This book was so sweet, relatable, and comfy to read. I loved the journey that Maisie went on to forgive her parents, and the family mystery incorporated in the story. This book had such a unique plot, and I would definitely recommend it!

Thank you Jolly Fish Press for sending me an eARC for an honest review.
4/5 stars
This was a fun middle-grade contemporary, and I liked the way it handled its themes and topics. The conversations about being an ally, and about forgiveness and who can forgive for certain situations were really good, and I felt like they were done in a really easy to understand way.
Maisie was a good character, and I liked her growth throughout the story. At some times she was a bit annoying, but she would later recognize her not great attitude or behaviour and try to make things better. I thought the author gave Maisie a good and relatable voice, and the story flowed well.
Maisie’s relationship with her brother was fun. I liked their teasing, and I liked that Calum set firm boundaries about what he was willing to talk about. Maisie struggled with this, but it felt realistic. I also felt that the author portrayed the awkwardness of Calum and Maisie’s relationship really well. I also liked how learning more about her brother forced Maisie to struggled with feelings about her parents and what had happened.
I also liked the plot that followed Maisie trying to save Glenna’s (her family’s portrait shop), but it took a backseat a lot to Maisie’s feelings as she sorted them out.
Overall I thought this was a good YA contemporary that handled complicated family dynamics and relationships really well.

Thank you so much Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

we have a middle grade story in which our main character is involved in the art world and the art store that her grandmother started and is now going through hard times; and after her parents send her to her aunt to find other hobbies, she runs into her brother who she hasn't seen in years and ponders whether to go with him or stay with her aunt, but believes her brother may hold the key to saving the art store.

The plot explores culture, art, the relationship between parents and teens, coming of age, sibling bonding and friendship. I think each of these topics were covered in a good way that I liked, but I feel like the parents who are the people with the "wiser" advice didn't play a good role and that threw me off a bit.

I highly recommend it for all ages, it has interesting and important topics that it covers in a good way, the main character is curious and easy to like and it's a pretty light read:)

Suddenly sent to Scotland when her family's portrait business is in trouble, Maisie stumbles on an opportunity to reconnect with her older brother Calum, who mysteriously left years previously and never spoke to her or her family again. Seeing an opportunity to save her family's business, she follows him to London.

I really loved Calum. He lives with his Queer, artistic found family of graphic designers and his boyfriend, a street artist. As an older Queer reader, I naturally connected with him and understood exactly why he left, and struggled to even contact his family, immediately.

I can't quite work out what it was, but there something about the conclusion to this story that made me feel that there was something missing, something unresolved. The story was wrapped very well though, Maisie made plans for future and reconnected with her brother, and the Queer rep was really well written.

Characters liking uni and taking summer classes during their free time? That’s totally unbelievable… I mean, if it wasn’t for uni and exams this book would have been over weeks ago.

Okay, jokes aside, thank you NetGalley and Jolly Fish Press for sending me a digital copy of the book. I mean, at first, I was like, well, I don’t know, it’s good but not so great… But then? Awesome.
This is a book about family and identity. A sister wants to save her family business but for that, she has to lie to her brother. A brother she just met, and who she finally wants to know.

Learning, family bounding, found-family, finding your place and what you love. And on another continent
You also see what happens when parents don’t listen to their kids. How when you’re young and you feel left alone, you don’t have a lot of choices. But sometimes parents learn from their mistakes
It talks about allyship and what it means to be an ally. How to be a good ally, and how to stay in your place.
Also, find what you love to do, and why you love what are you doing? Is it for you, or for someone else? Is it bad if it’s for someone else?

Really a wonderful book. I didn’t know it would make me feel so much. Anyway, everyone should definitely read it.

Also, there’s a gay S.C with a gay and Asian boyfriend. But this book talks about homophobia too.

I love that queer middle grades are a thing now. I loved how the book touched on the topics of homophobia and the need to escape in a way that is easily digestible for kids

This is one of those books that you definitely do not judge by the cover! Yes, it is deemed a middle grade book, but it definitely did not read like a middle grade book, it was so much better with lots of depth.

