SANCTUARY
Ginny Fite
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GENRE: dystopian speculative fiction
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BLURB:
Sometimes losing your children is the only way to save them. The year is 2039. Chased by government goons determined to quarantine her and a virus that might kill her at any time, Jean Bennett races a thousand miles to Canada to get her five children to safety. On a journey unlike any they’ve ever taken, Jean learns who she is and what she must do to save her children.
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WINE CELLAR LIBRARY'S REVIEW
★★★★☆
"The tell-tale signs of illness—pallor, swollen eyes, raspy voice—looked the same as grief." (p. 23)
A lethal pandemic that kills half of those who contract it forces a mother to flee to safety with her children and her niece. Along their harrowing journey, they encounter a myriad of threatening people. Thieves and looters are far from the most dangerous humans they will encounter. All the while, a virus officer with something to prove is intent on arresting Jean, and no borders or jurisdiction rules will stand in her way.
Jean is a formidable character, but her tendency to be polite and try to rationalize with people puts her and the children in dangerous situations. Her son, Ren, has quickly learned that all propriety died with the pandemic, and no amount of bargaining will keep them safe. As they are faced with increasingly devastating circumstances, the family bond hold them all together. Each character is well-developed, and the motivations of their enemies are realistic—even the virus cop and her wild obsession with capturing Jean.
I love post-apocalyptic novels, and this one did not disappoint. Throughout my reading, I was reminded of the powerful novel After the Flood by Kassandra Montag due to Jean's enduring strength and her determination to do everything in her power for the children who need her.
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EXCERPT
Elbow deep in dark, loamy soil, preparing this year’s vegetable garden, Caro says, “Even demons believe in God.” Her eyes are lowered, watching her own gloved hands transfer a tender tomato plant from its small pot to the ground.
Her sudden assertion doesn’t surprise me; we’ve been playing this game all our lives. This will be another argument in my sister’s perpetual attempt to crack open my agnostic armor. I’m accustomed to parrying her new thrusts.
She nailed a cross on her door when she was fifteen. I hung a bejeweled heart on mine. Ten years later, we argued about the sanctity of gurus when she taped an image of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on my refrigerator. I countered with a photograph of the owner of my local market. Three years ago, well before the infection, she began attending Friday evening Shabbat services; I took up Tarot card reading. These days, the figure of Death turns up frequently.
I sit back on my heels to watch her face. “I don’t believe in demons.”
“Maybe you should, Jean.” Caro purses and twists her lips—her expression on the rare occasion when I take her rook with my queen. She always beats me at chess, although sometimes I surprise her with a move or two.
My neck clicks as I roll my head around to stretch out the knots. I’m the older sibling, not the smarter one. Pragmatism is my religion. When the world is falling apart, doing what works is a virtue. At least, that’s what I tell myself to keep from going crazy.
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AUTHOR BIO
Ginny Fite is an award-winning journalist and author of nine traditionally published novels, three collections of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a book of humorous essays on aging. A graduate of Rutgers University and Johns Hopkins University, her 40-year career in communications included posts in newspapers, government, higher education, and a robotics R&D company. Pushcart Prize nominated, shortlisted for the 2019 SFWP prize, a finalist for the 2020 Bakwin Prize, winner of the FAPA gold medal in fiction for the collaborative novel Thoughts & Prayers, her stories have appeared in The Delmarva Review, Women Arts Quarterly Journal, Heartwood Literary Magazine, Coffin Bell, and the Anthology of Appalachian Writers. Writing about ordinary people who grapple with extraordinary circumstances, her novels span the genres of mystery, thriller, adventure, speculative, and women’s fiction. Learn more at GinnyFite.com.
Published novels:
Sanctuary
Leave Everything You Know Behind
The Physics of Things
Possession
Blue Girl on a Night Dream Sea
No End of Bad
Lying, Cheating and Occasionally Murder
No Good Deed Left Undone
Cromwell’s Folly
Thoughts & Prayers (co-author)
CONNECT WITH GINNY FITE:
Author Website: https://ginnyfite.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/GinnyFite
Twitter: http://www.twittere.com/unwrinkledbrain
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ginnyfiteauthor
Threads: http://www.threads.net/@ginnyfite
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