Book Review: Things You Save in a Fire

Pub Date: 8/13/2019
Publisher: St. Martin's Press


Synopsis: Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's excellent at dealing with other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to uproot her life and move to Boston, it's an emergency of a kind Cassie never anticipated.
The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie's old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren't exactly thrilled to have a "lady" on the crew, even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the handsome rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because she doesn't fall in love. And because of the advice her old captain gave her: don't date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping...but will she jeopardize her place in a career where she's worked so hard to be taken seriously?
Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt, affecting novel about life, love, and the true meaning of courage.


Thoughts: This is a deep and emotionally charged, poignant story about Cassie - an extraordinary and celebrated firefighter and a paramedic who is at the top of her battalion in Austin, Texas. A plead comes from her estranged mother, who happened to have left her and her father 10 years prior and of all days - during her 16th birthday. Her mother is asking her to move her so-called perfect life in Texas to Massachusetts, due to her declining health. A series of incidents, which stem from her underlying issues of trauma and fear of abandonment, forces the move to Massachusetts.
Center creates and delivers a believable world with the right terminologies using pinpoint precision that is only privee to firefighters and paramedics; such as the scenarios, the medical devices, treatments, and even the procedures and day to day life in the fire house. Because of that, as a medical personnel, it did not muddy the story and I was able to focus on the deeper issues that this novel is trying to convey. Additionally, this novel has its serious moments, but also the laugh out loud scenarios that I know have really happened. It is fast paced and I got through this read in one day. The characters Center introduced are all so lovable and great - from Cassie to her mother, to the chiefs and firefighters.
Cassie is a strong woman who was broken down and tested in so many ways, only to prove that to be a stronger person, you may have to lose everything and decide to do what is morally right, even though it may not be the easiest route. This story taught me to believe again, and not lose hope and faith completely in people. And that forgiveness is stronger than revenge. You will enjoy this book very much!
Thank you NetGalley, Author Katherine Center and St. Martin's Press for an ARC Electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.


Author:
Katherine Center

Katherine Center is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away, the upcoming Things You Save in a Fire (August 2019), and five other bittersweet comic novels. Six Foot Pictures is currently adapting her fourth novel, The Lost Husband, into a feature film starring Josh Duhamel, Leslie Bibb, and Nora Dunn. Katherine has been compared to both Nora Ephron and Jane Austen, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Katherine recently gave a TEDx talk on how stories teach us empathy, and her work has appeared in USA Today, InStyle, Redbook, People, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Real Simple, Southern Living, and InTouch, among others. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her fun husband, two sweet kids, and fluffy-but-fierce dog.