A month and a half before the publication date of my novel, and I have my first review! Thank you, Cynthia Cherish Malaran, who wrote this review for Hot Indie News and the Oxytocin Post. It is a thoughtful, interesting response to my story, complete with evocative photos and illustrations. The review begins like this:

“The reason I absolutely enjoy doing book reviews on fiction works is because I get to go on a journey … “

I also love journeys, which is probably why I wrote a story that includes both an actual bicycle trip and a psychological journey. The reviewer also speaks of own experience living in New York City and observing activism. I was touched by how my story found resonance in the reviewer’s own memories and reflections:

“Cycling to Asylum takes place in a New York City of the near future… a New York City that is hostile and authoritarian.”

The reviewer notes that although her current experience of New York is positive, she still has memories of :

” … police tanks in my neighborhood and fires set by squatters just blocks from me as I grew up. I have watched hovering police helicoptors beam lights onto rooftops and into apartments right from my bedroom window. My pupils have seen the riot gear policemen in all public places, from Times Square to Zuccotti Park to right outside the Baskin Robbins ice cream shop that used to be at my corner.”

Here is another excerpt from the review:

“Cycling to Asylum by Su J. Sokol is a four-stringed journey about struggle and freedom told via the lives in a family fleeing from the harsh treatment of a politically troubled New York City, to Montreal, their city of hope. This gripping, yet moderately-paced work of future fantasy writing succeeds in detailing the multi-faceted family dynamic experience that would occur in any relocation situation. Throw in the “lives are in danger” element and you will find yourself turning pages faster than your imagination can keep up.”

Writing Cycling to Asylum was, for me, also type of journey. One of the best things about journeys are the people you meet along the way and with whom you can share stories.

Please read the full review here.