This was an interesting character study of two unlikely people trapped together.. Ivy, a teenager trying to escape a small town life anyway she can, and Mary Ellen, a soon to be empty nester reeling from the death of her father. They get stuck in a cabin together in the Poconos and their stories intertwine seamlessly. The end is a little ambiguous and Ivy was a little too difficult to like, but it could make for an interesting book club discussion.

This is a very good read! Wise, smart and - most importantly - frank enough to get you to rethink your possible blind spots while offering understanding and hope for change.
I was very impressed by the way the the older of the two women (middle-aged Mary Ellen) was written - yes, she really does not know how good she has it! And yes, her pain is still very real and touching, so I can´t help it but love her even if some of her character traits (namely whining) are distracting. Because she IS real person. Tougher-than-nails teenager Ivy is Xena in-the-making - while I believe such grit and strength of character is possible in such a young person, it is also very rare - and her insights are very refreshing. Mary Ellen needed exactly THIS dose of truth - and Ivy could use a dose of love and care Mary Ellen has tried to give her. They have spend just a short time together, but these hours can be the needed turning point.
Spot-on, frank, refreshing, wise and very touching in the raw, messy humanity. Kudos!

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I liked this book. It wasn't a book that had a fast plot or suspense or anything like that. It was more a study of the two main characters. I liked the way they interacted and changed throughout the book. I liked the way they were similar even though they were very different.

The author's writing is very beautiful. Sometimes the way she described things just made me pause. She had a lot of interesting details in her writing.

I also enjoyed that the book was set in Pennsylvania and I knew a lot of the places she talked about.

3.5

Have you ever seen FARGO? Do you remember those freezing cold remote locations? Places you couldn't imagine people living in. I do. I also lived in Minnesota and remember having my car stocked with a survival kit, in case I broke down in the middle of winter. All through Sonya Terjanian's new novel, THE RUNAWAYS I was gripped by the remote and cold wilderness. The landscape is a character of its own, in addition to the people.

Ivy runs away from a life of boredom and poverty in New Hope, NY with dreams of becoming a smoke jumper in Montana. She meets Mary Ellen a middle aged mother who has escaped domesticity to discover her artistic side.

They find themselves getting along well enough in a trapped house in the Poconos, but that doesn't last for too long. Written in alternating voices, THE RUNAWAYS is very dramatic for a chilling-psycho-thriller. In no other place than a novel, would these two women be brought together, but that's what I loved about this novel. I was in the mood to read something that didn't actually end all nicely packaged. The characters stories weren't fully resolved, but that created some hope for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I didn't necessarily feel the whole thriller element but I loved the drama element that was present. I really enjoyed the writing that had a lot of skill in it. The plot was really good and unpredictable which is what I really enjoyed. The characters were also good but I wasn't in love with them. However, they were developed and complex. I really enjoyed the book. It wasn't something that I was expecting. Thank you so much to Sourcebooks for sending me a copy of this book to review.

THE RUNAWAYS by Sonya Terjanian is an appealing novel for a number of reasons. First, the setting: a cabin near the Poconos and the importance of nature to this story. Second, it is a coming of age story for the teen protagonist, Ivy, but also for Mary Ellen, an emotionally lost and searching middle-aged business executive. Ivy wants to escape poverty and her Mom's illness to become a smoke jumper out West whereas Mary Ellen is trying to develop her artistic side. Both need to figure out the next step in their lives and Terjanian contrasts their differing needs and opportunities due to class distinctions and life experience. Ivy has run away from home and holed up in a remote retreat that Mary Ellen, also escaping her responsibilities, borrows from an artist mentor. They struggle with trusting each other and themselves in a story which I wish had continued beyond the few days they spent together. THE RUNAWAYS is a quick read with a mystery/drama element mixed with social commentary.

2.5 stars

This book isn't bad, its sadly just not that great either.
It has an incredibly slow start, that seems to drag rather endlessly and made me feel as if the book could use some actual editing.

That being said, the topic itself and the characters are good.
But because of the very slow start i thing that not a lot of people will actually get through to the good pieces of the story -once the two main characters meet and start to interact with each other, we see actual character development and generally start to see where this story is going and what the snail like first half of the book was trying to do.

I do think that the author had a lot of potential, she clearly has fantastic ideas. But sadly this specific book and how it was written was not for me personally and i don't feel as if i can say that i know anyone that would enjoy this specific writing style.

