For someone who lives in one of the biggest city in the world, I love books about the suburbs. I especially love them when they are about my home state of NJ!⁣
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It’s Tuesday morning in Lincolnwood, New Jersey, and all four members of the Altman family are busy ignoring each other en route to work and school. Dan, a lawyer turned screenwriter, is preoccupied with satisfying his imperious TV producer boss’s creative demands. Seventeen-year-old daughter Chloe obsesses over her college application essay and the state tennis semifinals. Her vape-addicted little brother, Max, silently plots revenge against a thuggish freshman classmate. And their MBA-educated mom Jen, who gave up a successful business career to raise the kids, is counting the minutes until the others vacate the kitchen and she can pour her first vodka of the day. ⁣
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Then, as the kids begin their school day and Dan rides a commuter train into Manhattan, the world comes to a sudden, inexplicable stop. Lights, phones, laptops, cars, trains…the entire technological infrastructure of 21st-century society quits working. Normal life, as the Altmans and everyone else knew it, is over.⁣
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Or is it? ⁣
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Over four transformative, chaotic days, this privileged but clueless American family will struggle to hold it together in the face of water shortages, paramilitary neighbors, and the well-mannered looting of the local Whole Foods as they try to figure out just what the hell is going on.⁣
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We as a society have become so reliant on our phone, computers, and technology that I’m not sure what would happen without them! I wouldn’t know how to do my job work though them! I know I personally wouldn’t last even a day without my phone. Luckily, I have a mountain of physical books unread on my shelf!

Well, this book sparked a lot of conversation around my dinner table. What would happen (and how would you react) if suddenly technology failed and there is no explanation and no way to know when (or if) things would go back to normal? Yeah, I know, right? No lights, no cars, no computers or phones - nothing electrical or electronic will work.

The book starts out on a regular mid-week day with the Altman family going off to their respective places - a train commute to NYC, off to school, or just staying home to wait for the first opportunity to get a stiff drink, when all of a sudden everything. just. stops. Planes fall out of the sky, cars and trains stop dead, and nobody's cellphones work.

It doesn't take long for clashes with neighbors and family members to come to a head. But it also allows the Altmans to see one another for who they are, for good or ill. There are humorous and tense situations sprinkled throughout.

I was not thrilled with the ending. I don't know what I would have liked to have happen, but there was something not quite gratifying about it. And that is what dropped my rating from 5 stars to 4.

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a funny and unique take on family drama. The Altman famility looks like they have it all, when really each member is falling apart in his or her own way. And then the world starts to fall apart. There's no power, no water, technology (including cars and phones) no longer work and society starts to break down. No one knows why this is happening or how long it will last.

The multiple POV of each family member ( parents Dan and Jen and children Chloe and Max) really worked for this book. You get to see how each character reacts differently to the same situation and how their reactions impact each other. This format also helps move the story forward and give it a good pace. I particularly loved the relationship with Judge had with Jen and Max.

When I got to the last page, I kept refreshing my Kindle wondering what happened- I needed answers! So be warned, things don't tie together in a nice bow, but then life doesn't either.

Thank you to Harper Perennial & Netgalley for the eARC to read and review.

Unfortunately, I didn't connect with this book. I found the writing style to be somewhat pretentious and hard to read. I found the description to be fascinating and it was a book whose cover and description made me very eager to read it. But, ultimately, reading it felt like a chore and it fell flat for me. I can see how others would enjoy this book more. After all, writing style is a very individual taste. But this book was just not for me.

This was such a page turner! I don't always love multiple POVs but the way they were mixed into short chapters felt so natural and kept the pace of the story going so quickly that I just couldn't put the book down. Each of the main characters had their own personalities and flaws and one of them was particularly unlikeable which all combined to make a completely relatable family.

I particularly liked the relationships that each character had outside the home and the ending left me hungry for more.

What a wild ride. When does the sequel come out? I think this needs to be a movie too.

