Just Get Home

by Bridget Foley, LaQuita James (Read by), Abby Marks (Read by)

Overview

"Breathtaking... so much more than a thriller." —Josh Malerman, bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie

"Hits the thriller trifecta: a natural disaster, danger around every corner, and compelling well-drawn characters." —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author

A one-more-page, up-all-night story about two strangers who need each other's help to survive the night after a devastating earthquake shakes Los Angeles.

Beegie is riding the bus when the quake hits. The teenager was heading back to her unhappy foster home, but then she’s thrown into a broken world. Roads crumble, storefronts shatter and people run wild.

Dessa, a single mom, is enjoying a rare night out when it strikes. Cell towers are down, so without even knowing if her three-year-old daughter is dead or alive, she races to get back across town.

As danger escalates in the chaotic streets, Beegie and Dessa meet by a twist of fate and an act of violence. The two form a fragile partnership, relying on each other in ways they never thought possible, and learn who they really are when there’s only one goal: just get home.

“A flat-out thriller [that is] also smart and insightful on timely, important ideas…. Heartbreaking and complicated in the best way… This is addictive reading that changes you as you turn the pages and stays with you long after you’ve finished.” —Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781799959960
Publisher:	Mira Books
Publication date:	04/13/2021
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.50(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Originally from Colorado, Bridget Foley attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television. She worked as an actor and screenwriter before becoming a novelist. Her first book, Hugo & Rose, was published in 2015.

LaQuita James, a Tennessee native who resides in Nashville, is a certified speech-language pathologist, professional podcaster, voice-over artist, musical theater singer, and cellist. A professional award-winning actress, she has appeared in TV shows, feature films, and numerous regional and national voice-overs. She has appeared in costarring roles on Hap & Leonard, Still the King, and Nashville, along with supporting roles in several feature films. She was voted Indyville Actress of the Year and received a Broadway World Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her portrayal of Lasonia in Trials & Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife. She also won Best Supporting Actress in the 54 Hour Film Festival.

LaQuita has narrated for Time, HuffPost, and Reuters. She has a supporting role (Katrina) in the popular audio drama Margaritas & Donuts featured in the New York Times. She narrated the Caldecott Honor Award-winning book Thank You Omu by Oge Mora and the bestselling book The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine. She has narrated audiobooks for several well-known publishers. LaQuita is an avid reader and loves Harry Potter and Jane Austen. She is also an animal lover and has a cat named Gracie Lou Freebush.

Editorial Reviews

02/22/2021

A powerful earthquake in downtown Los Angeles leaves buildings and roads collapsed and phone service gone in this heart-pounding tale of urban survival by Foley (Hugo & Rose ). Dessa , a single mom on a rare night out, desperately braves the chaos to somehow get home to her toddler daughter, Olivia , in Van Nuys. Along the way, Dessa witnesses the rape of Beegie , a tough 14-year-old girl in conflict with the most recent of her abusive foster families when the earthquake hits, but can’t find a way to intervene. Beegie later interrupts a violent attack on Dessa and, as they travel together, they become invested in helping each other. Though Foley occasionally leans into using women’s trauma as voyeuristic entertainment, she gives both Dessa and Beegie agency within complex lives and the nuanced emotional strength required to live through difficult circumstances. Crisp pacing helps suspend disbelief about the lack of rescue services from unaffected surrounding areas. Readers will breathlessly root for Beegie, Dessa, and Olivia, who has a key part to play at the climax. Agent: Brandi Bowles, United Talent Agency. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for JUST GET HOME

"A natural disaster is a terrifying backdrop for this briskly paced yet emotional novel, and readers will be hard-pressed to put the book down before reaching its satisfying ending. This title will appeal to readers who enjoyed The River at Night, by Erica Ferencik, or One by One, by Ruth Ware." —Library Journal

“Author Bridget Foley tackles many subjects in Just Get Home: disaster preparedness (or the lack thereof), cultural and economic differences, racism and racial prejudices, violence, infidelity, friendship and foster care. These issues are seamlessly woven into the narrative, but they are addressed in such a way as to force readers to confront them on some level.... Fast-paced writing, well-developed characters and a compelling storyline make it a memorable read that book clubs will want to discuss.” –Bookreporter


"Told with artful suspense-building...the duo's journey across the sprawling metropolis will compel the reader." —Booklist

“A heart-pounding tale of urban survival… Complex lives and nuanced emotional strength… Readers will breathlessly root for Beegie, Dessa, and Olivia.” —Publishers Weekly

“Thrilling, yes, but so much more than a thriller. Set to the tune of a life-altering (and vividly rendered) earthquake, Foley brings together two very different women who discover an ultimate commonality: knowing what matters. Written with aplomb, precision, and courage, Just Get Home is a breathtaking achievement.” —Josh Malerman, New York Times best selling author of Bird Box and Malorie

“I turned the pages of Just Get Home like I was reading a flat-out thriller, at that magical couldn't-put-it-down, must-find-out-what-happens pace, but that’s only the beginning of this wonder of a novel because it’s also smart and insightful on timely, important, difficult ideas. Its characters and their relationships are heartbreaking and complicated in the best way, at once entirely relatable, instantly recognizable, and unlike anything you’ve read before.
This is addictive reading that changes you as you turn the pages and stays with you long after you’ve finished.
It is a genre-bender in my favorite way: it has the best of everything.”
—Laurie Frankel, New York Times bestselling author of This Is How It Always Is

"JUST GET HOME by Bridget Foley hits the thriller trifecta: a natural disaster, danger around every corner and compelling well-drawn characters who unite to survive the most harrowing journey of their lives.
Foley effortlessly weaves together the voices of Beegie and Dessa to chronicle a night filled with devastation, terror, heartbreak and ultimately hope as they try to make it home after a deadly earthquake. Inventive, emotional and addictive, JUST GET HOME is not to be missed."
—Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author of The Weight of Silence and This is How I Lied

“An edge-of-your-seat thriller about two people who meet up right after a devastating earthquake has hit LA. Just Get Home hits all of the suspense buttons, and Bridget Foley knows how to make your nightmares come to life!” –Mary O’Malley, Skylark Books, Columbia MO

From the Publisher

03/19/2021

Dessa is a young, white, single mom of a toddler. Beegie is a Black teenager who is surviving the foster care system as best she can. When Dessa joins her friends for a girls' night out, Foley (Hugo & Rose) places her and Beegie in the center of a massive earthquake that hits Los Angeles; buildings crumble, roads collapse, looters come out, and trouble is on every corner. Dessa witnesses Beegie being raped, but phone service is out, and assistance is nowhere to be found. Beegie disappears before Dessa can help her, so Dessa starts walking home, determined to get to her daughter. On her way back, Dessa is attacked; this time it's Beegie who shows up, and she saves Dessa. The two women warriors encounter one horrifying scene after another, as their journey forces them to overcome impossible odds and incredible difficulties. Because of their shared trauma, they forge a friendship. VERDICT A natural disaster is a terrifying backdrop for this briskly paced yet emotional novel, and readers will be hard-pressed to put the book down before reaching its satisfying ending. This title will appeal to readers who enjoyed The River at Night, by Erica Ferencik, or One by One, by Ruth Ware.—Stacy Alesi, Eugene M. & Christine E. Lynn Lib., Lynn Univ., Boca Raton, FL

Library Journal