Which of course doesn't mean that this book isn't for anyone, so if slow build ups sound great to you, give it a try!

At first glance Ivy is an interesting character shrouded in mystery but she soon becomes a tedious read due to the slow development. She is drifting between two worlds and the story seems to drift with her which at times seems like Terjanian was just as lost as Ivy.

Mary Ellen was a bit more straight forward and helped steer the novel in my opinion.

While this wasn't my favorite read, it was a solid sophomore novel for Terjanian and I would read more from her in the future.

Every so often, I come across a book that I become completely engrossed in. The prose is easy, the characters are intriguing and I find myself reading late into the night so I can figure out that the story. That is exactly what happened to me when I opened The Runaways, the sophomore novel by Sonya Terjanian.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I opened up The Runaways and the synopsis wasn’t exactly clear. I knew it would involve a teenage runaway, trying to break free from what she believes will be a dull future and I knew she would meet a woman who is trying to escape from her mundane life. Was it going to read like contemporary drama? Women’s fiction? Suspense? These were the types of thoughts running through my head as I sat down to flip open the first page.

What I found, as I continued my reading, was that this novel was a little bit of everything: a dark, cold landscape, deeply flawed characters that collide and secrets flow throughout the plot. It was sort of like Scandinavian Fiction meets Southern Gothic Fiction meets a psychological character study. Needless to say, Terjanian had me hook, line and sinker.

I really appreciated how she chose to roll out the story and how she focused on details. I loved the descriptions of the landscape. For the most part, the novel takes place at a summer cottage during a snowstorm. Terjanian did a brilliant job at making the reader truly FEEL the cold. Even I found myself snuggling deeper into the couch and pulling my blanket up a bit higher. Told through alternating chapters between teenage runaway, Ivy, and professional, Mary Ellen, they each are on their own path until their stories collide and they find themselves living together in the woods biting off way more than they can chew.

Something about this one gave me a creepy, southern Gothic vibe. I cannot really put my finger on WHY it gave me this vibe; surely, it was not the landscape I don’t know if it had something to with the encounters between two strangers who are keeping secrets from each other. It sort of reminded me of A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Conner (which happens to be one of my favourite short stories). I don’t believe it was the author’s intention to be “creepy” but the slow, meticulous release of the plot had me feeling like something was going to take a turn for the worst. Maybe it’s because I read so many thrillers?

There were a few things that bothered me throughout the story. For one, I found myself interested in one side of the plot. I really was drawn to the chapters surrounding Ivy but didn’t find myself caring as much about Mary Ellen. I also think that anyone going into this story expecting huge twists and turns will find themselves disappointed. The story is a bit of a slow burn. Finally, the ending left much to be desired for me. When I finished the last page, I said to myself “THAT’S IT??!!” I really wanted some resolutions.

Regardless of my small complaints, I did end up enjoying this story as a whole and would absolutely read more by this author. So, if you enjoy a character study, add this one to your list!

⭐⭐⭐💫 / 5

The Runaways by Sonya Terjanian is essentially a character study. It is apparently categorized as a “psycho-drama thriller”, and there was definitely a lot of drama in this book.

The Runaways tells the story of 2 people in alternating chapters. There is Ivy who is a high school student running away from her small town; and Mary Ellen a middle-aged mother of two who is sick of her corporate job. They end up getting trapped in a house in a snowstorm together, and it was very interesting to see their two stories come together. By the time I read this I had forgotten the blurb so I spent a lot of time wondering how Ivy and Mary Ellen would possibly connect. I thought that the connection of their two stories was seamless, and Ivy’s parts even had my heart racing more than once.

There isn’t really much of a mystery in this book, but I was very intrigued by the story and was able to read The Runaways very quickly. The ending isn’t all neatly wrapped up, and you don’t really know what happens to one of the characters. That bothered me a little bit, but overall I was able to appreciate the ending.

Final Thought: I am honestly not entirely sure how I feel about this book, but I did like it. Any book that is able to get my pulse racing (at least a little) is a book I can appreciate. I would recommend The Runaways to people who like some good drama in a book, are intrigued by 2 drastically different character’s stories tied together, and who don’t need a perfectly wrapped up ending. Just don’t go into this expecting some huge mystery because there isn’t one. It’s just a good character study with a few good pulse-racing moments thrown in. I’m definitely interested in reading more from Terjanian.

The Runaways in 3-ish words: Unique, Detailed & Fluid

Great story! Looking forward to reading more by this author! Highly recommend!