This book is absolutely in my wheelhouse. It’s a character driven family drama set smack dab in the middle of an apocalypse. The Altmans are going about their everyday lives when something very bad happens- phones, computers, cars, TVs are all dead. There’s a plane that falls out of the sky. And the best and most clever part of it all is that none of the family members realize how bad things are. I liked the build up and the ambiguity as to what’s going on- we get to see how thoroughly unprepared they are to be in situations where their money can’t fix things. You also get to see their neighborhood and the town itself devolve. The author manages to explore dark things but balances it with humor. These characters felt very realistic and really made me think about how I would handle things if a suburban apocalypse came to my town! I wanted more from the ending but not in a bad way - more in a, I came to care about this family and want to see how they turn out kind of way. still, this is a recommend from me!

The Altman family was a bit of a disaster even before the lights went out. Dan (the dad) works for an insufferable manchild as a writer on a Law & Order knockoff show. Jen (the mom) has let an occasional round of boredom-induced day-drinking blow up into full-on alcoholism. Chloe (the daughter) is wound super tight as she stresses about tennis and college and re-re-retaking the ACT. Max (the son) is an uncoordinated nerd with a secret Juul vape habit. They have plenty of money, but none of them are particularly happy or connected to each other.

Then, when the lights go out (and planes fall from the sky and the water shuts off and the cars and phones and vape pens stop working), the Altmans are forced into a survival situation none of them are even remotely prepared to handle. The story is told in alternating chapters from each of the four family member's perspectives, and it's simultaneously funny and so very messed up.

I loved the combination of suburban family drama and apocalyptic scenarios -- there's a Whole Foods looting, crazy neighbors, AA meetings, unwanted houseguests, and whole lot of denial and terrible planning -- this book was really entertaining.

I’m always instantly hooked on a story where the world ends. What do people do? How quickly do people turn on each other? Who becomes resourceful and who falls apart?
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All these questions are asked in this one. When the world falls apart and you don’t quite know it yet what is of importance. Do you search for a missing AirPod? Do you have enough cash for the grocery store? What about food?
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All these questions are asked over four days in a suburban town of Lincolnwood. Told over four days we get a picture of chaos of a suburban, privileged family who loot Whole Foods and debate spend their cash on chicken Milanese.
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This has me wanting to stock up on non-perishables and maybe get an old car that would run if an EMP hit!
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My only complaint is I wanted so much more of their story. I would love to to know what really happened and happened to them.

The Altman family look like they are living the Dream: Dan the dad is a lawyer turned TV exec working on a hit television show, Jen the mom, works from home while being a stay at home mom for daughter Chloe, a high school senior, working to nail all college applications, and son Max who is dealing with the high school as a freshman. One day, technology suddenly and completely fails for everyone in town, and true colors begin appearing: Dan's boss is looking for reasons to fire him, Jen has been dealing with the trauma of being at Ground Zero on 9/11 with copious amounts of alcohol, Chloe is chasing the wrong boy, and Max is plotting against the neighborhood bully while trying to get a nicotine fix after the loss of his secret vaping habit. As neighbors initially help each other, and then turn against each other in a modern survival of the fittest, the Altmans have to face their personal demons to survive as a family.

Where would we be without technology?? It has become such a mainstay of our society that the loss throws the world into utter chaos. In this story, everything that could be plugged in or connected failed: from vapes to water pumps. No one carried cash, so no one could pay for groceries, leading to looting, which eventually led to government corruption after the local government had carelessly deputized people into name only positions who had no credentials to be in such positions. There was definitely a vein of humor to this book, but it was also a little scary because of how realistic it could be if technology failed in today's society.

What a ridiculously fun and terrifying post-apocalyptic novel with an eerily plausible premise and incredibly well-drawn characters. Rodkey manages to surf that fine line between shaking your head in exasperation at the mistakes characters make and still rooting for them and hoping they overcome their individual demons and take care of each other. His observations on people and society are witty and relatable, and the small town he has drawn is just absolutely on point. If you are looking for a novel with dry humor, exceptionally complex characters, and blunt, nihilistic observations on the dangers of living in this modern world you have found your unicorn.

