Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the Reader's Copy!

Now available.

Unsettling, timely, and psychologically thrilling, Ruman Alam's Leave the World Behind is a book unlike any I've read so far this year. Centering around a typical American family, Amanda and Clay take their teenage children for a vacation on Long Island. However, their blissful relaxation time is abruptly disturbed when there is a sudden announcement of a total cellular blackout and an older couple appears who claim to own the vacation property. Under these unusual circumstances, the two families must figure out how to work together and trust one another in order to survive in a new world.

What I appreciate the most is also what frustrated me the most about this piece - Alam's writing style. With an omnipresent narrator, it is difficult to become truly engaged with the story and with the characters. I always felt at arms length when I wanted to be right there with Amanda and Clay as they navigated these dubious moral and ethical decisions. The themes are reminiscent of last year's thriller Bird Box with Sandra Bullock in that people quickly adapt to unusual, post-apocalyptic worlds.

Overall, an entertaining read!