Maisie is a 12 year old who loves art. She is consumed with it, and her fingers "itch" if she isn't drawing something. Her parents are worried that she isn't getting much life experience outside of her art so they tell her that she will be going overseas to spend the summer with her aunt, who she has never met. We follow Maisie as she meets her aunt for the first time, reconnects with her brother after 6 years, helps save her family's store, Glenna's Portraits, as it struggles, all the while learning some hard and valuable life lessons.

This book is filled with so many things: family, friendships, art, culture, coming of age, forgiveness, and that there is often more than what meets the eye. The author's writing is very descriptive making you feel like you are there, emotional, and touches on a variety of subjects with ease and grace. The characters were all strong and I felt connected with them. I really enjoyed The Art of Running Away and highly recommend it for adults as well as youngsters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc of The Art of Running Away by Sabrina Kleckner.

I loved this book. It took a while for me to warm up to the book and even longer to warm up to Maisie but her growth through this book was wonderful to see. Callum, however, I loved getting to know and he made the book for me. The twists of this book, which I was not aware of when I picked up the book kept me reading and once I had really begun I didn't want to put the book down.

I thought that Kleckner showed real growth through Maisie and her way of thinking that has changed so drastically from beginning to end of the book and how she interacts with her parents, her brother, and her best friend. While not really believe able of a twelve year old it made it so that at the end of the book you were glad of a happy ending and that Maisie had not alienated everyone in her life.

Overall a great quick book with a touching ending.

I wanted to love this book. I love that it shows the consequences of anger, lying, and the reality that those who love us can cause great harm to us even when they mean well. There are some great ideas in here but ultimately I can't get behind this book because it basically says that it’s OK that Calum refuses to remotely forgive his parents, and being an ally means not encouraging people we care about to be their best selves. It comes off as a very anti-reconciliatory narrative. Calum’s response to his parents imperfect response is so bitter and inappropriate for the situation. His feelings are completely valid, but his response to those feelings is unreasonable and a poor model of how we should respond to hurt and grief. He’s really going to shut his parents out so completely for their well-meaning concern? I love that this novel shows how even when parents mean well, they can cause great harm and damage—and that it’s OK for everything to not be perfectly fixed. That maybe sometimes the healthiest thing to do is have some space. It is perfectly understandable that Calum’s parents’ good intentions harmed him, but the level of harm done by the parents to Maisie and Calum feels hyperbolized for the sake of plot. It’s really critical that kidlit models for kids to respond to grief and harm in a restorative, healthy way, and this book does not do that. I unfortunately can't recommend it, even if there are lots of other elements I appreciated.

In "The Art of Running Away", we meet twelve-year-old artist Maisie. Her family runs an art shop her grandma started. Maisie rarely thinks about Calum, her brother, who left home six years ago. When her parents insist that she should try something that isn't art, and she's forced to spend her summer with her aunt in Edinburgh, Maisie is convinced something's wrong. Once there, she finds out the art shop is struggling, and her estranged brother may help her. But then she discovers her family's past and the reason why Calum left, and it's way more complicated than she thought.

This book tackles important topics such as LGBT youth & family acceptance and gender identity without sugarcoating them. An impressive middle-grade debut.

First off I want to thank TBR Tours & Beyond for allowing me yet again to be part of their wonderful blog tours. Initially I already had a Netgalley arc for for the The Art of Running Away but when I saw the tour I knew this was a way of making me the book and boy I was not disappointed at all.

Here we find Maisie who I absolutely adored and felt all the emotions going through her as she reconnects with her elder brother Calum after so many years apart. Seeing them getting to know each other again was a beautifully handled by Sabrina especially when we begin to hear Calum's side of the story and that literally broke me. I can understand why Calum is the way he is. I especially loved Calum's room mates Benji and Rose were a hoot and were able to help Maisie learn to get to know her brother through their eyes. I loved how both London and Edinburgh were turned into characters. I would of liked to have seen more of Alicia and Aunt Lisa but found Maisie's mum controlling and wish her dad was much stronger than he actually was as I felt Maisie could of done with that support.

