2020
This was an incredibly powerful and touching story about a young woman's determination to survive horrible situations. Some of the descriptions in this book were hard to read, but that added to the gravity of the story. Ruby's guilt over surviving and her desperation to find her mom felt real and believable; the way that the author used time was really powerful and helped to keep the plot moving and also show some of the desperation and delirium that Ruby was feeling as well. I did feel that the friendship issues wrapped up a little too neatly at the end of the story but otherwise this was a solid read that I highly recommend.
June 3, 2020
Thanks to ABRAMS for providing a digital ARC of Aftershocks in exchange for an honest review.
I'm always hesitant about giving particularly high ratings because at the end of the day, a book being good is a subjective opinion. Aftershocks is going to be incredibly incredible. This is the kind of book that is destined to top goodreads and library lists years from now. The type of story that's bound to get targetted by multiple movie agencies within the first year its published. I can't see a way anyone could possibly dislike this.
Aftershocks has action and suspense and survival. It has teen drama and adult drama and commentary on things small and large. The voice is incredible, the writing is incredible, and I loved every word.
I'm always hesitant about giving particularly high ratings because at the end of the day, a book being good is a subjective opinion. Aftershocks is going to be incredibly incredible. This is the kind of book that is destined to top goodreads and library lists years from now. The type of story that's bound to get targetted by multiple movie agencies within the first year its published. I can't see a way anyone could possibly dislike this.
Aftershocks has action and suspense and survival. It has teen drama and adult drama and commentary on things small and large. The voice is incredible, the writing is incredible, and I loved every word.
October 25, 2020
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a chance to read this early (even though I'm late)
This was like, really fucking good. I, without really noticing, picked up two survival stories in a row. I just finished Alone by Megan E. Freeman, about a girl who has to keep living in her town, and in her house(s, her parents were divorced) after the whole town gets carted away by the government. This is nothing like that. This story comes out swinging - about two chapters in, while our main character Ruby is at a laundromat trying to get someone to buy her beer, a huge earthquake hits. "The Big One", in fact, the one that Californians are warned about their whole lives. She and a boy named Charlie are quite literally trapped in the building, pinned by tables and dryers and all kinds of rubble and debris.
It's tense and emotional, and really well-paced. The story begins in the laundromat on the day of the earthquake, but follows Ruby through the following days and whatever happens after. Ruby forms connections and spends a lot of time reflecting on her "normal" life and the things she thought were so important.
As much as realism hurts in survival stories, there's a good amount of realism in this one. Things absolutely do not always go the way you, as a reader, want them to. But there's also unexpected goodness in the story.
Boiled down to it, this is just a disaster story about a girl; it's one that will make you tense up, make your heart race, and maybe even make you cry. I wish this had more hype because I really thought it was well-done.
This was like, really fucking good. I, without really noticing, picked up two survival stories in a row. I just finished Alone by Megan E. Freeman, about a girl who has to keep living in her town, and in her house(s, her parents were divorced) after the whole town gets carted away by the government. This is nothing like that. This story comes out swinging - about two chapters in, while our main character Ruby is at a laundromat trying to get someone to buy her beer, a huge earthquake hits. "The Big One", in fact, the one that Californians are warned about their whole lives. She and a boy named Charlie are quite literally trapped in the building, pinned by tables and dryers and all kinds of rubble and debris.
It's tense and emotional, and really well-paced. The story begins in the laundromat on the day of the earthquake, but follows Ruby through the following days and whatever happens after. Ruby forms connections and spends a lot of time reflecting on her "normal" life and the things she thought were so important.
As much as realism hurts in survival stories, there's a good amount of realism in this one. Things absolutely do not always go the way you, as a reader, want them to. But there's also unexpected goodness in the story.
Boiled down to it, this is just a disaster story about a girl; it's one that will make you tense up, make your heart race, and maybe even make you cry. I wish this had more hype because I really thought it was well-done.
August 30, 2020
This book was nothing like I expected. In a good way, though. I thought I would be reading a book equivalent to a disaster film, like San Andreas starring The Rock. I.....ahem, admire The Rock. To be honest, I love a good disaster adventure. The regular Jane (or Joe) always triumphs, no matter how many obstacles. Aftershocks was about a devastating earthquake, but it was far from the popcorn action I had expected. It was introspective and quiet much of the time, but no less powerful for that. It's not just about Ruby in the aftermath of "The Big One", it's a journey of many strings woven together. And there are some deep issues tackled, which you wouldn't expect, but make so much sense. So, if you're just wanting an apocalyptic action story, Aftershocks may not be for you. If you let yourself be open to a bit of a more meandering path, you just might come away amazed all the same.
4 stars
I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Amulet Books and Netgalley.
4 stars
I was provided a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Amulet Books and Netgalley.
October 31, 2021
Ruby, shocked to learn her mom is dating her water polo coach, is thinking of quitting the team, so she skips practice. When an earthquake hits -- The Big One -- she is trapped, injured, in the rubble of a laundromat with a stranger who becomes a friend. Will they be rescued? And will the awful words Ruby said to her mother be the last words ever spoken between them?
A story not just of survival but of friendship, family, kindness, and finding the will to push on when all seems lost, Aftershocks seamlessly blends the heart-pounding, page-turning tale of a major disaster with an introspective emotional journey through survival, grief, and coming out on the other side. Lovely, devastating, and ultimately uplifting.
A story not just of survival but of friendship, family, kindness, and finding the will to push on when all seems lost, Aftershocks seamlessly blends the heart-pounding, page-turning tale of a major disaster with an introspective emotional journey through survival, grief, and coming out on the other side. Lovely, devastating, and ultimately uplifting.
April 21, 2020
All right, so every now and then, A BOOK comes along. You know the sort of book I'm talking about--the one that completely guts you, not because it's sad (which it is, though only a little), but because it reminds you of All The Things: the importance of kindness, the vulnerability of the now, the significance of friendship, family, and love.
This story, y'all. It's gripping, brimming in voice, and expertly crafted. Another beautiful Marisa Reichardt masterpiece.
This story, y'all. It's gripping, brimming in voice, and expertly crafted. Another beautiful Marisa Reichardt masterpiece.
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