It’s been a while since I read a whole book in one day but I could not put this down and couldn’t stop thinking about during the moments I was forced to put it down anyway.

More so than being about the aftermath of an earthquake, this felt like it was about the journey of pregnancy, but the earthquake aspect certainly served to heighten the highs and cast more shadow on the lows. Plus, I LOVE a good disaster.

I loved living inside Annie’s head as she walked, and even during the “before”. Who hasn’t struggled to like their husband, or thrown away a dream in favor of joining the rat race to pay bills? Or occasionally wanted to lash out at a stranger?

Annie is SO real, and everything she experienced along her way home felt real as well. The fear of being a woman walking alone, people choosing themselves when no one is looking, joining the angry mob. This was an incredibly wild and introspective ride and a really good read.

That ending left me hanging though 😖

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Where to even begin!? This book is the manifestation of my darkest nightmare: Annie, 37-weeks pregnant, is out shopping for a crib when “The Big One” hits. The rest of the book follows her treacherous journey home.

I’ve never been more afraid to read something, therefore, I had to. And let me just say… this book is ~*stunning*~.

From start to finish, you’re completely inside the experience alongside Annie. You feel her pain, her fear, and the WILL it takes for her to keep going. Along the way, she encounters the VAST scope of humanity — the best, the worst, the weirdest. Also, for such a heightened premise (she says, as the world disintegrates around her…) this book is so grounded and feels like a terrifyingly real depiction of what it would be like to be a part of such a catastrophic event . No surprise given that the author, Emma is a climate journalist who did copious research. It is also such a swift, propulsive read. There were times I was so in it, I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath.

Also, I thought I hated the cover, but after finishing the book, I am OBSESSED with it.

What a debut!!! I hope this book SMASHES because it ruled and I would recommend it to anyone who is in a place to allow their cortisol levels to rise!!!

This was an intriguing book about a very pregnant woman making her way home after a horrible earthquake. I think I would have enjoyed this more in another format. Her speaking to the baby as a way to tell the story was a little less interesting to me than it could have been. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

very cool literary work that's kinda raw and interesting if a bit imperfectly formed at times. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Unputdownable. I lost sleep & missed a train stop devouring this book. It’s like the show “24””,” but with a full term pregnant heroine fighting for her & her baby’s lives in a catastrophic earthquake. The ending was abrupt, but fit the raw & jarring tone of the book. Fantastic debut!
Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC e-book

Disaster fiction at its best! I couldn’t put this one down. It’s short in length but so emotional and I felt the anguish of the moms in the book especially. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that captured so well as I did here. Highly recommend!!!

Wow. This book was emotional, gutting, and brutally intense. As someone who constantly thinks things like "what would happen if there was a giant earthquake, fire, etc" in so many different settings in my life, I devoured this incredible book. I felt seen by this book. The intensity I felt as I read this book is hard to capture. The author perfectly paced the book with rotating chapters between the day of the earthquake, to flashing back to a month prior, a day prior, etc. This kept me turning the page so fast because I had to know what was going to happen. The scene at the children's elementary school was especially haunting, and it's a scene I will not forget. I cannot believe this is a debut novel. Five stars and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book - to anyone who can handle this emotional roller coaster of a book. Loved it. Thank you NetGalley for the early copy.

The book follows the very pregnant main character through an earthquake and the immediate chaos of the aftermath, weaving in the past and recent events that led her to be in the present moment as she struggles to reach her partner. The story is told almost exclusively through her internal voice as she navigates the post-disaster landscape, filtering the devastation through progressive lenses of devastation, acceptance, and tenacity. I was engaged and interested throughout; I thought the ending was a little bit rushed, but thought that the whole book was thoughtful and it drew me in entirely.

I really enjoyed this book. While the premise itself is scary, I think Pattee did an excellent job telling a story that could actually happen and captured the range of feelings and emotions that one would feel in the situation. It was a thought provoking book and makes the reader wonder what they would do in each of the situations presented.

