This was a fun read. Reads like a thriller, but a little deeper with a lot more backstory into Annie's relationship and growing up on Portland. The story begins as a story told to her unborn child. She's 9 months pregnant and shopping for a crib at her Portland IKEA when a powerful earthquake strikes. Amid the rubble and destruction, she decides to walk to her husband to check on him. Along the way, she meets many other survivors as she muses over her life and how she got to this point: broke, not following her dream, and struggling in her marriage. I was invested and needed to know what was going to happen. Annie's not particularly likable, but I was hoping for the best for her. One star off because I didn't like the ending. I like my novels wrapped up more. But I think many readers will enjoy this one!

A seamless blend of character study, social commentary, and survival story. Full review posted at BookBrowse: https://www.bookbrowse.com/mag/reviews/index.cfm/ref/pr319168

Love this book!! Can't wait to have Emma on my New Hampshire Public Radio show, Check This Out. Listen wherever you get your podcasts or live Saturdays at 3pm.

A natural disaster strikes in Portland, Oregon and a woman is trying to make her way to her husband. She is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at Ikea when the world is turned upside down.

Annie talks to her unborn child, calling him Bean, explaining what is going on, what her life is like. More often says, your father instead of my husband or his name, Dom. Annie has unfilled dreams of being a playwright, only had one play produced while Dom is still exploring and trying to get famous working as an actor. This adds tension to their relationship, as he is still trying and she has effectively given up her dream.

The book is told in alternating timelines, the now then the past leading up to now, such as 17 years ago, 9 years ago, up to yesterday and earlier this morning.

The overall book is okay, not as engaging as I thought it might be, the subject matter wasn’t compelling to me as I hoped. The format of alternating time lines does work okay. The ending is somewhat open ended as the book really only takes place over one day.

4 stars
Tilt
Emma Pattee
Simon and Schuster

Tilt by Emma Pattee was a definite page-turner for me. I love that feeling of "just one more chapter," because I have to see if she...finds him, finds water or just survives. I have been reading more climate fiction this year and I find it fascinating. This novel revolved around The Big Earthquake in Portland in current times. The plot involves a very pregnant Annie and her determined search to find her husband under insurmountable challenges. The story includes her current struggles to navigate her body through this disaster, along with flashbacks to high and lows of her life with her husband and her career. Annie does a lot of reflection on her journey by talking to her baby-to-be, nicknamed Bean. The story flows quickly and I was in awe of Annie's resilience and determination. The ending is emotional and fits with Annie's personality. But not all questions are answered. And I think that fits with the storytelling too.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the eARC of Tilt. My opinions are my own.

This was an engaging and compelling read. Thank you to Net Galley for an advance copy. I don’t want to say too much about what happens but her descriptions are quite vivid. Interestingly with the back/forth in time I actually found the pre-earthquake backstory more interesting… more thoughtful and emotive vs the very detailed (and seemingly quite realistic) experience of being in an earthquake. The book seems to get positioned as dystopian as she navigates the aftermath, butit just felt quite true to what that would be like. (And for me- not dystopian is a positive)

A heart-pounding novel that follows a pregnant woman (37 weeks) as she tries to reunite with her husband after a devastating earthquake. SPOILER ALERT: My biggest disappointment is that there is not really any resolution to any of the open threads at the end of the novel.

Talk about the kind of book that has you constantly holding your breath! That is Tilt. Annie is 9mo pregnant and is shopping for a crib at the Portland IKEA when the Big One hits. Chaos ensues and she’s making her way through miles of earthquake damage to get to her husband who she’s been unable to reach. Chapters flip-flop between her present day journey and past memories, allowing her to reflect on her life.
This was terrifying to read because I live in Portland and don’t want to think of that happening in my lifetime. Excellent job on the author for bringing a very real danger to the forefront as well.
Thank you to Simon Element for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetyGalley for the ARC. The book is set in 1 day. Annie is 8 months pregnant and at IKEA when an earthquake hits. The book follows her as she tried to survive and reunite with her husband.

