Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Although I had a few eye-rolling moments while reading this book, I did like the overall message. I have a problem with books that come across as "too gushy", meaning a character goes on and on about their feelings (good or bad) in a silly way. I am a sensitive, compassionate person who encourages people to express their feelings, so I am not against people showing their feelings! I think it's just the way those feelings are expressed at times in writing (especially if there is a lot of cliches and repetition) that makes me roll my eyes.

For example:

Cassie (the main character who is a firefighter): "I told you....I don't fall in love."

Diana (Cassie's estranged mother): "Surely you do, a little bit."

Cassie: "Nope....Love is for girls."

Diana: "You are a girl."

Cassie: "That doesn't mean I have to be girly."

Cassie goes on to say that "love is overrated" and that "love is for the weak". This goes on for the first 69 pages of the book. THEN, on page 70, Cassie sees the rookie FOR THE FIRST TIME at her new firehouse and Cassie refers to "His stunning, heartbreakingly appealing face", and diagnoses herself with a "possible myocardial infarction". She finds herself having a "romantic reaction", which is "A full-body reaction....Like someone had lit a Fourth of July sparkler inside my chest. It was so terrible. So humiliating. So...girly." Good grief. Honestly. It's just too much, in my opinion.

But, if you can get beyond all of that, the message is great. Since the day that Cassie turned 16 years old (10 years previously), she has clung to self-pity and anger against her mother, as well as other people that I won't mention right now since her mother is the central character. Her mother left Cassie and her father on Cassie's 16th birthday. Yes, this is a rotten thing to do. So a strength of this book is watching Cassie learn to forgive. Not only does Cassie learn to forgive, she also encourages others with anger issues to forgive as well. Central themes then are "love" and "forgiveness".

So if you love heartwarming stories, and don't mind "flowery language", then this is the book for you! The only other thing that annoyed me is how often we had to hear about how talented, intelligent, strong and brave Cassie is. Got it.

Wendy's Rating: ***1/2