Oh wow! This definitely is one of my best reads this year so far. An amazing, refreshing, entertaining, often hilarious, incredibly touching, and highly significant read, it’s so empowering despite the ironies in the story because although it’s already 2020, women still need empowerment because there still seems to be quite a lot of people still living in the past. And I am not saying that they deserve to be condemned because people ARE entitled to their opinion, to voice them out even.
But sometimes people’s opinions are wrong while many are still just really unaware of issues like gender and racial equity. And unfortunately and oh so truthfully, many are just jerks. And this is why information campaign is always important to educate people, to make us aware. I am deeply grateful for books like this that address these issues and at the same time deliver such a delightful and charming story about what it’s like to be a girl, even more challenging, what it’s like to be the only girl firefighter in town.
I love how Things You Save in a Fire is not only a tribute to firefighters, but it’s also a tribute to women and at the same time to victims of sexual assault and violence without being intrusive. I just love the positivity in this novel. This is a lovely demonstration that justice can be attained through forgiveness, not exactly forgiveness doled out to the abuser but forgiveness of the world’s injustice, forgiveness of oneself and giving the self a chance to move on because as the book points out, the best revenge is to live, and love (and the guy she loves is amazing!) and be happy. And that’s exactly what Cassie (who is so strong in every sense of the word) did. The best revenge is no revenge at all because justice does prevail if not now then later.