This book is disorienting. I think the experience of reading it really mirrors the experience Annie is going through in the aftermath of the book. It starts out relatively clear and lucid and progressively becomes more and more delusional. I’m not sure I really understood the ending nor did I feel a sense of closure. It’s a short quick read but quite intense.

Compulsively readable!!! But that ending was an absolute letdown. All that buildup for NOTHING. I enjoyed the back and forth of this book and it made me very fortunate I do not live in an earthquake zone.

The premise of Tilt is original and captivating; a woman navigates the aftermath of a Pacific Northwest Earthquake while nine months pregnant. The execution however was lacking and pedantic. None of the characters in the novel are likeable and none of the plot threads are answered completely. Often the narrator and her husband become millenial characatures rather than real people. The reader plods on with the characters but is left asking at the end, why did I take the journey.

Tilt is an impressive and memorable debut novel. Having grown up in Oregon, I especially loved the setting. It was accurately portrayed both in physical characteristics, as well as the stereotypical Portland-isms. I also really enjoyed the main character and that the fact that she loved her unborn baby but didn't having the "glowing" storybook pregnancy that is so often depicted in novels. Overall, despite being speculative fiction, the plot felt believable and like it was based on real events. It was apparent that a lot of research went into writing this book. A majority of the book was the character's inner dialogue and thoughts and while I didn't always resonate with her character as much as I'd hoped, it was interesting to read her point of view. I was left with questions regarding the father and the ending. I sometimes enjoy an ambiguous ending, but in this case I would have appreciated a little more to wrap up the long journey. All in all, Tilt is a book that will stick with me and I can't wait to read what Emma Pattee writes next!

Tilt is a gritty and fresh dive into speculative fiction about an expectant mother who finds herself unprepared for the intersection of a massive environmental catastrophe and impending childbirth. Told in dual timelines that follow a chronological intersection trajectory, the disaster narrative is well-researched and terrifying. We follow in the protagonist's literal footsteps as she navigates miles of destroyed and devastated Portland in search of her husband, 37 weeks pregnant. Internally, she's navigating the landscape of her own psyche, and coming to terms with the very real and inescapable challenge of imminent childbirth and all of the accompanying challenges and responsibilities that entails. The story itself is nothing short of brilliant, even if I would not give the protagonist 5 stars for her decision-making. As a slightly older Millennial with several children of my own---who grew up on the West Coast with food supplies in the very real event of a major earthquake---I periodically wanted to prod her along on her own journey through adulthood (and wish her mother had done with same). But this, too, is part of the story, and her evolution rings true. As much as we might *think* we are prepared for any number of major life events---birth, death, disappointment, professional malaise---we're not really in the fray until, suddenly, we are. Tilt--slightly more than a novella--is an impactful, well-crafted story, and like with Horrorstor (by Grady Hendrix), I'll never quite look at Ikea the same way again...

Many thanks to Netgalley and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for an ARC of Tilt. The opinions expressed remain exclusively my own.

A young woman, nine months pregnant, finds herself having an unbelievable day as she shops at IKEA for a crib. The big one hits, an earthquake of all earthquakes and Annie finds herself trying to survive long enough to find her husband.

This is an emotional read as we journey with Annie through the destruction and react to the devastation that has literally flattened this Oregon city. The writing is so descriptive and the emotion just permeates the storyline. Her memories tell a life story all their own and you can’t help but admire her resilience as she searches for Dom, reassuring her unborn child that everything will be ok

This book will tug at your heart and will have an underlying stab at all the ills of the world. The ending…..well that remains to be seen.

Recommended!

I grew up in Portland, just east of the city, and so it was a bit like going home to read Emma Pattee's novel, Tilt. Earthquakes are a part of living in Oregon, and most people just sort of ignore the shaking and get on with their lives. The earthquake in Tilt is clearly the big one, a major earthquake that no one can possibly ignore. The central character is Annie, who is shopping for a baby crib when the earthquake begins collapsing buildings, ripping up roads, killing people, and destroying the bridges that cross the Willamette River, the natural division that separates the north and south sides of Portland.

