Scan barcode
A review by milesandmiles
Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
1.0
While I've enjoyed other books by Center, this book made me so angry. The main character is a survivor of multiple traumas and has her life near ruined by misogyny multiple times. Instead of getting any kind of support, she has parents who manipulate and bully her into living with her mother.
Her mother is written as if we're supposed to believe she's caring, which is awful because at no point does she provide genuine emotional support. She doesn't value her daughter's incredibly successful career nor does she recognize the harassment at any point. Instead the mom pushes the self-serving advice that the main character needs to work on forgiveness. I kept yelling at the book that the mc needed to stop listening to mom and find a competent trauma therapist.
I really wish she could have found one genuinely supportive friend connected to neither her mother nor work on all of those long runs around town to make this a slightly healthier story. The bf provides a couple moments of support, but also trauma dumps on her and pressures her into breaking her boundaries because apparently he's incapable of managing his relationship with his parents. No one really listens or holds space for her. She ends up telling her trauma only to build rapport with someone who harassed and nearly killed her.
This book says that giving empathy and forgiveness to others is more important than expecting respect and empathy for yourself and your experiences. Let people walk all over you or harm you! Forgiving them is good for you!
Also, 4 out of 4 Center books I've read have featured romances where at least one character is at work. Can we all agree that romance in a workplace is so much more likely to be problematic and really shouldn't be a consistent theme???
Her mother is written as if we're supposed to believe she's caring, which is awful because at no point does she provide genuine emotional support. She doesn't value her daughter's incredibly successful career nor does she recognize the harassment at any point. Instead the mom pushes the self-serving advice that the main character needs to work on forgiveness. I kept yelling at the book that the mc needed to stop listening to mom and find a competent trauma therapist.
I really wish she could have found one genuinely supportive friend connected to neither her mother nor work on all of those long runs around town to make this a slightly healthier story. The bf provides a couple moments of support, but also trauma dumps on her and pressures her into breaking her boundaries because apparently he's incapable of managing his relationship with his parents. No one really listens or holds space for her. She ends up telling her trauma only to build rapport with someone who harassed and nearly killed her.
This book says that giving empathy and forgiveness to others is more important than expecting respect and empathy for yourself and your experiences. Let people walk all over you or harm you! Forgiving them is good for you!
Also, 4 out of 4 Center books I've read have featured romances where at least one character is at work. Can we all agree that romance in a workplace is so much more likely to be problematic and really shouldn't be a consistent theme???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Sexism
Moderate: Stalking, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, Blood, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail