Mattie is a teenager who has skated by her whole life--doing enough but never really excelling. Why bother? At the end of her junior year, with her best friend gone for the summer, she decides to make a change and pursue one of the few interests that have ever had a hold on her: escapism. Interspersed with excerpts from a diary written about an famous escape artist and short chapters of a schoolmate who turns into a friend, Mattie learns how to escape from locks, chains, straightjackets, and more. The book was an intriguing look behind the curtain at mythology that is part of the american fabric. Mattie will appeal to many teen readers because she is different--a grouchy, uninspired kid who decides to follow her dreams by working hard and does it. The cast of characters that surround her are equally appealing. Engaging, fun, and moving--a winner for sure!

The writing style is a bit disorienting, jumping back between the two characters but I quite enjoyed the excerpts from Akiko. There was a lot of girl hate in the beginning that rubbed me the wrong way but it simmered down a bit as the story progressed. I loved the escapology parts of the book and seeing Mattie learn and grow but ultimately had a hard time understanding why she needed to keep it a secret and she took a little too long for me to realize that Wil's secret was much bigger than her own. But to be honest, that is very realistic writing of teens, I know I was definitely selfish as a teen, so props for that because not everyone can pull that off.

<b>I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.</b>

A beautifully-crafted narrative about a girl pursuing her passion, learning about friendship, and declaring herself to the world. This is literary YA at its best - thought-provoking, rich in characters and settings, and somehow both earnest and profound.

We discussed this book on <a href="https://teachnouvelle.com/the-art-of-escaping/" target="_blank">episode 18</a> of the YA Cafe Podcast. Here are some highlights:

"I think that's one of the things that I like about the split perspectives of this book, is that we all have feelings about ourselves and it's hard to think about how other people will see us. But I think this book does an excellent job of showing, like, some of the same events from multiple perspectives so that you really understand, you know, how each character sees themselves and then how their actions are perceived by the other people in the book."

"Yeah. I said to Amanda after I first read this, wow, I've never read anything like that, so it definitely lived up to the elevator pitch of like, Oh, this is a book where she wants to be an escape artist. Like I think about that and it still makes me smile. How creative. Yeah. So Amanda, you kind of hinted at this, but we have a split perspective book, so we have Will's narrative voice and Mattie's narrative voice, and then we also have interspersed diary entries written by Akiko who is the world renowned escape artist who has since passed away and her daughter, me, you becomes Mattie's mentor. So we have Akiko providing the historical context of escapology and kind of making the central metaphor really obvious, and I love this from her diary entry when she is doing an interview with a news show, the journalist says,

'Do you ever get scared?'
'Of course,' I replied with a smile. 'What I do is very risky, it can be a matter of life and death, but there's also a deep sense of serenity. There's a moment just before I free myself. That feels so small and yet so big at the same time. It lasts for just a second, sometimes less, but it encompasses everything.'

And I love how Akiko provides this perspective on what escapology was to her and it provides us some grounding and framework to kind of understand where Mattie's coming from because Mattie's had this obsession for a long time with escapology. But like we haven't. So it's really cool that we get to like catch up through Akiko's perspective."

A great, great, great read!

The Art of Escaping is trying to be a good book and that’s the best I can say about it, to be honest. It’s trying out a lot of things to catch the reader’s attention, sadly forgetting the most important one: actually good writing.

So we have two narrators instead of one, the second one being a minor character and only getting every fourth or fifth chapter. We have fragments of diaries of the main character’s hero before each chapter. And I can’t stop thinking we have all those things, to keep us distracted from the fact the book as a whole? Isn’t really that interesting.

I had a number of issues with The Art of Escaping, though I think some of them won’t be a problem for other readers - everything is a matter of taste, after all. But personally? I found Mattie, the main character, extremely unlikable, which made reading a torturous experience. Now this is something people might disagree with me on, sure, but let me tell you more about Mattie, so you can decide for yourself. When asked if she would like to join the Gay-Straight Alliance at her school, she replied “she’s apolitical”. Good to know my existence is still considered political… She also manages to give off very strong “not like other girls” vibes, which I can’t believe I had to witness in 2018. But the Thing that made me most angry? The one single thing? Oh boy.

Mattie is into escapology. That’s like, the whole premise of the book. Mattie also keeps that interest a secret from all her friends and her family, sneaks around to practice and keeps lying to cover her tracks. All out of fear of? Well I’m not entirely sure, but it seems she thinks she would get hated for being interested in escapology? That’s not even my point, though! Because there’s a scene where Mattie really compares keeping an interest in escapology a secret to keeping being gay a secret… Yeah, you read that right. She really, genuinely thinks those are similar in any way and that repercussions of those secrets getting revealed would be in any way on the same level.

