Up in the Air

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty is a story of unexpected connections.

Cherry is on a flight when she suddenly gets up and begins telling each passenger his or her expected age and cause of death.

Needless to say that this creates a sense of chaos, worry and denial amongst passengers. After the experience, readers follow a selection of passengers: Ethan is expected to die in a brawl, Leo is expected to die from a work-related incident, Paula’s baby son is expected to die in a drowning incident when he turns seven, Eve is a newlywed expected to die from domestic murder, Allegra is one of the flight attendants expected to die from self harm.

When a couple of the predicted deaths occur, people begin trying to find Cherry, dubbed the Death Lady.

Meanwhile, Cherry shares her story. She grew up with a fortune telling mother, Madame Mae. She experienced different loves in her life, all important in shaping her into the person she becomes.

Cherry’s narration is quirky and fun (despite the topic). As any book centered around death, it certainly makes one think about how precious life can be and about how little changes can potentially alter one’s fate.