I read it and really liked it and it reminded me of one of my favorite books is Alas Babylon that AROTC mentioned.
I believe that both authors while writing good stories are looking at the overall picture thru rose-colored glasses. I don't think it would be so long before FEMA got involved and marshal law would be almost immediate. They also had the grocery stores running (at lowered a capacity). The way the real world works in larger cities they would be closed and ransacked within days of the announcement of the EMP. Some communities will pull together and mount decent defenses but even subdivisions around a major population center were able to mount defenses they would be quickly overrun by shear numbers of people demanding food and shelter. I say demanding because large urban centers have to many people that are dependent on others to care for them. Also there will be to many who will see it as an opportunity to rape, pillage, plunder, and rape. Cohesive groups won’t really form until it sinks into the heads of people that thing won’t return to normal tomorrow.
I have seen how people react in stressful situations. Most of the good people will wait to act in a way that may be against the normal laws and morals of our society till they are forced to act. While they wait and watch the ones that don’t care will react to take advantage of the situation.