I don’t care if she changes her mind near the end of the book. I had to read a story about a character making light of the oppression LGBT people still experience every single day and I am not happy about that.

Couple that with mediocre writing and a kind of pointless premise and what do you get? A book I wish I didn’t spend my time reading. Life is just too short, guys.

I was so delighted with this book and pretty impressed, actually. I thought the characters were amazingly well-thought-out, especially Frankie and Kyle's friends. The plot was really good, magical and simplistic at the same time. What I didn't like about the novel is a problem I have with a lot of books in which families appear. Mattie's family isn't that well built, and I don't see great family dynamics here. Another thing I disliked was Will's POV, I think it wasn't necessary. The last thing I disliked about the novel is the fact that Mattie didn't tell her parents about her secret, and the college essay was never brought up or anything. But overall, I think this is an amazing book which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to anyone looking for a light, simple read.

Escapology = the art of escaping. This book is about Matti, who's 'secret' hobby is escape acts and illusions. As the book goes on, we see a theme of not just literal escapism through Matti and her friend Miyu's tricks, but also personal escapism. We all have something we want to escape from right? Our sexuality, our pasts, etc. The Art of Escaping added this other level theme to the story and made it a clever and comic tale of friendship and adventure.

I received this book as an ARC thanks to Net Galley
I wanted to love this book...
the formatting was fun the characters were great and the setting good.
mostly I think where I ran into a problem and just couldn't read on was that I think I was expecting more of a light read and it just wasn't but for someone going in with their eyes wide open, it could be a great read!

The Art of Escaping tell Mattie’s story.
When it starts, she’s finishing her junior year. She has her one friend Stella and is passionate about jazz, Star Trek and escapology.
She’s gonna take us through her journey to how she made new friends and discovered a new talent.

This was a fast read and a pretty enjoyable one too.
I enjoyed getting to know escapology but what I enjoyed most was the relationships, dynamics and friendships between the characters. They were very well written and captivating to follow.
This was mostly a story about friendships and family and a good one.

She lives for those miraculous moments when you stumble upon something that's somehow truer than true

I got this one from the read now section, which I have had seriously mixed results from in the past and have been so pleasantly surprised. This book is just lovely, it has characters I loved, who all develop beautifully throughout the book, bits of action that are genuinely a bit scary and an overall positive message. It's very much character driven and I have a feeling it will be a bit like marmite but I am well in the love camp.

Mattie, Will, Stella and Frankie and Miyu are absolute friendship goals and I loved how they consistently, patiently and lovingly brought each other further and further out of their shells.

Will's story is the most interesting and I felt real sympathy for both him and Betsy. His arc was handled well and I loved Betsy's response and the little discussion between her and Mattie close to the end of the book.

Also, Miyu and Akiko's story woven in between chapters was so well done and gorgeous I loved it.

The only (small) problem I have with this is the handling of the mutually assured destruction element with Mattie and Will. Clearly, Will's secret was far bigger and could have held significantly worse consequences. I kind of get where Mattie was coming from though, your secrets will always seem the biggest to you.

The Art of Escaping by Erin Callahan is a young adult book. The main character Mattie and her friends are working on surviving their last summer and year of High School. To me the characters read real and the problems and high school issues seemed equally as realistic. Mattie wants to learn how to be an escape artist and she has found someone to help her. Will with two LLs wants to be truthful about his sexuality but is afraid. When Will finds out Mattie’s secret, she is sure all is lost.

Reading about keeping secrets and to wanting anyone to feel that you are different is a key part of High School. Trying to find your way is also a High Schooler’s trait. I liked how the book unfolded. I liked how Will and Mattie help each other to be their best. I like how the book stays positive for the main characters even when their secrets begin to eek out. I liked how we heard the voices of the main characters from their own point of view in different chapters. I think it could be confusing for some students if they struggle with inferencing because the chapters are not named by the characters. The book has opens the conversation about LGBTQIA, so the book may open up some questions for some students.

The Art of Escaping by Erin Callahan was a good read.

This book is a blast! Where’s do I start? First, this book flew by. I started it and then out of nowhere, it was over! And I couldn’t believe it. There is a mix of different characters whom all play their own parts, that fit into the story. My two favorite characters are Miyu & Will. Miyu is witty and is a joy to read! Will is a caring and such a strong character.
For me, I haven’t read many books that have anything to do with escapology and mash it up with teen/young adult life. I also enjoy the theme of not judging people, keeping secrets for friendships and being yourself! The writing style is great, there are some flashbacks which I found neat and play a huge role in the plot. Overall, I feel that going in only knowing two things will make this a crazy joy ride, so first, the escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Second, it's filled with witty characters!

