I blindly picked up this book because I thought the cover was super cool and the title intriguing. If I were a parent, I think I would have related so much more to the characters and story. Not being a parent, I felt more like a spectator. 

 

A Category Four hurricane is the last thing Ramona needs. Between work, a philandering husband, a toddler, a mother not afraid to say what’s on her mind, a neighbor kid, a guinea pig, and the death of Prince, her plate is full. Now she gets to add evacuation to her to-do list. 

 

This book was fun and relatable in the sense of everything going wrong all at once, there was just a lot I couldn’t relate to on the parenting and marriage front which was a large focus of the story. I’m hesitant to say it was chaotic because that was entirely the point, however, I struggled to follow what was happening. I can see myself revisiting it at another time in my life and absolutely love it. 

I went into this one knowing I wasn't the target audience (overwhelmed working moms of young children). It's a solid, fast-paced debut with a good hook — in between trying to evacuate ahead of a hurricane, a busy mom of two littles tries to make sense of the sudden revelation of her husband's infidelity and the increasingly untenable expectations of her job. I recognized the "yes, I felt seen!" power of it and most of the "kids, amiright?" humor and "yes, he 💯 needs to man up, but let's excavate your part in this as well" truth. But for the most part it was a fairly unpleasant and stressful read for me. 

Taking place over the course of a few days and interspersed with flashbacks, this story is a snapshot of motherhood, relationships, and natural disaster. As a hurricane approaches Savannah, Georgia, Ramona figures she should probably prepare and/or evacuate — though she’s also got the concerning state of her marriage to worry about. As Ramona and her rag-tag group of kids (two hers, one not), pets (none hers), her mom, friends, and neighbors weather the storm, she reflects on her life, her relationships, and Prince, wondering how best to move forward. This book is funny and sweet and full of emotion, perfect for fans of Abbi Waxman or Maria Semple. 

Notes: there were elements that could’ve been more developed (or left out), and the Prince references came out of the texture a bit sometimes, but overall this is a pretty good slice-of-life story