I felt throughout the book Sabrina wrote with loving care and yet was still able to have a lot of light too. I honestly felt for Maisie when she received the news from back home she wanted to help but she was also upset at how Calum was treated.

I admit it took me a while to get my thoughts together before I actually did this review and I am adamant that this book should be read and shouted about as much as possible as there are important issues covered in such a beautiful way. So for all these reasons it is a 5 star read.

The Art of Running Away is a delightful middle grade read that is light-hearted and comforting. At the same time, it covers important and difficult topics in an easy and understandable way for young readers. All of the topics covered in this story were handled so well, and I’m so happy I was able to read it.

In this story, Maisie learns that life is not always black and white, that we live in shades of gray. Parents are not always perfect, and not every situation is easily understandable from first glance. This is also a story about family. Maisie loves her parents deeply, but as the book progresses, she begins to question what she knows about them and how she feels. I loved how this was explored, because while family is so important, no one is perfect, and no one will ever be right all the time. She had to learn this the hard way, but it also helped her understand what being part of a family truly means.

I also loved the relationship between Maisie and her brother Calum. They were so unsure around each other at first, but as the story went on, they grew closer, and their bond strengthened substantially. I thought it was really sweet, and I appreciated how Maisie learned to be supportive of him, even if she didn’t always understand what was going on.

Maisie was a wonderful protagonist—while she got on my nerves a lot, she really grew as a person and went through a believable character arc. Calum’s roommates were some of my favorite parts of the book. They added a lot of humor and entertainment, while also educating Maisie on the deeper workings of life and cautioning her to not always jump to conclusions.

The art was a highlight of this story. Complex thoughts and feelings were expressed and explored through art, and the descriptions were vivid enough that I could easily imagine every piece of art mentioned. The whole time while reading, I was tempted to pick up my iPad and just start drawing.

All in all, I think this was a wonderful read that will be perfect for younger readers. It really does handle some complex topics and does a great job of simplifying them. I think this could be a really beneficial and educational read. I wish I and others my age had something like this when we were growing up.

This was a very sweet and hopeful read! I loved the adventure of traveling through London and Edinburgh with Maisie and seeing life as creatively and vividly as she does. I also love how clearly the book defined allyship to the LGBTQ+ community because the intent of actions doesn’t always match the result of said actions. Overall, it’s a very sweet book with Maisie who is very kind and brave and willing to fight for her shop!

This is a really emotional story about growing up and having to learn hard things about life fast. It's LGBTQ and deals with difficult topics in such a beautiful way. I especially like how this book doesn't sugar coat things. Definitely could see this being a good discussion books for both kids and parents. Highly recommend.

Maisie has one thing in her world that is the most important to her: her parents’ studio. She even wants to take it over when she’s grown up. However, not everything is going according to plan. She has to spend the holidays in Scotland with an aunt she doesn’t even know, and she makes a shocking discovery. Someone from her past is back, and she struggles with everything that she learns about her family and her life.

I feel like I’ve been reading so many middle grade novels recently, and I don’t understand why I’ve never read MG in the past because I’ve enjoyed all of these in the past few months. The Art of Running Away has beautiful writing and again there is an important lesson about love, friendship and family that this novel and Kleckner give to the reader.

I won’t be able to tell you more about the book without giving it all away. Nevertheless, be prepared for some emotional content next to the funny scenes that you’re also able to discover in this book. If you want a quick read and a book that will make you feel better after a long day, then “The Art of Running Away” might be your next read. In my opinion, this is also the perfect read for a more mature audience.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Art of Running Away

Author: Sabrina Kleckner

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Diversity: 1 Japanese British character, m/m romance, queer characters (no specific mention of where they fall in the LGBTQIA+), non-binary side character, enby/f romance

Recommended For...: middle grade readers, LGBTQIA and allies, contemporary

Publication Date: November 16, 2021

Genre: YA Contemporary

Recommended Age: 10+ (running away, homophobia, slight language)

Explanation of CWs: Mentions of homophobia. There is one curse word in the book. Running away is shown and mentioned.

