Q U I C K S T A T S
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
// Content Warning: Homophobia / Bullying / Stalking //
Publisher: Jolly Fish Press
Age group: Middle Grade
Genre(s): Contemporary
Pub date: November 16th 2021
P R E M I S E
Twelve-year-old Maisie is an artist. When she’s in front of her sketchbook or apprenticing at Glenna’s Portraits, the family-run art shop her grandmother started, the world makes sense. She doesn’t think about Calum, her brother who mysteriously left home and cut ties with her family six years ago, or her parents’ insistence that she “broaden her horizons” and try something new—something that isn’t art.
But when Glenna’s Portraits falls on hard times, Maisie’s plan to take over the shop when she’s older and become a lifelong artist starts to crumble. In desperation to make things right, Maisie runs away to London to reconnect with her adult brother, hoping he might be the key to saving the shop. But as Maisie learns about her family’s past from Calum, she starts to rethink everything she’s ever known. Maisie must decide not only if saving her family’s art shop is worth it, but if she can forgive her parents for the mistakes they've made.
M Y R E V I E W
Thank you, Jolly Fish Press, for sending me a digital ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This gorgeous middle grade debut explores heavy topics such as homophobia and discusses allyship to a younger audience while featuring the growth of a beautiful brother-sister relationship after they reunite six years later.
Sabrina Kleckner has whittled down and written a novel from the perspective of a twelve-year-old. Witnessing the world and its people through a younger pair of eyes is honestly such a fascinating thing to read and she had managed to capture the essence of a pre-teen realistically. Moving on to the growing relationship with her adult brother; watching them catch up on the six years they had missed did melt my icy heart.
Her writing style is balanced between complex and simple, making it more accessible to a younger audience, or anyone in that matter. There's something about middle grade novels that allow you to feel the characters' emotions roll out of the page, and the author certainly did not miss that.
To sum it up, The Art of Running Away is the middle grade debut you do not want to miss! Get ready to immediately purchase your copy on the 16th November 2021 when it hits the shelves.
T R O P E S
Familial relationships
R E P R E S E N T A T I O N
Gay main character
S I M I L A R B O O K S
Heartstopper (series) by Alice Oseman
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
I'm convinced, sounds very relatable to teenage audiences