Rating: 3.5 stars

[Excerpt]:
The premise of this book is extremely unique. I’ve noticed in YA novels that the female protagonist usually has a hobby like photography, art (drawing, painting, etc), reading, or a musical ability. Sometimes it’s fun and relatable. Other times, I could use a more refreshing interest. I’ve noticed the sudden wellspring of female protags who love science, and I appreciate that, but this book takes it to the next level.

The book focuses on Mattie, who is 17 and hides a secret shame – she’s obsessed with escapology (think Houdini) but doesn’t know what to do about it or how to share it with the world without coming across as a total freak. In the minds of many people, being chained or padlocked inside an aquarium or spun on a wheel while arrows and/or knives are tossed at you is either insane or a daredevil stunt best left to professionals. But Mattie loves this type of performance art, and she seeks out Miyu, the daughter of Mattie’s favorite escapologist, Akiko, who died nearly two decades ago in a tragic plane crash.
[Full review on my blog!]

Did not finish.

I was excited for this book originally because the summary sounded different and interesting. It wasn't something I'd really read before and I thought it was going to be one I blew through in no time. Unfortunately, I could not connect with this title at all really.

My struggle with this mainly had to do with the characters. I didn't think there was anything special about them. They were pretty typical for YA and not in a way that hooked me. The opposite in fact. Truthfully, I found Mattie to be somewhat annoying and Will just felt incredibly inauthentic. I feel like the author struggled to capture the teenage voice a lot with them and it resulted in characters that read oddly for me.

Additionally I felt the pacing was off. It was a slow start. A very, very slow start. I had to force myself to keep going early on in the novel. I wish the story had picked up sooner than it did because I might've been more interested then. I might've been able to finish it. But I just couldn't get past my issues with the pacing and the characters.

"People are still real, even when they hide things"

Oh my gosh, this book! I was not really prepared for this book. To be honest, the first thing that drew me to The Art of Escaping was its graphically interesting cover. I read the blurb and was curious about it, but in truth, it sounded a little weird to me. A book about a girl obsessed with...escapology? Sounded a little strange, but I figured I would give it a try.

I am so glad that I gave this book a chance. Yes, the main character of this book, Mattie, has a weird hobby - escapology. But there is so much more happening here than that. With high school coming to an end, Mattie is trying to break out of herself and pursue her passion. She's long admired famed escape artist Akiko Miyake and she finds herself one day managing to insert herself in the late Miyake's daughter's closely guarded life. Miyu becomes her reluctant mentor and teaches Mattie everything she knows about escapology until Mattie begins performing in secret. She doesn't want anyone to know about her new hobby; for fear of disapproval and also for the fear of revealing her truest self and being rejected for it. Enter Will, a popular basketball star from the same school, who is also guarding a long-held secret. The two become wary confidants after Will sees Mattie performing but the wariness soon blossoms into a close and surprising friendship. (Granted, in my opinion, Will's secret carries a much heavier weight to it than Matties, and I'm glad that the disparity was brought up in the latter half of the book.)

It was incredibly refreshing to read a YA novel that wasn't a love story. Too many of them lately feel like they are interchangeable, with the female MC being torn between the misunderstood bad boy & the shy nerdy guy who turns out to be surprisingly ripped when he takes his shirt off. Rather than romance, this book focused on the importance and necessity of platonic, soul strengthening, revelatory, unbreakable friendships. That's such an underrepresented trope in YA fiction. It was really nice to see teenagers bonding and supporting and loving each other no matter what. Every character here is so fully realized and unique - even the peripheral characters are interesting, which is a treat considering most YA high school novels fill their side characters with eye-roll inducing stereotypes.

You know books that just put you in a good mood? That's this book. Being brutally honest, there are probably enough nitpicky reasons that I could have objectively rated this book 3.5 or 4 stars (most neurotically for me was the fact that Mattie seemed to whine a lot of her dialogue which didn't really gel with who I thought she was), but it just made me feel so damn happy that I emotionally cannot give it anything less than 5 stars. This book literally made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

What an unexpectedly delightful debut, I truly cannot wait to read whatever Erin Callahan has in store for us next!

