BONUS: This edition contains a The Things That Keep Us Here discussion guide.
Everything seems quiet on Ann Brooks’s suburban c... read full description
Everything seems quiet on Ann Brooks’s suburban c... read full description
reviews
Dec 10, 2011
Kim
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I didn't know what to expect with this book because the back cover only alludes to "life-or-death decisions." So, when I found out (within the first few pages) that the characters were facing a possible health scare similar to the 1918 flu pandemic, I was a little put-off. If this doesn't seem interesting, don't let it scare you away!
This was a fascinating book with descriptions of a normal family in a Columbus, Ohio-area neighborhood in the suburbs that could be any family More...
This was a fascinating book with descriptions of a normal family in a Columbus, Ohio-area neighborhood in the suburbs that could be any family More...
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Mar 16, 2011
Kathy
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Feb 13, 2011
Louise
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*****PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THERE ARE ***SPOILERS*** IN THIS REVIEW!!!
Ann and Peter Brooks have two daughters: twelve-year-old Kate and seven-year-old Maddie who live in the comfortable suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Their baby, William, had died causing unspeakable grief for Ann and Peter which has affected their relationship irreparably. One night while driving home from a family get together, Peter announces that they should separate and spend some time alone. He tells Anne that he “s More...
Ann and Peter Brooks have two daughters: twelve-year-old Kate and seven-year-old Maddie who live in the comfortable suburb of Columbus, Ohio. Their baby, William, had died causing unspeakable grief for Ann and Peter which has affected their relationship irreparably. One night while driving home from a family get together, Peter announces that they should separate and spend some time alone. He tells Anne that he “s More...
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Feb 03, 2011
Sarah
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Masterfully written, frighteningly real, this novel drew me in quickly and kept me up past midnight.
A fairly straightforward plot: avian flu shifts to infect humans, with a 50% mortality rate. One family provides the lens through which the readers view the pandemic. Their physical struggle to survive a crisis for which they are not prepared frames a deeply moving, emotional story.
Carla Buckley's skill in this debut novel demonstrates an real understanding of human emotio More...
A fairly straightforward plot: avian flu shifts to infect humans, with a 50% mortality rate. One family provides the lens through which the readers view the pandemic. Their physical struggle to survive a crisis for which they are not prepared frames a deeply moving, emotional story.
Carla Buckley's skill in this debut novel demonstrates an real understanding of human emotio More...
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Jul 07, 2010
Alisha
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What is it about apocalyptic/dystopian novels that make most people love them so much? I mean, they can't be good for the soul. Great books have the uncanny ability to make you feel as you're not merely observing what's happening, but rather you are right there experiencing everything that's happening. That happened with me and The Things That Keep Us Here (and a big chunk of other dystopian/apocalyptic novels I've read).
I was extremely distressed while reading The Things That Kee More...
I was extremely distressed while reading The Things That Kee More...
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Jun 08, 2010
Denise
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A good pandemic novel..., February 8, 2010
I love an apocalyptic novel! Whether it be meteor strike, nuclear event, or medical meltdown - I'm your reader. For some reason, the stark portrayals of humans trying to survive against insurmountable odds always draws me in. This one did too!
The H5N1 virus (avian flu) strikes and the entire world is held hostage against the scourges of the disease. Of course it's winter (flu season IS in winter) and it's cold and the weather is bad More...
I love an apocalyptic novel! Whether it be meteor strike, nuclear event, or medical meltdown - I'm your reader. For some reason, the stark portrayals of humans trying to survive against insurmountable odds always draws me in. This one did too!
The H5N1 virus (avian flu) strikes and the entire world is held hostage against the scourges of the disease. Of course it's winter (flu season IS in winter) and it's cold and the weather is bad More...
May 24, 2010
Linda
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Feb 23, 2010
How far would you go to protect your family?
Ann Brooks never thought she’d have to answer that question. Then she found her limits tested by a crisis no one could prevent. Now, as her neighborhood descends into panic, she must make tough choices to protect everyone she loves from a threat she cannot even see. In this chillingly urgent novel, Carla Buckley confronts us with the terrifying decisions we are forced to make when ordinary life changes overnight.
A year ago, Ann More...
Ann Brooks never thought she’d have to answer that question. Then she found her limits tested by a crisis no one could prevent. Now, as her neighborhood descends into panic, she must make tough choices to protect everyone she loves from a threat she cannot even see. In this chillingly urgent novel, Carla Buckley confronts us with the terrifying decisions we are forced to make when ordinary life changes overnight.
A year ago, Ann More...
Feb 17, 2010
Sherry
rated it:
The world as we know it, devastated by an influenza virus carried by birds? Don't say it can't happen. It can; it has. No, let me correct that. There has been no bird flu pandemic of yet, but there have been outbreaks of bird flu that caused deaths and left lingering disability in victims. It might have been about seven years ago, here in the Tidewater region of Virginia where I live, that there were reported cases of avian borne influenza that hospitalized a number of people. Some died; some re
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Feb 12, 2010
Suspense Magazine
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It isn’t often that a book has a very profound impact on my life and until now, it has never occurred when reading an authors debut. “The Things That Keep Us Here” is without a doubt one of the most powerful and realistically frightening books I have ever read. At each unexpected turn, I found myself praying for the best and wondering what I would do in such a situation. Would I be brave enough to make the hard decisions to save my family?
Ann and Peter Brooks—an average American cou More...
Ann and Peter Brooks—an average American cou More...
Nov 17, 2009
Marian
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May 02, 2011
Kristie
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"The Things That Keep Us Here" is a well-paced thriller that kept me reading and involved from the beginning to the end. I enjoyed it tremendously, and didn't pause to think about it in depth until I was done. Much like "The DaVinci Code," once I was no longer caught up in the book and had a chance to think about it, I found myself disappointed in a few things.
First, the positives. Carla Buckley has crafted a timely "what if" novel about the effect of More...
First, the positives. Carla Buckley has crafted a timely "what if" novel about the effect of More...
Jan 22, 2011
The Things That keep us here by Carla Buckley. (It has 2 titles?)
Mum bought this book and loant it to me. (so I can't share it with anyone :( )
Mum was reading it while we had the floods and evacuation messages so she found it a bit ironic at the time.
I read it in 2 days (I would have read it all at once but these kids keep expecting me to feed them!)
So you can read about it here - http://www.carlabuckley.com/books.php
It's about a family tryin More...
Mum bought this book and loant it to me. (so I can't share it with anyone :( )
Mum was reading it while we had the floods and evacuation messages so she found it a bit ironic at the time.
I read it in 2 days (I would have read it all at once but these kids keep expecting me to feed them!)
So you can read about it here - http://www.carlabuckley.com/books.php
It's about a family tryin More...
Nov 04, 2011
Carolyn
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After reading the jacket of the book, I expected this to be a post-appocalyptic/distopian book. I expect a book in that category to be set some time in the distant future which circumstances much different from today. That is not the case with this book. It is set in the present day and is very plausible and realistic. It deals with a pandemic of bird flu. The schools all get closed, there's a run on the stores and the ATMs, there's a huge snow storm and power goes out for a long time. The famil
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Jun 06, 2010
Rachel
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Oct 16, 2011
Alesa
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Thanks to Rachel for recommending this book. Well, sort of thanks, because IT SCARED THE HECK OUT OF ME! What would happen if a pandemic occurred? And you were in nice, suburban America, otherwise concerned with typical domestic issues.
This is Buckley's first novel, and there are some places where it's a little clumsy. But after a while, you don't even care because the topic is so expertly addressed. I couldn't put the book down, and when I did (for necessities like fixing a meal) More...
This is Buckley's first novel, and there are some places where it's a little clumsy. But after a while, you don't even care because the topic is so expertly addressed. I couldn't put the book down, and when I did (for necessities like fixing a meal) More...
Jun 20, 2010
Michelle
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Mar 21, 2010
Amy
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Ann Brooks is a newly single mom taking care of two little girls while her estranged husband is busy doing scientific research surrounding an H5N1 virus (avian flu) that has struck their community. It starts in the bird population and quickly jumps species and becomes a level 5 pandemic among the human population. Now this estranged family must come together to survive the worst scenario of their life- being quarantined together while they must rely on the government and medical system to find
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Feb 21, 2010
Miss Remmers
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"The Things That Keep You Here" is a surprisingly riveting novel; I couldn't put it down. Not only that, but this book genuinely had me thinking and analyzing my own life. While it could be read for purely enjoyment, it can also be read in depth and be analyzed.
Even while reading this book I was talking about it to my family, friends, and residents, anyone who would listen really. I would ask them, "How far would you go for the ones you love? Would you steal? Would you More...
Even while reading this book I was talking about it to my family, friends, and residents, anyone who would listen really. I would ask them, "How far would you go for the ones you love? Would you steal? Would you More...
