 Author: Sara Brunsvold Genre: Contemporary Fiction Pages: 352 Release Date: June 17, 2025 Publisher: Revell A literary journey beckons them . . . and may profoundly rewrite their stories. Chloe Vance, dreamer of the family, needs to tell her pragmatic mom, Edie, that she has accepted a low-paying art instructor role at a Christian school in Prague. Her older sister, Lauren--the "responsible one"--is doing all she can to hide the fact she's been fired for a foolish mistake and is desperately seeking her next career move. Meanwhile, Edie, estranged from her own sister following their mother's recent death, is frankly in no mood for anything else to change. The one thing they can all agree on? Life in books sure is easier to navigate than life in the real world. As the three women embark on a nine-day road trip to visit significant literary sites throughout America's heartland, they hope to find inspiration through the works and lives of literary greats. As they experience firsthand the adventure and wonder of the classics, they'll discover the value of being honest with themselves--and their family--about their losses and failures. Only then can they come to terms with their own needs and desires and find support from the most important women in their lives--each other.
 Reviewer: Mindy Houng “To watch someone live their heart’s deepest, purest desire was an inexpressible fulfillment.” Sara Brunsvold has a gift for storytelling and speaking into her readers’ hearts and souls. I loved going on this book-themed adventure through middle America with Edie, Lauren, and Chloe. The book was provocative, emotional and thought-provoking. It delved into bonds of motherhood and sisterhood and poignantly addressed roots of fear. I loved the journey and how the main characters grew through their road trip. I did not love any of these main characters at the beginning, though. Edie was extremely opinionated and narrow-minded, with a terribly overactive imagination. Lauren was self-righteous, overly regimented, and completely self-focused. Chloe was impulsive and believed her way was the right way in every situation. All three women were self-centered and selfish in their own way. Despite not loving them at first, they grew on me and I learned to understand them better, even with Edie and Lauren’s relentless complaints and grumblings. Chloe’s unshakable faith and optimism were bright spots. I did love Grant, Edie’s husband, and the girls’ father, who stayed gentle, humble, loyal, and loving through all of his family’s ups and downs. If you enjoy women’s fiction, you will absolutely adore this book. I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Revell via Interviews & Reviews and NetGalley and was under no obligation to post a positive comment. All opinions are my own. Reviewer: Kimberlee Sams I have absolutely ONLY good things to say about this book. It was interesting, inspirational, and even something of a "how to" manual for living and navigating difficult family relationships. First, the story was excellent. Edie and her daughters (Chloe and Lauren) take a long road trip together. They navigate both their literal route and their relationships with each other during their travels. Both daughters have things they don't want to tell their mother: Chloe has accepted a low-paying but "chance of a lifetime" job, and Lauren has recently been fired. It was interesting to learn the history of this family, and see how the current dynamic among them evolved over the course of the story. All three main characters are extremely well-written. By the end, I felt like I truly knew and understood each woman. Each character's personality is unique and detailed, and beautiful in its own way. I appreciated how the gentle character moments were interspersed with information about the past and the current issues. While I found things to like and admire about all three characters, I have to say that Chloe was my favorite. I felt a great deal of empathy for her, and was invested in her desire to make a difference through her new job. As a Christian, the highlight of this book for me was the incredible depth and breadth of Christian content included. Despite their issues and struggles, this is a family of faith. I liked seeing how each character's relationship with God affected her actions and decisions. Author Sara Brunsvold has written three books so far, including this one. I've read and enjoyed all three, and appreciate the way each book brings something new and different to the table. The quality of the writing, plus the depth of the character relationships demonstrated in the story, left me imagining an older writer with many (many) more years of life experience to draw from. I'm beyond impressed that someone so young could so beautifully and realistically capture family dynamics in this manner. The Christian Fiction world is definitely lucky to have many more years of Ms. Brunsvold's work to look forward to! 5 stars. I received a review copy courtesy of Revell, through Interviews & Reviews, for my honest opinion. Reviewer: Jeanette Durkin
Wow! In my opinion, an extraordinary book is one that makes you laugh, makes you cry, and makes you ponder. This book accomplished all three for me. Sara Brunsvold’s writing touches the deep parts of my heart. The characters are written brilliantly! I became totally invested in the lives of the main characters. My heart hurt when theirs did. I cheered for them in their successes. Chloe is optimistic, compassionate, full of energy, and loves adventure! She sees beyond the surface of people to the very heart of the matter. Lauren, I’ll admit, I didn’t connect with her right away. As her story unfolded, I saw a lot of me in her. She keeps things hidden because she’s afraid to show weakness. Edie is the one who touched my heart the most. As a mother of young adult women, I sympathize with her. She tried to shield her daughters from hurt, but instead, she distanced herself from them. Her biggest fear is that they will think that she’s not worth coming back to. My new trip to put on my bucket list is a bookish road trip! Traveling to different towns that have connections to books or authors sounds like an awesome idea. I will, however, do my research when looking for places to stay. Lol! I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from Revell via NetGalley through Interviews & Reviews. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Leave a Reply. |
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