I received this ARC as a courtesy from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very enjoyable book about finding your passion and learning to share it. I especially liked that it wasn’t a love story, but rather an ode to friendship. Mattie doesn’t fit in and her feeling of isolation is relatable – especially in light of the fact that she’s not nearly as isolated as she thinks.

My biggest problem with this book was that Mattie at times made kind of cringey comments in terms of Will’s homosexuality. Not only does she say that if he comes out to his friends “they might become better people” (sorry, but gay people don’t exist to make anyone else a better person), but she constantly compares her hiding her passion to him being in the closet (note, not comparable and though it is addressed in the book, it was a little grating throughout the story). While it’s realistic for people to say problematic things (unfortunately :( ), I guess I would have liked to see her called out a little more on it, or even have more of Will’s thoughts on her comments. I did read an early copy, so hopefully some of these issues have been addressed.

But, what I did love was a story about a teen girl finding, exploring and learning to share her love for escapology. Mattie is intelligent, passionate and looks to the future to figure out who she wants to be. There is no romantic subplot for Mattie in this book, I really appreciated that about it. There are undertones of the “not like other girls” trope, but that could just be because I’ve read so many books like that and am reading into it. Generally, there wasn’t much girl on girl hate (a little, but not so much that it felt disingenuous) and I found Mattie's reluctance to share her passion very relatable to my own high school experience, where I was reluctant to share my passions.

I really liked Will, I think because of the early chapter in which he talks about imagining friendships with people, it was a feeling that I didn’t know anyone else experienced, and it was refreshing to see in a book. With Will I definitely got a sense that he was preforming to fit in with social standards, and not just in the sense of his sexuality but also in a sense of his personality. That fear of being able to tell people the things you think and feel because they might judge you for it. It’s something I definitely related to from highschool (though it should be noted that I was never a teenage boy, so I can’t say for certain how accurate it was).

Overall, I thought this was a great book. I read it happily in a short time and as I was coming to the end of it, I had trouble putting it down (to the point where I told Hubby that he would have to wait until I was done reading to speak to me). It’s definitely a book that I wish would have come out when I was younger, and that I had read it.

3 stars

On a lot of levels, I enjoyed this.

By the end of the novel, I was feeling pretty good. I had learned a bunch about escapology, followed two teens in their journey, and it all wrapped up fairly nicely. I mean, the entire concept of a teen doing escapology is pretty fun/cute/aesthetic/quirky, and who wouldn’t want to read about that?

But, as I write this review, I also remember how I struggled with this novel during the first half.

The first problem I really had was the narrative structure, but I fault this partly to the formatting of the eARC. Because the book was in my reading app’s font, it made almost everything in regular text size. The headers weren’t really distinguished from the chapters, and certain passages weren’t distinguished from the next.

Because of this, it was kind of hard for me to realize what parts of the book were from the journal of the famous escapologist and what parts were actually the story, especially with the way it flashes back. I like to think that they get a separate page and this’ll be cleared up for non-early readers.

Even if I didn’t have trouble distinguishing diary from actual text, I also struggled a bit initially with how the story was told.

In some ways, this is a pretty normal book. First person past-tense, all that jazz. But it’s also a little abnormal as the narrating characters obviously know a few things they’re not supposed to know. And technically, Callahan isn’t doing anaything incorrect by doing this, but it was a weird adjustment to read about the character talking about themselves.

In the end, though, I got over this and didn’t mind it being structured this way in the end, but I feel like the way it was structured didn’t really do anything for the book.

It was still a fun book, though, and I liked reading about Mattie’s journey with escapology. You can tell Callahan did her research (I chatted with her on Twitter about it at one of those debut chats, etc.) and I found the escapology scenes to be interesting. Plus, the backstory about Mattie’s mentor was cool and well developed and I enjoyed reading about this fictional escapologist.

But, I also felt like there needed to be more plot with Mattie. With Will, the other narrator, there were things going on which I don’t want to disclose, and they did a good job of occupying his storyline (he’s also more minor than Mattie). But I felt like Mattie kind of lacked reason for what she was doing, and there needed to be more substance to her story.

I feel like Callahan tried to justify why she was doing this with the simple “oh, she’s been obsessed with escapology since she was a kid” and the “she needs a hobby for her summer applications” but it also felt insufficient for the story, and I just wanted more reason and resonance to why she was doing it.

This was ultimately the thing I had the largest issue with and wish was improved. But overall, I did enjoy reading this book as I binged it in a couple of hours (me + desk chair + desk as a foot rest + book on phone). I think if escapology interests you, or if you’re looking for a light, lower-investment contemporary, then you should check this one out!

