A Novel Escape

First to the Front by Lorissa Rinehart

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First to the Front by Lorissa Rinehart
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The book is not just a dry recounting of Dickey Chapelle’s story. The writing is moving, engaging, and gripping. The author captures Dickey’s personality and her drive. The reader learns about the many firsts that Dickey accomplished as well as the disturbing “unknown” behind-the-scenes events that the US participated in throughout many wars and conflicts across the globe. Her life spans WWII through the Vietnam war. An amazing life! An amazing story!

First to the Front by Lorissa Rinehart, (List Price: 32, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250276575, July 2023)

Reviewed by Robin, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina

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The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

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The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao
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It is a slow burn in the beginning because the surroundings and terms are unfamiliar and confusing. However, even though it remains confusing, it is a gripping story different from anything I have read. The characters are difficult but interesting. It is wonderful to think of a flying city but sad to think of a world in violent turmoil that doesn’t allow them to land. It has a surprising ending that is ‘eyebrow raising.’

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao, (List Price: 16.95, Titan Books, 9781803361246, June 2023)

Reviewed by Robin, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina

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The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer

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The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer
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Clover our main character is already a bit of a loner when she experiences her first death at an early age when her teacher dies suddenly while reading Peter Rabbit. She also experiences the death of her parents and is moved to a new city to live with her grandpa who raises her. Shunned by others, because of our societies fear of death and the fact that no one ever speaks about it Clover becomes even more of a loner. She finds that her job makes it hard for her to meet and keep friends as speaking of death makes people extremely uncomfortable. This book definitely had me thinking and reflecting on my life, made me cry, and I walked away loving the characters and rooting for Clover feeling very happy with the way the book ended. I really enjoyed the originality of our main characters job as a death doula it very much intrigued me and peaked my curiosity to pick this book up definitely would recommend.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, (List Price: 28, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250284396, May 2023)

Reviewed by Angela Hudson, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina

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In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune

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In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
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An old man and brilliant inventor finds a run down cottage in a forest and decides to live there, far away from the rest of the world. One day he is surprised when a distraught couple who seem to be on the run leave a young boy in his care and ask him to raise the child. Two decades later, the tender-hearted, shy, and brilliant boy finds a broken AI robot and decides to repair it. Shortly after, the world descends upon his family in their forest idyll, forcing the young man to leave on a quest to the world beyond. A place of great danger and risk; but he is accompanied by a small crew of fiercely loyal friends who are determined to help him find what they are looking for. This novel holds all the beautiful, tender sentimentality, found family dynamics, loving humor, and self-discovery that I’ve come to expect from TJ Klune. I absolutely fell in love with every character in this motley crew of creatures. I laughed out loud frequently at the antics of Nurse Ratched and Rambo. I cried when things got tough and painful. I feared for the sweet young man who is trying to find his way. It has all the best parts of a huggable book for me.

In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune, (List Price: 28.99, Tor Books, 9781250217448, April 2023)

Reviewed by Elizabeth DeWandeler, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina

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