This book was wild crazy but hopeful. When an earthquake hits Portland, Annie who is 9 nine months is at IKEA shopping for a crib. This is her story about finding her way back home to her house and her husband with whom she has a struggling marriage.. With no phone nor money, she finds herself at the mercy of the people that she meets along the way. A story of disappointments, desires that we all have and what each of us will do for the people that we love. Great first novel!

Wow! This book kept me awake. I could not put it down. The writing was propulsive and intriguing. Nothing like anything I've read before. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book! I wanted to read it because I live in the Pacific Northwest and am very interested/concerned about earthquakes. But this book was about so much more than surviving the immediate aftermath of "the big one." When we meet Annie, she is extremely pregnant and is shopping for a crib at IKEA. She and her husband are struggling financially, she lost her mother to COVID, and she's not sure how having a baby will impact her life.

When a major earthquake hits, Annie manages to escape IKEA and set off on foot to find her husband. The book describes her trek and goes back in time to show how she got to where she is now. The author did a brilliant job of weaving these two pieces together. It is both a meditation on impending motherhood and relationships and a page-turning thriller to see whether Annie can reunite with her husband. I can't wait to see what Emma Pattee does next!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Tilt" has a great premise: pregnant woman stuck in an Ikea in Portland when an earthquake strikes (aka "The Big One.") What follows is a thin plot of Annie's attempt to make it downtown to find her husband. Along the way, she buddies up with an Ikea worker, explores a destroyed school, and joins a riot. There are flashbacks to her meeting her husband, their dating years, and his aspirations of making it as an actor. Her inner monologue dominates the prose and what I believe is the heart of the story: how does one react in the midst of chaos and fear?

This was a let down for me as I found Annie's voice to be annoying and highly reactive. I can't say I'd handle an earthquake any better, but what could have been a powerful novel of anger and resilience read more like a caricature of a girlboss. The ending in particular veers into sentimentality which was a stark change of tone and unfortunately one I understood as communicating "see, even crazy women can tap into their motherly instincts and tenderness!"

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

I wanted to read this because it is set in my town, Portland, Oregon. The backdrop is what we Portlanders call The Big One, an earthquake that could go over 8 or 9 on the Richter Scale. The protagonist is a very pregnant woman who is shopping at IKEA when the Big One hits. She escapes from the rubble, but loses her car and her purse. The story is told in a single day as she struggles to walk miles to get to her husband and her home. It’s about the people she meets, with realistic descriptions of her own exhaustion, dehydration, and pain. Pattee did her research on what we can expect. The story is compelling, emotional, sometimes dark and sometimes funny. I’m grateful for the ARC. This is my honest review.

Diving into this book, which takes place during a natural disaster, forced me to face my own fears! Living in a city still experiencing wildfires and high earthquake risk, reading fiction inspired by real-life events can be challenging - I often prefer fantasy. However, I must admit this book is well-written and honestly executed. I couldn't help but follow Annie's journey step by step, squirming anxiously in my seat, biting my nails, barely breathing. The storytelling is engaging and genuine, making us deeply resonate with Annie's struggles and survival journey.

Annie is 37 weeks pregnant, 35 years old, and once an aspiring playwright. Now stuck in an office job to support her marriage, she's still grieving, questioning her life choices, dealing with fears of motherhood, financial struggles, and moving from the city and house where they built their life. These thoughts and fears lie buried, ready to burst with any tragic triggering pressure. And burst they do when Annie finds herself in the middle of a horrifying earthquake while shopping for a crib at IKEA on a random Thursday in Portland, Oregon.

She gets trapped between boxes but is fortunately rescued by a store employee. In her rush to escape, she leaves behind her purse and phone as she joins the crowd seeking safety.

As she walks through the city's wreckage, she forms a plan to reach the café where her husband works, motivated by the desire to reunite their family. Throughout her compelling journey, she talks to her future baby, nicknamed "Bean." Annie's survival experience leads her through increasingly bizarre and tragic situations, including waiting beside a dying woman alone in a park while the woman's husband searches for help. She also reflects on her past: meeting her husband, watching her playwright dreams diminish, and seeing her plans to change the world through words fade while her husband, in his late thirties, still pursues his acting dreams. She mentally converses with her mother, sharing her fears and loneliness during the crisis. Will she find her husband? Can she protect her baby and give birth in a city of chaos? Most importantly, will she survive as her journey becomes increasingly dangerous with each passing second?