Thank you to Amberjack Publishing and Netgalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review!

A wonderfully different and engaging coming of age story, probably one of the best young adult books I have read in quite some time. Mattie is seventeen, on the verge of finishing high school, and despite an interest in history, undecided about what she wants to do next. Her one true passion is something that would definitely mark her as different, if word was ever to get out. She is fascinated by the art of escapology, and in particular a Japanese woman who moved to America and became a star. When she tracks down this woman's daughter , she starts to learn the skills and train, and eventually perform. One night she is horrified to spot Will in the audience. Will is a popular student, with the perfect girlfriend and a potential athletic scholarship to college. If he reveals what he has seen, her secret is blown, and the one place she feels free will be taken away. However Will is hiding a secret of his own, and in a pact of mutually assured destruction, by revealing this secret, he opens the door to an enduring and wonderful friendship.
There is so much wit and warmth in this book, and the characters are so interesting and well crafted that it is impossible not to grow attached to them, and really care about what happens. Mattie is truly special, by turns spiky and soft, brave and terrified yet always strong, even when fear threatens to take over. I loved that she had such esoteric interests, and that they were utilized so well to further the plot, and to show that following your passions is important.
This book is so well crafted, in terms of character creation, plot, pacing and writing style, that it is difficult to believe it is the authors debut, I for one eagerly await more.

The Art of Escaping is a tricky one for me to review. Author Erin Callahan has done a spectacular job of creating characters who are well-developed and *real*. I cared about main characters Mattie and Will, but I also really liked a lot of the supporting cast here. I often feel like supporting characters in YA books are bland without much personality, but that was not the case here -- even minor characters had some real pizzazz.

Unfortunately, I didn't care for the pacing of this book or the way the chapters alternated. Some chapters span part of a day, and other times chapters span weeks. I would have have preferred the timeline to run a little more evenly -- at times it felt like stuff just gets skipped over for convenience. I wished that missing time was spent delving into Will's life a bit more, because I would argue that his story is actually the more compelling of the two.

As much as I love (love!) alternating perspectives, I really dislike it when they're done unevenly. Here, the true main character is Mattie, and most of the chapters are focused on her story. Every now and then, though, a chapter from Will's perspective is thrown in with no seeming rhyme nor rhythm. This was really frustrating for me, and I think a lot of depth was lost by not balancing the story out between the two characters a bit better.

Even with the issues I had with the pacing and balance, this was still a very readable book and the fact that the author made me care about these characters speaks to her talent. I'll definitely be watching for more from Callahan in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amberjack Publishing for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book.

*Massive thank yous to Amberjack Publishing and Netgalley for sending me an ARC!*

Harry Houdini. Dorothy Dietrich. Akiko Miyake. And... Mattie McKenna. In the summer before her senior year, Mattie finds Miyu Miyake, the daughter of one of her heroes: Akiko Miyake, a famous escapologist. Miyu teaches her how to perform the technicalities of escapology, but Mattie also learns to find supportive friends in unexpected places.

This is a sweet story, mostly about the power of opening up and finding people who want to be a part of your life, which I think is super important. As a result of this, the characters become more intriguing than the plot, even with the death-defying escapology tricks Mattie explores.

Mattie herself is great. Her relationship with her brother and her parents was believable, even with her sneaking around to practice and perform. I think some of her actions were incredibly brave for a character in a "non-traumatic-experience" contemporary novel. Her actions took guts, and not everyone could pull that off.

Will is one of Mattie's new friends. He's a stereotypical popular jock... but he's gay, and struggling to come out to his family and friends. He and Mattie are supportive of each other's secrets and help each other throughout the book, but I found Will slightly less realistic than Mattie. The concept of his story was fantastic, but its execution was slightly below expectations. His dialogue felt stilted, and I understand that the 1920's were an inspiration for him, but I don't know a single teen who takes on the catchphrases of the decades they admire. He felt too much like an idealization, instead of a real person.

Overall, awesome story about the courage it takes to pursue the life you want to live.

Did not finish at 44%.

This book is not for me. I'm going to start by saying that because I know very well that there are people out there who might just love it, and adore it.

For me, I always try to connect with the characters, and their motivations, and what they're trying to get out of something. But Mattie? She just fell flat for me, and she had a rather bratty attitude, of acting like she was so special, and such a rebel just for mildly going against the grain.

Will, I wish I could like, because I'd probably identify most with him. But his chapters were written in such a way that I couldn't get through them fast enough.

I was so intrigued by the premise of this book but it was just kind of disappointing. Sorry.