This book is the real life story of Kandi Maxwell, with the focal starting point being the Paradise Camp fire in California.

Dealing with her own illnesses prior to the fire, Kandi sees the devastation her children and family faces in the aftermath of the fire.

It was a bit odd to hear the consequences the fire had on people from a 3rd person point of view, while at the same time seeing Kandi deal with her own issues.

This was a quick read, although I did hope we’d hear more from the Paradise Camp fire. This book was not for me, however I’m sure a lot of others would enjoy it.

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

This book was boring to me. It read like diary entries. I couldn't relate to the author so it made it difficult to engage with the book.

A family story played on my emotions. A story full of struggles in dealing with complex problems, as well as reminding us of the covid-19 pandemic which was really very disturbing. This book was like giving strength to survive.

This was an interesting story.

It was hard to tell what made this story different from most people’s experience in the past 5 years. The fires definitely added a complex layer to a fraught situation and there was a lot of moving and death but seems pretty on par with the average pandemic experience.

The writing style wasn’t bad and I appreciated the story was mainly chronological. The passive past tense third person put unneeded space between the story and the reader.