California by Edan Lepucki

Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic world, being pregnant is a terrifying thing.

Overview: The idea of this novel was interesting, but the execution lacked in being able to make me want to keep reading.

I wanted to like California. I really did; especially since it is Lepucki’s debut novel. But, unfortunately, I just couldn’t connect with the story.

The characters were interesting, and I enjoyed reading about how they survive in the not-so-far-in-the-future post-apocalyptic setting, but I kept getting pulled out of the story by the constant flashbacks that happened in the middle of a scene and lasted for a good five pages before the story returned to the main story. I felt like 75% of the amount that I read, which was about 120 pages, was dedicated to before the apocalypse and the characters’ first days in the wilderness. Perhaps this wouldn’t have bothered me if said flashbacks occurred in separate chapters and not in the middle of a scene.

While this was the main problem, it wasn’t the only one.

Some of Frida’s inner monologue felt juvenile to me. I understand that she has a difficult time letting go of her old life, but the things that she just can’t let go of was a little ridiculous. A baster. And the price tag on the baster.

Really?

Also, some of the descriptions were over the top, sometimes describing every little thing that I could care less about. That was just another thing that pulled me out of the story.

One again, I really wanted to like this novel, but I couldn’t.