The Art of Running Away by Sabrina Kleckner REVIEW

 The Art of Running Away

by Sabrina Kleckner

🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

Synopsis

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.

Review

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I absolutely love this book. It is a new favorite of mine and every time I think about it I get warm and fuzzy. I laughed, I cried, I playfully rolled my eyes and I just fell head over heels in love with the story and it's characters.

The Art of Running Away is an amazing story about discovering who you are and realizing that a single one thing doesn't define you. Even if it is your biggest passion, it's still just a part of who you are. There are so many sweet lessons in here. Normally I would call it overkill but man it just worked. There are so many important parts in here including an amazing conversation on what it means to be an ally. It's a small book with a lot of big moments.

Maisie is wonderful as a main character. She is so well written. You can feel her different emotions throughout the book. Her passion for her art can be felt throughout the entire story. Sabrina Kleckner did a phenomenal job of breathing life into Maisie and making her multi dimensional. She really took her characters and her story and breathed life into every page.

One of my favorite things about this book is the relationship between Maisie and Calum. It's my favorite sibling relationship that I've ever read about. The way their relationship heals and grows is simply perfection. It's absolutely beautiful.

Have I mentioned yet that I love this book? The writing is engaging and beautiful. You can just slip away into the pages and become a fly on the wall to Maisie's life. The Art of Running Away isn't just a book, it's a whole experience.

I believe this is Sabrina Kleckner's first book and I'm so in love with it that I will be grabbing her next book without hesitation. I can't even express how wonderful this book truly is. I hated to even finish it because I just wanted to stay in the story as long as I could.

I recommend this book to everyone. It's just a wonderful little read that has so much to offer.

Expected Publication: November 16, 2021