Reviews with content warning for Cancer - Things You Save in a Fire

Reviews tagging 'Cancer'

Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

26 reviews

ridern2002's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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jenniferbbookdragon's review

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Center gives us a complex woman to root for, and she is a real heroine: a firefighter and EMT dealing with sexism in a very male dominated profession. When her family and personal history force her to move across the country and start over in a new fire department, Cassie discovers new ways to address her past and build a new future.

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mmalone's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bekki_f's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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okiecozyreader's review

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

Finally reading a Katherine Center book for 23 books in 2023 challenge - and a buddy read. I’m about to read last year’s book The Bodyguard next!

I really enjoyed this look at a strong, brave female firefighter who has worked hard to prove herself when she almost attacks her old love interest. She ends up going to live with her mom (who walked out on her when she was 16) and starting over.

It is a beautiful story of forgiveness on so many levels and for almost every character in the book. Her mother leads the discussion with her with 3 points of “chipping away at forgiveness”:

“Just saying the words ‘I forgive you,’ even to yourself can be a powerful start. …
Forgiveness is about a mindset of letting go, …acknowledging to yourself that someone hurt you, and accepting that…
Then it’s about accepting that the person who hurt you is flawed, like all people are, and letting that guide you to a better, more nuanced understanding of what happened. …
And then there’s a third part… probably the hardest, that involves trying to look at the aftermath of what happened and find ways that you benefited, not just ways you were harmed.” P112

“Firefighters are, on average, very funny people. All the sorrow you absorb in that job makes you funnier. You have to balance out the pain somehow, and joking around is one of the best things about the job. There’s so much death in that world, but laughter is life.” P98

“If you play it right, your struggles might even lead you to your strengths. …
Find one person you can count on.” P45

“It’s a big deal to share your grief with other people - to give them a glimpse of the pain you carry. It connects you in a profound way.” P284

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