Things You Save in a Fire
Katherine Center, 2019
St. Martin's Press
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781250047328
Summary
From the author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel about courage, hope, and learning to love against all odds.
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 a total pro at other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to give up her whole life and move to Boston, Cassie suddenly has an emergency of her own.
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 infatuation-inspiring rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because love is girly, and it’s not her thing. And don’t forget the advice her old captain gave her: Never date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping...and it means risking it all—the only job she’s ever loved, and the hero she’s worked like hell to become.
Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt and healing tour-de-force about the strength of vulnerability, the nourishing magic of forgiveness, and the life-changing power of defining courage, at last, for yourself. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—March 4, 1972
• Raised—Houston, Texas, USA
• Education—B.A., Vassar College; M.F.A., University of Houston
• Currently—lives in Houston, Texas
Katherine Center is the author of several contemporary novels about love and family. She graduated from St. John's School in Houston, Texas, and later earned her B.A. from Vassar College, where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize.
She went on to receive her M.A. in fiction from the University of Houston. While in graduate school, she distinguised herself as a writer and editor: she co-edited Gulf Coast, a literary fiction magazine, and her graduate thesis earned her a spot as a finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction.
Center is the author of 7 novels, starting in 2006 with: The Bright Side of Disaster. More recently she has published How to Walk Away (2018), which became a Book of the Month Club pick; Things to Save in a Fire (2019), and What You Wish For (2020). Center's work is often categorized as women's fiction, chick lit and mommy lit. She describes her books as "bittersweet comic novels."
Center currently lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and two children.
Extras
- Along with Jeffrey Toobin and Douglas Brinkley, Center was one of the speakers at the 2007 Houston Chronicle Book and Author Dinner.
- Her first novel was optioned by Varsity Pictures.
- Center has published essays in Real Simple and the anthologies Because I Love Her, CRUSH: 26 Real-Life Tales of First Love, and My Parents Were Awesome.
- Center also makes video essays, one of which, a letter to her daughter about motherhood, became the very popular "Defining a Movement" video for the Mom 2.0 conference.
- As a speaker at the 2018 TEDx Bend, Center's talk was entitled, "We Need to Teach Boys to Read Stories About Girls."
(Author bio adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 5/15/2018.)
Book Reviews
A spirited, independent heroine meets a smoking-hot fireman in Center’s smart romance.
Washington Post
The novel is at its best in the fire station… [though it] can feel a little facile at times, its characters discussing feelings and forgiveness which an urgency that feels more convenient than realistic. But its window into firefighter culture is fascinating.
Long Island Newsday
Center crafts a heartfelt story of growth and the redemptive power of love perfect for fans of women’s fiction, especially works by Jodi Picoult and Elin Hilderbrand.
Library Journal
(Starred review) An appealing heroine, a compelling love story, a tearjerking twist, and a thoroughly absorbing story. Another winner from Center.
Booklist
(Starred review) Center gives readers a sharp and witty exploration of love and forgiveness that is at once insightful, entertaining, and thoroughly addictive.
Kirkus Reviews
Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points; to help start a discussion for THE THINGS YOU SAVE IN A FIRE … then take off on your own:
1. Katherine Center's novel offers fascinating insights into the world of firefighting. What surprised or intrigued you most? What about, for instance, the frequent pranks and jokes?
2. (Follow-up to Question 1) What does it take to be a firefighter, both physically and mentally? Is is something you could ever envision yourself doing?
3. Describe Cassie Hanwell's character, her background, and her flaws. What prompted her to forge a career in emergency rescue?
4. In what ways are the Austin, Tex., and the Boston, Mass., fire departments different—both in procedure and culture? Talk about the challenges Cassie faces as the Boston crew's first woman?
5. How would you describe Cassie's relationship with her mother? Do you blame her hesitancy to connect with Diana? What does Cassie begin to learn about herself that she has been suppressing for decades?
6. In a good novels, the main characters usually undergo change; Things You Save in a Fire is no different. How do both Cassie and Diana change? What do they learn about themselves and others?
7, What might the book's title mean? What are the things you save in a fire?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)