Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine CenterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read this book for my summer book club, and it turned out to be very different from the typical selections from this group. Katherine Center is a new author for me, and I started the book not knowing what to expect.
Strong female characters are a favorite of this book club, and Cassie is no exception -- a 26-year old female firefighter on a totally male crew in Austin, Texas. However, her mother calls her from Massachusetts and asks her to move there to help her out for a year due to blindness in one eye. Reluctantly Cassie agrees, uproots her life, and takes a firefighter position with a very chauvinistic crew.
Cassie is excellent at her job, gives it at least 110%, and is proud at being an overachiever. She wants to prove herself with her new crew and consistently goes above and beyond, as well as accepting the frequent pranks with a smile. Things are a little rocky with the new crew, but she instantly bonds (a little too much) with the rookie, who started the same day. She is very wary of developing a friendship or relationship because of the warnings from her previous (female) captain. We slowly find out more about Cassie's background -- her relationship with her mother (who left the family on Cassie's 16th birthday) and an assault she experienced in high school.
This book was a real surprise. It's the story of an incredibly resilient woman in a male-dominated field. It's also a book about friendship and romance. In addition, I learned a lot about firefighters! All in all, I highly recommend this book and will definitely be reading more by this author!
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