Tilt is the page-turning story of a pregnant woman’s search for her husband after a devastating earthquake in Portland, Oregon.
Tilt by Emma Pattee
Genre/Categories/Setting: Contemporary Fiction, Survival, Suspense, Earthquake, Portland (Oregon)
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My Summary:
Thanks #NetGalley @SimonBooks for a complimentary eARC of #Tilt upon my request. All opinions are my own.
Over the course of one day, Annie who is nine months pregnant survives a devastating earthquake (at Ikea) and sets out across the wreckage of Portland (Oregon) to find her husband.
My Thoughts:
One day in the life of an earthquake survivor.
Unique Setting
This story takes place at Ikea initially. After the devastating earthquake, Annie sets out in search of her husband and navigates the destruction on the streets of Portland (Oregon). The story takes place in one (very long!) day.
Page-turning
The survival and search aspects of the story make it a page-turner. As you can imagine, Annie comes across some colorful characters and desperate situations. My concern for Annie’s safety and her situation had me reading compulsively.
Even though Tilt is page-turning, it is also heavily character-driven.
Likable Character?
Well….Annie is a complicated character! She is determined to a fault. Her perseverance kept her going at two points when I thought she should stay. If I were in her situation at nine months pregnant, I might be a bit emotional and/or irrational as well. I might have been tempted to find safety for myself and the baby and let my husband find ME!
As she makes her way across the city she reflects on her career, her marriage, and motherhood. She has an opportunity to interact with a variety of people which results in an array of outcomes. We learn more about Annie as she reacts to offers of assistance and has her own opportunities to assist others.
Then we have the reason she was in Ikea in the first place: procrastination. She should not have waited nine months to buy the crib!
So, likable or not? Annie is unprepared for sure, but she has grit. How do any of us know what we would do in a disaster? I can imagine that her decisions and actions would make a great book club discussion!
Did the Author Stick the Landing?
Even though the ending is likely realistic, I must alert you that I didn’t find the ending especially satisfying, as I was left with a few questions. Has this earthquake wrecked her whole life? How will she pick up the pieces from here? I’ve invested too much time and emotion into Annie’s well-being to be left with an open-ended conclusion. If ever a story needed an epilogue, it’s this one! Perhaps a sequel is in the works?
Content Consideration: earthquake devastation and trauma
Recommending Tilt:
Fans of page-turning survival stories with sides of suspense will want to add Tilt to your spring/summer beach or pool bags! If you live on the West Coast of the U.S., you might be triggered or intrigued by the content. Residents of Portland, Oregon won’t want to miss a story set in their “home town”!
Related: You might enjoy The Nature of Fragile Things (my favorite Meissner) which features the devastating San Franciso Earthquake of 1906.
My Rating: 4 Stars
Meet the Author of Tilt, Emma Pattee
Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and a fiction writer. Her writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and more. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
QOTD:
Have you experienced a large earthquake?
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I’m intrigued, Carol!💖📚
Do you have EQs in NZ?
[…] Tilt by Emma Pattee […]
Yes, we do. as well as being known as the land of the long white cloud, we are also known as the ‘Shaky Isles’.
Yikes! 😱
We don’t feel many earthquakes where we live, but the bottom of the North Island (Wellington in particular) and the top of the South Island are very active.
I hate earthquakes!😩😖
[…] Genre: Contemporary FictionWHY: I live on the west coast of the United States, which is susceptible to earthquakes, so I feel compelled to read this. Annie @ From the Front Porch podcast gives it a good review. Pub Date: 3/25/2025.***UPDATE: 4 Stars. After all the drama, the ending was too open-ended for my taste, and I was left with many unanswered questions. My full review here. […]
[…] well-written (4 stars), I didn’t enjoy the reading experience. Another disappointment was Tilt by Emma Pattee…that ending was too open-ended for my taste, and the character too unlikable, or perhaps too […]