Annie is 37 weeks pregnant and as she quickly realizes, she should have bought baby items before this late date, but as readers learn, Annie never seems to think beyond today. After the earthquake, Annie begins walking to where her husband should be working. Anne is not alone. People who survived the earthquake move out of buildings and begin to walk toward a destination. The details of Annie's walk are a major strength of Tilt. How people act in the midst of a natural disaster reflects the world in which we live. Some people are kind and helpful, some are stunned, some begin looting, and some are cruel and mean. This Portland feels real.

In between chapters that focus on Annie's walk, Pattee includes chapters of flashbacks, where it becomes clear that Annie's last minute shopping trip to buy a crib is how she functions. Annie doesn't plan her life. Life just happens. Apparently her husband, Dom, is no more responsible than Annie. All that readers know about Dom is what Annie tells us in her flashbacks. It isn't a flattering portrait of either of them. Annie definitely is a tough characters to like or admire. She is just a pregnant woman, stuck in a bad place. It is her journey throughout one day that holds the reader's attention.

Tilt is well written with strong descriptions. Readers will feel like they are walking along with Annie on her endless walk to find her husband. There is no cell service and no police or public service people to help Annie. This novel is quickly read. It covers only one day of Annie's life, but it is not a good day or an easy one. At one point, Pattee ends this novel. There is no resolution, and Annie is still walking, but I was less bothered by this ending than many other readers will be. Life does not actually have endings, until the very end. The day ends, we go to bed, and we get up the next day. So Pattees ending seems natural.

Thank you to the publisher Simon Element and NetGakey for providing me with this ARC to read and review. The comments above reflect my honest review. I enjoyed this novel and thought it worked well. Pattee is a talented writer. I suspect she will gp far.
4 stars.

Annie is 9 months pregnant and shopping at IKEA for her baby’s crib when a massive earthquake hits Seattle. She is stranded and desperate to reach her husband and this is her journey to get there…

This book touches a lot on unfulfilled dreams and real life getting in the way of what you had once imagined for your life. As Annie looks back on what she had once envisioned for her life, we see her struggling to come to terms with her reality.

I found the natural disaster as a backdrop almost mimicking life. Things not going as planned and having to adjust to new obstacles. People trying to hurt you, people trying to help you. Desperation and kindness all within the same hour.

I felt that the ending was abrupt but that could have been intentional because so much of life is about the journey and not the ending.

An absolutely stunning debut. Pattee's story is harrowing, her pacing perfect (the ever-approaching flashbacks are very smart) her writing self-assured and evocative.

I really enjoyed this one! It was really unique in how there are elements of a thrilling disaster story, but this is definitely not a thriller in the traditional sense of the genre. The dramatic events are merely a backdrop to the protagonist's interior musings grappling with her own questions and doubts about her pregnancy, her relationship, and her life as a whole. I personally really enjoyed the balance the author struck; the subject matter was particularly interesting to me as I myself am 30 weeks pregnant. Visually I feel like this would make for a really great video game, from the earthquake's origin as our protagonist is in IKEA buying a crib, following her journey to get home across the city of Portland. I did find myself by the end feeling like there was something missing; I don't know how memorable this one will be long-term. But I definitely recommend picking it up--and it's a short one, too.

I so loved this debut novel, even though I’m far from the demographic of the likely target audience, young marrieds. Classifying it was a treat: a thriller-ish suspense slash nearly dystopian slash literary women’s fiction work— and for me it all worked. The journey of a very pregnant Annie, on foot, alone, from a North Portland, Oregon Ikea store after a massive earthquake parallels her mind’s journey through hopes, fears, and memories- in conversations she frequently shares with her unborn child that she calls Bean. I anguished along with her as this fiercely determined woman seeks her way back- to her husband, to home, to a future. Read it!