I loved this heart-wrenching, moving, emotionally rattling, honest story of Annie's life-changing journey. Without spoiling the ending, I'll warn that those expecting sweet, clichéd moments may be disappointed. Sometimes, in the midst of darkness, when you've lost your way, the best thing to hold onto is a crumbling hope. Annie's story offers that crumb of hope in an inspirational and resonating way, making us wonder: what would I do in the same situation? This is one of the year's most thought-provoking, well-executed novels that you shouldn't miss.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element/S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for sharing this engaging fiction's digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Tilt is a story of survival and what it means to be a mother, a partner, and a child. Annie is 37 weeks pregnant, shopping for a crib at IKEA and cursing herself for not doing the errand sooner when a massive earthquake hits. After making her way out of the store, Annie begins the trek to the cafe where her husband works, seeing the destruction that has been left behind. The story alternates between the present in the aftermath of the earthquake and the past, showing how Annie's relationship with her husband has changed over time and her experiences with her pregnancy in the months leading up to the present. It is an absolutely fascinating character study of Annie and the fear of the disaster landscape keeps pushing the narrative forward in a really unique way.

This book was overall a unique story and I really, really enjoyed it. I found Annie to be a relatable character, especially in the ways that her anxieties surfaced and the way she felt about her creative dreams. Her relationship with her husband was also well-developed despite the fact that he isn't present in the chapters set in the present. I liked how the book discussed her relationship with her mom as well as with her baby, the exploration of motherhood was handled very well. Going into this book, although it is about a natural disaster, readers should not be expecting a lot of action. This will be great for fans of character driven books and I think fans of Station Eleven would enjoy it.

4.5 stars
✨A woman at the end of her pregnancy is in Ikea picking out a crib when a horrific earthquake hits. Thus begins her journey home in what aptly feels like the end of the world. The tension is palpable, and I honestly could not put this book down. I read it in one day.

✨While this is indeed the story of a catastrophic earthquake, at its heart, this is a book about motherhood. The author does a masterful job of unveiling layer upon layer of the complexities and intricacies of what it truly means to be a mother.

✨I love the way the author develops Annie’s character through dual timelines – through both her present circumstances and flashback chapters. The transitions are flawless and seamless.

✨The only reason this wasn’t a solid five stars for me was because I didn’t love the ending. Still a fabulous read that I highly recommend.

🌿Read if you like:
✨Survival fiction
✨Portland settings
✨Debut novels
✨Motherhood narratives
✨Dual timelines

My thanks to @marysueruccibooks and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

3.5 Stars

This was a story about a married thirty-something named Annie who was 9 months pregnant. It's her first day of maternity leave and she drives out alone to her local IKEA in Portland, Oregon to buy a crib. While there, a massive earthquake hits. The chapters weave back and forth from past to present as Annie recounts her relationship with her husband, as she is one among the masses of people trying to get to their loved ones amid this environmental catastrophe.

I liked the honest way the main character looked back at her life with her husband, weary and cynical about the fact that her husband relentlessly persued his passion to be an actor. She watched other friends take more traditional job trajectories and build lives with financial security, feeling wistful and a bit depressed that their own best lives were possibly passing them by. I also admired her inner and outer strength, navigating this natural disaster and the dangers all around her...while 9 months pregnant. The present day story takes place within one day, and the tension/suspense kept me tethered as I cheered for Annie to get home and keep her unborn baby safe.

Thank you to the publisher Simon Element / Simon & Schuster/ Marysue Rucci Books who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

A gripping debut novel about a pregnant woman navigating Portland during a catastrophic earthquake. Pattee masterfully blends survival drama with deep personal introspection, creating an intense and emotionally resonant story. The narrative is raw, compelling, and beautifully written.

What started as a seemingly overwrought disaster film waiting to be screenwritten ended as a unique take on earthquake possibilities and how endangered people will be when the disaster happens. It's a human take on a literal natural shift in the planet and it's telling that it will mentally overcome most of us before overwhelmed help can arrive.