2. WHAT'S THE BOOK ABOUT?
The story basically goes through the day to day
life of Jack Gladney and his wife Babette. He is
a chairman at a college and she teaches
classes. This family is eclectic, both Jack and
Babette bringing in children from other
marriages. The first half of the book just
discusses the adventures and day to day
routines the family goes through.

3. WHERE I GOT HOOKED..
Part two of the book is when you actually feel a
sense of a plot being introduced to the story.
There is a sort of chemical spill in the area that
forces the family and community our of their
homes and to shelters. Jack has to stop and
pump gas and ultimately gets exposed to
harmful amounts of toxins that are in the air.
The family spends time in the shelters and is
eventually allowed to come home. With Jack
being exposed to such chemicals you feel a
sense of foreshadowing take place.

4. WHAT'S THE STYLE OF THE BOOK?
*This book has humor, satire and is realistic. At times I
found it very hard to read because it does have a
sort of plot less-ness about it. When reading the
first hundred pages or so I was thinking “is this
story going anywhere?!” The story eventfully picks
up and has a twist and you find yourself concerned
for this family.
*This story is told in a very humorous and witty way,
even when discussing serious matters. The whole
story the parents mention death frequently. It is a
looming fear they both have and discuss. Once jack
is exposed to toxins he really has a reason to fear
death.

5. WHAT I THINK SO FAR..
Overall, so far I have enjoyed the book. I don’t think it is something
I would have chosen for myself to read but I do enjoy the humor
it offers. It really, really bugged me that half the book seemed to
just ramble on about mundane routine things in the characters
life. The story just seems to drag on aimlessly, and was hard to
stay interested in the book honestly. Once the toxic spill
happened and the plot seemed to appear I got hooked. I believe
the beginning of the book is just discussing the routine, and the
day to day lives of everyone in the family to make you begin to
feel close to these people and draw a connection. When
something eventually does happen (toxic spill) you are more
drawn in because you are now emotionally attached to the
family and characters. You feel concerned because you now
have a relationship with these people, in a sense.