Lights out in Lincolnwood is a marvel. This book had me dreaming about living in its world (I wonder what time it is, do I have a watch nearby, digital clicks aren’t working 😂) So many wonderfully observant lines and the novel contains some great truths about society and family and how differently each of us can view the same situation. Excellent!!

I waffled for awhile on whether I was going to enjoy this book. Taking a suburban town and plunging them into a near apocalyptic setting seemed interesting, but I wasn't sure about focusing on what seemed like a normal nuclear family.

I was wrong. This book focuses on the best and worst of us, and how that truly comes out during times of crisis. We get to follow the four members of the Altman family as they individually process the effects of the new normal on their ways of life. I found their reactions to be realistic to how mine would be in that situation and thought that the speed of the chapters helped with what would otherwise be a quite lengthy book.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

“We’re out of our minds, every damn one of us. But we’re all crazy in the same way.” Lights Out in Lincolnwood by Geoff Rodkey

3.75 stars. This was a hoot. It took awhile to get there, awhile to get everybody in place and settled in my head, then it started to get fun.

Imagine, at the start of what seems to be an ordinary day, everything electronic, electrical, went kaput. Zilch. Nada. Not a jolt of electricity, computing power, nothing. Cars stop where they are, planes fall out of the sky, computers fail, no internet, no phones (gasp!!). So what’s the Altmans, our main cast, to do?

Well of course there’s the disbelief, the bewilderment, the continuation of (bad) coping techniques for life’s blows, and the attempts to continue as of life hasn’t changed that much. Oh and put in the anarchy and chaos that ensues in a community without information or decent leadership.

Think Zombieland, Walking Dead but without the zombies and with that electromagnetic pulse that killed everything computerized. Hmm. Maybe War of the Worlds but without the aliens out to kill us?

In fact, for most of the book, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. What happened? Why’d everything go dark?

The book end with the Altmans hopeful and loaded and well... ready to face the start of the end of the world. I think.

Perhaps a sequel is in the works?

Thank you Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley for this book. It was fun to read.

Lights Out in Lincolnwood was one of the more original stories I read this year, and maybe not even just this year. I’m not quite sure I’ve read anything like it before! And I’m very glad I chanced upon this book, because not only was it snarky and kind of funny, but it was also serious in the way of, “but what if?”

I love premises that make you think and ones that aren’t strictly traditional, and that’s precisely what Lights Out in Lincolnwood is like. The situation the main characters, the Altman family, go through, is certainly not a story you hear told a lot. Not in movies, not in books, and I LOVE stories like that.

What happens is that despite the day starting as usual as the Altmans go about it, suddenly all electronics stop working. Cars and trains stop, phones won’t turn on, planes… Fall from the sky. At first people react as if it’s a nuisance – at least, those who haven’t seen the planes fall – they think it’s another act of terrorism. The family members, upon starting their usual morning with bickering and stress, break up and go their own separate ways, only to get stranded – each in a situation of their own. Lights Out in Lincolnwood is about a family figuring out their current situation just as much as them figuring out their entire, messed up lives.

And I have to say, the Altmans are pretty messed up. They’re a disaster waiting to happen, but because of the distorting lens of daily life and routine problems, nobody has noticed that the family is on the brink of certain desctruction. Every single one of the Altmans is focused solely and entirely on himself or herself, without a single thought of what might be going on in the universe of the person next to them. It’s no wonder that they all fumble about the newly developed situation with completely disastrous circumstances. Watching the Altmans navigate a possible apocalypse is a little bit like watching a bunch of cows trying to stand up on the surface of a frozen lake. It’s sad, but also just that little bit funny, and so you just can’t look away.