Publisher: Jolly Fish Press

Pages: 257

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: I thought this was a well done book! I loved the story and how well written it was. I loved the messaged about how to be a good ally (one I think a lot of people need to read). I also loved how the author kept the book modern and showed how different 6 years is. Today it feels like it’s much more accepting to be out, but when I was in school and even a few short years ago it was not like this. I also loved the character development and the world building.

The only issue I really had with the book is that there were some events that I felt like a middle grade aged child wouldn’t know, like how to hop countries without being caught.

Verdict: It was great!

If anyone sees me ugly crying, please LOOK AWAY.

Jokes aside. Wow. This book is so so beautiful—quiet and yet significant. It has queer rep and showed the struggle to be who you are and express who you are, it talked about what it means to be an ally, it talked about family and friendship, it talked about forgiveness and trust. It also talked about art, its worth, and how it can change lives symbolize love and passion.

I loved the innocence of this book, and the innocence of Maisie's perspective. We see her make some mistakes and be moody, which of course is normal especially for any 12 year old. But we also see her learn and educate herself, especially when it came to her brother, and being an ally.

Overall, I think this book was a tender and beautifully-written exploration of trust being broken and learning all about forgiveness and healing in your own way.

I loved reading this so much, I laughed and cried in the entirety of this book and I am so so grateful I got to read this at the perfect time. 🥺

This is a LGBT Middle Grade book that covers so many important topics. This book bring light to what happens when parents does not supports their kids no matter who they are, but I also think this book also shows young kids that parents are not always perfect. I think this is one of the most important middle grade book I have read. The characters are very well written and develops through out the book. This is a cute story with a great storyline. This book would be a great for a parent and kid to read together because I feel this book can help get parents and kids talking about a lot of things. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Jolly Fish Press) or author (Sabrina Kleckner) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

This is a quiet book, it doesn’t have a ton of big movement. But it makes up with how meaningful it is. Maisie is such a relatable character in her feelings toward both her parents and brothers before and after the truth comes out. Her tenacity to save Glenna’s is a great representation of the tenacity in other kids Maisie’s age. As a parent, I love seeing the parents change their approach to parenting when they saw the first way didn’t work. That they did what they could to make changes and perhaps even right their wrongs. This isn’t just a book for middle schoolers, it’s a book for all ages.

Thank you to Flux/Jolly Fish Press, the author, and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book will release November 16, 2021.

Maisie's brother Calum left home without warning six years ago, and when she is sent to Edinburgh to live with an aunt for the summer, he comes to see her and she ends up running away to London with him, and in the process begins to understand what exactly happened to make him leave.

Maisie is so much fun to hang around with. I feel like she's a very typical twelve-year-old girl (or at least, I very much recognized her as one, and that probably says a lot about me), but what may not be as typical is her fierce passion for art and her family's portrait shop. She does sketches for the oil paintings that her family does on commission and hopes to run the shop one day, so naturally when it turns out that part of the reason why she was sent away is that the shop is losing funding and will have to close, she makes it her mission find a way to keep it from going out of business. In fact, that's the initial reason she decides to head to London with Calum, although the situation becomes far more complicated than just that.

Although there were a lot of things that I really enjoyed and appreciated about this book (hello, Maisie's best friend smells like lavender and Cheetos, move over she's my best friend now), the most well done, impactful, and central parts are the conversations Maisie has with Calum and his flatmates. They range from an explanation as to why Calum left home—alongside an explanation that not allowing someone to be who they are despite claiming you're fine with it will mess a person up, as well as a reminder that places change, and a town that may be more accepting of LGBTQ+ people now may not always have been that way—to tough realizations that forgiveness is not always yours to extend, and discussions of how best to be an ally.

Of course, there's so much more to this book, like the ups and downs of Maisie's friendship with Alicia, as well as her sneaky plan to save the portrait shop and her contemplation of why she loves the shop so much and the search for an art style of her own, but the hard conversations are what stand out most to me, as they're not something I've seen for fiction in this age group yet. I'm so glad that the author made these often difficult conversations as much a part of the book as open, wholehearted acceptance and showed that even the most well-meaning people can mess up.