Robin’s Rave Reviews 2025

OUT OF THE CRASH by Susan Poole is out into the world! Congratulations to my friend and fellow writer! I’m so excited for Susan as she sends her debut book baby out into the hands of readers. And I’m so excited for readers to get ahold of this one!

Book Summary

OUT OF THE CRASH is women’s fiction, family drama, and (light) legal drama, about a hit-and-run of a bicyclist by a teenage driver, resulting in a fatality.

At eighteen-years-old, high school senior Kyle Beasley has his whole life ahead of him, including a full college scholarship to play baseball. While driving, everything changes in a flash when he hits and kills bicyclist Amy Shawver. He makes it worse by panicking and driving off.  He is arrested for vehicular homicide, for which he could serve prison time.

As the town passes judgement on the situation, both families are suffering. The victim’s husband struggles with the loss of his wife while his son struggles with the loss of his mother. When the son learns a secret about his mother, it creates conflict between him and his dad.

The driver’s family struggles with their grief and guilt over the tragic death, as well as the impact it has on their son, changing the course of his life through a reckless mistake. This family is already on shaky ground after the mother’s health scare a few years ago. 

Also, the teen siblings in each family have to navigate school and friends with this tragedy in the forefront of everyone’s mind while they try to make sense of it all.

Author Susan Poole expertly dives into the lives of both the teen driver’s and the victim’s families showing how trauma has the ability to tear families apart or bring them closer together, as well as lead people to reevaluate their lives and what’s truly important. The author explores the husband/wife dynamic, the parent/child bond, and the after-math effects of trauma on children. 

My Thoughts 

I commiserated with both sides. For me, that’s what is so special about this novel. It’s easy (and appropriate) to sympathize with the family who lost a loved one, but so often the tragedy it causes in the family on the other side is ignored. It’s eye-opening and heart-breaking to examine both sides.

Can you imagine the pain of losing your wife or mother in a bicycling accident? You’d be devastated. You’d want justice.

Can you fathom what the teenager and his family are going through—the guilt over the death and the fear of what it means for the future?  You’d be devastated. As a parent, you’d grieve for the family that lost their loved one, but you’d also want to protect your child. Should a split-second accident ruin the rest of his life, putting him away in prison for years, and labeling him a felon for the rest of his life? And how can he live with knowing he caused someone’s death?

Can you picture living in this town. How would you react after hearing about the accident, knowing it was a teen driver and a hit-and-run? What conclusions might you jump to? Would your judgment be black and white without knowing the whole story?

I loved how I became invested in both families and their struggles over the months following the accident. The story reminds us that there’s two sides to every story.  Amy’s death is a tragedy for her family, but we can also feel heart-breaking pain for Kyle and his family.

This novel speaks to everyone since we’ve all had times when our world spins out of control, and we have to weather the storm to get to the calm. Sometimes life presents predicaments with no clearly right answer, and we can only consider, “What if this happened to me? To our family?”

Although the subject is difficult, OUT OF THE CRASH by Susan Poole is gripping. I flew through it in two sittings. The author masterfully handles the topic beautifully, without the story becoming too heavy, and leaves us with hope for those impossible life situations. 

About the Author

Susan Poole lives in Avon Lake, Ohio, with her husband and dogs.

After graduating from Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and the University of Buffalo School of Law, Susan practiced real estate law before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Now that her children are grown, Susan runs a consulting business and writes fiction.

The Women’s Fiction Writers Association awarded Susan the Rising Star Award for her debut novel, OUT OF THE CRASH. Through her writing, Susan wants to explore life’s ups and downs and makes sense of the human experience.

Consider purchasing  OUT OF THE CRASH by Susan Poole through this link on Bookshop.org to help support independent mom and pop bookstores. (Personally, I like to support MacIntosh Books on Sanibel Island with their recovery after Hurricane Ian. I don’t receive any commission from this. I simply want to help independent bookstores.) Or purchase from YOUR favorite book seller.

 

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