Leave the World Behind: A Read with Jenna Pick

A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

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Published Oct 6, 2020

272 pages

Average rating: 5.32

410 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

thenextgoodbook
Sep 04, 2025
8/10 stars
thenextgoodbook.com
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam
241 pages

What’s it about?
Clay and Amanda drive away from Brooklyn with their two teenage children looking forward to a summer vacation on Long Island. They have rented a nice house with a pool out in the countryside and envision barbecues and day trips to the beach. On their second evening there is a knock at the door and their vacation changes. New York City is experiencing a blackout and the homeowners have returned to the country. But is it safe?

What did it make me think about?
I could not help but to think of the beginning of the pandemic when I read this book. Are we ever really prepared for our world to change?

Should I read it?
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. The story was suspenseful, but in a different way than I expected. Mr. Alam's observations on race, class, and even parenting are thoughtful, "Her distrust was not of her parents but of the world that they had made, and maybe she was right."

Quote-
"They had asked themselves questions when they decided to have children- do we have the money, do we have the space, do we have what it takes- but they didn't ask what the world would be when their children grew."

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Oree
Jun 25, 2025
4/10 stars
The author's descriptions were so vivid that they distracted from the book and made up the whole book basically. What happens is unclear and it ends unresolved.
AbbeyLileTaylor
Aug 29, 2023
2/10 stars
What Did I Just Read???
Gah.
aaliyahlafleur
Jul 27, 2025
8/10 stars
ending was annoying lol
Anne-Marie Eberhardt
Jul 02, 2025
10/10 stars
Really good, but I’m not totally sure I got it.

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