I couldn't put this book down! It has been a long time since I've read Judy Blume (think, Are You There God, It's Me Margaret?) so I wasn't sure what to expect. I've seen this book pop up on all of the "lists" this year, so I had to try it out. Well, let me just say, I'm so glad I gave this book a shot! It took a little while to get into for me, maybe 2-3 chapters, but that was just because there are so many characters. I was trying to figure out the relationship between them all. Once I got past that, it was smooth sailing! I finished this book in about a 24-hour span, it was that good. Seeing how intertwined the lives of everyone was, and how the crashes affected the relationships was simply fascinating. I also had no idea about those Elizabeth plane crashes. Aside from the lives of the characters, I really loved getting a glimpse of life in the early 50s, and from many, many points of view. Life was depicted for everyone from the young teenagers to elderly grandparents, and everyone in between. I also appreciated how everyone had a different background, ethnicity, religion... It was a powerful book!