Do Not Become Alarmed

A Novel

By: Maile Meloy

Narrated by: Maile Meloy

The moving and suspenseful new novel that Ann Patchett calls "smart and thrilling and impossible to put down... the book that every reader longs for."

“This summer’s undoubtable smash hit… an addictive, heart-palpitating story.” —Marie Claire

The sun is shining, the sea is blue, the children have disappeared.

When Liv and Nora decide to take their husbands and children on a holiday cruise, everyone is thrilled. The adults are lulled by the ship’s comfort and ease. The four children—ages six to eleven—love the nonstop buffet and their newfound independence. But when they all go ashore for an adventure in Central America, a series of minor misfortunes and miscalculations leads the families farther from the safety of the ship. One minute the children are there, and the next they’re gone.

The disintegration of the world the families knew—told from the perspectives of both the adults and the children—is both riveting and revealing. The parents, accustomed to security and control, turn on each other and blame themselves, while the seemingly helpless children discover resources they never knew they possessed.

Do Not Become Alarmed is a story about the protective force of innocence and the limits of parental power, and an insightful look at privileged illusions of safety. Celebrated for her spare and moving fiction, Maile Meloy has written a gripping novel about how quickly what we count on can fall away, and the way a crisis shifts our perceptions of what matters most.

Holds nothing back.

This novel goes every single place you are afraid it will go and more. Brava!

Another enjoyable book.

Where does Do Not Become Alarmed rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I listen to books while driving long distance. Although this is about a very serious subject, I found it light and easy to listen to. If you don't want to think a lot but like a story line that is heavy, this is for you. Again, not on my top ten list but it heals my attention.

Good book

I didn't care for the narrator, she didn't do well with different voices. Honestly, I almost didn't finish after the first few chapters. However, I was already interested and wanted to know what happened, so I endured. I'm glad I did, as I enjoyed the story. Some areas were a short on detail (for me) and in others too much, but overall it was good. I would have enjoyed it more had I read it rather than listened to the audible version.

easy listening

very easy to listen to while working not a very heavy detailed story so I was able to enjoy it without a lot of focus

Excellent book, riveting

The narrator had a bit of a lisp which seemed odd for an audiobook narrator. After awhile it seemed that maybe she was a native Spanish-speaker reading in English which would match the story... this audiobook was impossible to "put down".