We start following the Altmans as they are all in a transitory state – the wife in between being a full time mother and going back to full time work (which is not going well for her, not to mention her secret drinking problem), the daughter in between school and college (and her disastrous relationship with her mother), the son in the first throes of puberty (and the social terrors it brings), and the dad – in between of handling his career change and his crazy family and… Not handling it anymore. It’s interesting, because as you start, you already know what’s going to happen – the Altmans’ lives are not going to continue as they were, but you keep wondering. Where would they have been, if things hadn’t happened the way they did? Would they have figured themselves out? Or not?

It’s a question that’s eerily relatable to our lives right now – where would we be now, if the pandemic hadn’t hit back when it did? Some of you may have new jobs, some would be married (as opposed to in engagement limbo, unable to even book a wedding due to quarantine). Some would be living in another country. Some would have embarked on a career change or found the love of their lives in a busy bar on some Saturday night. But now we’ll never know that, cause that’s not how it went. Same with the Altmans.

But aside from that, the book also explores the idea of what if? What if something really did happen, and our world was never the same anymore? How would you cope? Would you have enough supplies, or the mettle? This is not a zombie apocalypse book, but it is a realistic exploration of the idea, and in that sense, it reminded me of Station Eleven (although that story is set much farther down the road – Lights Out in Lincolnwood only happens like three-four days into the trouble.) The story flings a family of privileged entitled people into some real trouble and asks them, how would they cope? You see them flail, but you start wondering, how would YOU cope, if your entire world come crashing down? Would you believe it’s temporary? Or would you enter the new dark tomorrow with a fury?

I also loved how their problems were presented both through a close up and far away lens. From further away, all the problems each family member is having seem manufactured, meaningless and totally entitled first world problems – and yet… Once they are all shown in more detail, they become world shattering, really actually quite painful things that impact the people very much. To the point where when you look at it from their perspective, you can’t really blame them for acting shitty about things, because they’re really bothered by something. It’s interesting how that is – and I guess a lot of people’s problems only seem big when you’re the one having them, but not when you’re looking at it from the side.

I felt like the family was a sort of depiction of our current society, and it’s seriously ridiculous. It’s like a caricature of us, and our lopsided priorities. There are planes falling out of the sky, the water’s being rationed and the world seems to have ground to a halt – and yet, the Altmans here are worrying about their next nicotine or alcohol hit (or the absence thereof), their crushes or even their lost Airpods. It’s really quite striking how it all looks in light of what’s going on, but what none of the family members seem to be able to realize.

As for the story… The book gets wild, and then gets wilder. I didn’t expect the ending for sure, and it was one hell of a ride. The family’s definitely not the kind of protagonists you specifically want to side with, but they are interesting characters, and by messing up the way they do, they open up the way for more interesting plot points. There was growth in their stories, and they kind of makes you feel like you’ve got your shit together, when you’re reading about people like that.

Lights Out in Lincolnwood was certainly one of the more original reads of mine this year! I am definitely going to remember it for a long time. Despite the dark scenario, the book is still upbeat and quite snarky, so it makes the reading fun. It also makes you think, what if? Would you be ready, if this happened? And what are you taking for granted in your life?

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

What a great book! This is a funny, scary and unfortunately believable story about what could happen if all modern technology were to suddenly fail. Very entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. I sure hope there’s a sequel! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very good end of modern technology novel. Told with a dry satiric humor similar to Tom Perrotta’s work, this is the story of suburban family responding to the loss of all electrical devices. In an at first annoyed manner it is viewed as a temporary inconvenience, which it is until it isn’t. The increasing annoyances turn more serious. The realization that this may not be temporary, causes the polite suburban society to grapple with survival. Water to flush the toilet or knowing what time it is become symbols of the entanglement that we have with technology. Water requires electrical pumps and your cellphone phone requires a lot of technology so you can see the time.

As the suburban town of Lincolnwood begins to descend into a medieval fiefdom. This privileged family breaks apart only to re-emerge a stronger truly cohesive family. They must come together and put their anger and problems behind them or deal with them in order to survive. I enjoyed the pacing, characters, and humor of this novel. Great insight into modern dependence and family dynamics.