Nov 02, 2009
Julie
rated it:
This book succeeds on so many levels. The writing is assured. From the very first scene, the author nails a certain type of husband/wife relationship. With an economy of words that evidences Buckley's skill, she captures the nuances of a marriage and all the things that go unspoken between a man and a woman. Going wider, she does the same with the dynamics in a family, in a neighborhood, even in the community at large. Every character, no matter how minor, is brought to life.
The conc More...
The conc More...
Aug 10, 2011
As a debut writer, Carla did her job and did it well. I was thoroughly hooked from the beginning. Yes, it is a bit scary, but it is relevant, timely and has so much information, how could you put the book down? This is one of the few books that I have found myself talking to my husband/friends about after reading each day. I could of easily read this book in 1 day if I had the time.
This book is making me think about things that I didn't think I needed to. But we seriously don't know what i More...
This book is making me think about things that I didn't think I needed to. But we seriously don't know what i More...
Feb 08, 2010
April
rated it:
Amazing. Absolutely amazing, engrossing and thought provoking. These are words that quickly and simply come to mind when I think of The Things That Keep Us Here. It, quite frankly, blows my mind that this is a debut novel by Carla Buckley. It is incredibly well written, tight, emotional, well-researched and so true-to-life (or what could easily happen in life, right now) that I would expect such work to be written by a veteran author. No, The Things That Keep Us Here is not a laid back, fun, kic
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Feb 04, 2012
Angela
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I didn't really pay attention to the blurb on the back when I first picked this book up. I was at a book fest and had about 10 more tables to visit to add to my ever growing collection of books. I thought this was a murder mystery book, and just took a gamble on it hoping that at least it would be an interesting read. Am I glad I chose this book the way I did. If I had known that it was a book based on a family trying to survive a bird flu outbreak in America I would have put it back. This i
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Mar 02, 2011
Alisa
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Feb 23, 2011
Alexa
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Probably the most disturbing book I've read in a very long time. It kept me up two nights in a row, and I finally had to take a break and read something really fluffy as a palate-cleanser - which was tough because I couldn't put it down. I finally had to for my own sanity. It sparked a very nihilistic conversation with my husband the atheist scientist who basically said, well the earth is going to blow up some time anyway (not in a End of Days kind of way, I should add). Just a depressing scienc
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Mar 09, 2011
Shellie
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I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this book, I enjoyed it and it’s a pretty good page-turner, but I am going to tell you what I didn’t like about it. The time-line was difficult to follow and seldom seemed accurate for what was talking place. I’m certain the time-line of the baby Jacob from pregnancy to current was really off. And there were other instances as well. Minutes turned into hours, hours turned into days and days into weeks frequently in a confusing page or two that was d
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May 04, 2010
WH
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I heard about this novel from someone who has been actively involved in learning, understanding and the tracking of on-going viral infectious developments world wide. Carla Buckley’s portrayal of events leading up to a bird flu outbreak, and then the subsequent impacts and situations endured by her heroin family (and their surrounding community) as the outbreak turned pandemic, was presented to me as a timely read given our recent swine flu experience.
I did enjoy the book. It was a q More...
I did enjoy the book. It was a q More...
Oct 18, 2011
Libbi
rated it:
The story is one of survival, family, tough decisions, and love. It was very thought-provoking. I kept wondering, “What would I have done?” or “Would I be ready if that happened?” I can read about vampires, werewolves and other fictional creatures that wouldn’t really scare me, because I know they aren’t real. But reading about something so dangerous that could potentially happen…that is unsettling. (I will be getting my flu shot and updating my food storage. :)) I was impressed with the author
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Sep 23, 2011
Malia
rated it:
I was up until midnight reading this last night. I don't stay up until midnight often-it was that kind of suck-you-in-good read.
There were a lot of parts in which I was scoffing at the blatant stupidity of the characters. I mean stopping to talking to angry looking people... shoot intruders when they first refuse to leave... don't refer to the only man with food as "crazy"... get storable food in the grocery store run... common sense people! But I suppose common sens More...
There were a lot of parts in which I was scoffing at the blatant stupidity of the characters. I mean stopping to talking to angry looking people... shoot intruders when they first refuse to leave... don't refer to the only man with food as "crazy"... get storable food in the grocery store run... common sense people! But I suppose common sens More...
Jun 16, 2011
Rene
rated it:
This book was awesome. Family drama, suspense, science and a deadly virus spreading across the world at an alarming rate. Buckley definitely has a skill for writing and for her first novel this is excellent! She poses the ever popular question, "What would you do?," when one family is locked inside their home to prevent catching this deadly Flu virus. Cities are shut down, travel is halted and then the power goes out. Grocery stores and gas stations are locked up and out of produc
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