The Things That Keep Us Here by Carla Buckley

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

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 again, when Peter, a university researcher, comes to a startling realization: a virulent pandemic has made the terrible leap across the ocean to America's heartland.

And it is killing fifty out of every hundred people it touches.

As her town goes into lockdown, Peter is forced to return home—with his beautiful graduate assistant. But their safe suburban world is no longer the refuge it once was. Food grows scarce. Neighbor turns against neighbor in grocery stores and at gas pumps. And then a winter storm strikes, and they are left huddling in the dark.

Trapped inside the house she once called home, Ann Brooks must make life-or-death decisions in an environment where opening a door to a neighbor could threaten all the things she holds dear.

ABOUT THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE


How far would you go to protect your family?

Ann Brooks never thought she’d have to answer that question. Then she found her limits tested by a crisis no one could prevent. Now, as her neighborhood descends into panic, she must make tough choices to protect everyone she loves from a threat she cannot even see. In this chillingly urgent novel, Carla Buckley confronts us with the terrifying decisions we are forced to make when ordinary life changes overnight.

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.
And it is killing fifty out of every hundred people it touches.

As their town goes into lockdown, Peter is forced to return home–with his beautiful graduate assistant. But the Brookses’ safe suburban world is no longer the refuge it once was. Food grows scarce, and neighbor turns against neighbor in grocery stores and at gas pumps. And then a winter storm strikes, and the community is left huddling in the dark.

Trapped inside the house she once called home, Ann Brooks must make life-or-death decisions in an environment where opening a door to a neighbor could threaten all the things she holds dear.
Carla Buckley’s poignant debut raises important questions to which there are no easy answers, in an emotionally riveting tale of one family facing unimaginable stress.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carla Buckley is the debut author of The Things That Keep Us Here (Delacorte Press, February 2010.) She was born in Washington, D.C., attended Oberlin College and The Wharton School for Business, and has worked in a variety of jobs, including a stint as an assistant press secretary for a U.S. senator, an analyst with the Smithsonian Institution, and a technical writer for a defense contractor. Orion in the UK and Wunderlich in Germany pre-empted rights to The Things That Keep Us Here and Buckley’s next book, and Random House has purchased audio rights. She is the Chair of the International Thriller Writers Debut Program and currently lives in Ohio with her husband and children. She can be reached at www.CarlaBuckley.com, on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/carla.buckley), and Twitter (http://twitter.com/CarlaBuckley.)


For a full interview with Carla, check out the  Pump Up Your Book! author interview.






MY REVIEW

Wow! What a page turner! I was captured from the first page.

The first night I read some before I bed I dreamt about what was going on. Carla's writing is very easy to read and she has a captivating voice in her writing.

Though there are a few swear words, I did not find this book offensive, I found it real.

Bravo to Carla Buckley in her debut novel! I'd love to read more by her. I had vivid dreams (okay nightmares) of her story. To me, that makes a great author! I not only thought about the story she created, I dreamt about what I'd do and how I'd care for those closest to me.

Thanks Carla for the amazing adventure, but maybe not so much for the nightmares!  

*This book was provided by the author free of charge in exchange for my honest review. This did not sway my review and opinion of this book in anyway.