What people are saying about …

INTO THE FREE

“Cantrell’s exquisitely written story immerses readers in a world that is as cruel as it is beautiful. From the opening lines to the very last sentence, the book’s magnetic prose bewitches and enthralls on every page. A visceral and gripping journey of a young woman’s revelations about God and self, this novel will surely excite any reader who appreciates a compelling story about personal struggle and spiritual resilience.”

Publishers Weekly

“In this lovely novel, author Julie Cantrell shows us how our heart’s desire can intersect with God’s plan no matter how many times we deny it, or how blurred the lines between good and evil can sometimes be, and how we can sometimes see the existence of angels in disguise in our lives if we just look hard enough. The story’s protagonist, Millie, is beautifully drawn. Her spunk and spirit carve a place for her in your heart as she battles life’s hardships with truth and grace. By the simple act of learning how to pray, Millie finds her way in the world and into the free. Exquisitely written. Julie Cantrell has created a haunting story that will linger in your heart long after you’ve turned the last page.”

Karen White, New York Times best-selling author of The Beach Trees

“Julie Cantrell beautifully renders a vivid past, but her subjects are immediate and eternal—family secrets, love’s many losses, revenge and revelation, and finally redemption. Her characters may buck and brawl and bray against the notion of God in their lives, but there’s no denying He continues to send them into each other’s paths, and Cantrell masterfully introduces them to one another in her wonderfully woven narrative. This book is full of insightful detail and wondrous turns, with an ending that moves in all directions through time like God’s grace.”

Mark Richard, author of House of Prayer No. 2

“A lyrical, moving, haunting, wise, brutal, warmhearted, and ultimately freeing and inspiring coming-of-age tale told with poetic honesty. Julie Cantrell is a wonderful writer. She doesn’t just tell a story, she invites you right into it so that you don’t just read it, you live it. Into the Free swept me up and swept me along, and the story and the characters stayed with me—in the very best way—long after I turned the last page.”

Jennifer Niven, best-selling author of The Ice Master, Velva Jean Learns to Drive, and Velva Jean Learns to Fly

“Readers will fall in love with spirited young Millie Reynolds, a girl with one eye on the heavens and the other on the savages that occupy our world. Julie Cantrell’s Into the Free is a searing tale of heartache, faith, forgiveness, and doubt set amidst gypsies, angels, addicts, asylums, roughnecks, and rodeo hands.”

Neil White, author of In the Sanctuary of Outcasts

“Julie Cantrell writes with the beautiful hand of someone who understands the soft nuance of God’s brushstrokes on the human heart. I’ve underlined my favorite passages of Into the Free and hope that readers new to Ms. Cantrell’s voice will tread slowly, thoughtfully into her story. There is a deep, powerful message resting beneath the surface of her words and one deserving to be discovered.”

River Jordan, author of Praying for Strangers

“Saturated in Southern ambiance, Julie Cantrell’s heartbreaking and inspirational story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Into the Free is the celebration of a vulnerable but fierce young girl facing loss head-on as she bravely seeks her place in a world that threatens despair at every turn.”

Lynne Bryant, author of Catfish Alley and Alligator Lake

“Millie Reynolds defines resilience in this powerful story about family, faith, and finding one’s own way.”

Irene Latham, award-winning author of Leaving Gee’s Bend

“Julie Cantrell’s compelling story of one young woman’s journey through the choices that lead to freedom drew me in from the very first scene. I simply couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, at least until I neared the end … when I purposefully slowed down, knowing instinctively that I was going to miss Millie Reynolds from Into the Free. I was right.”

Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, Belle of All Things Southern and national best-selling author of Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy

“Gritty, compelling, and beautifully told, Into the Free will take you into a coming-of-age story filled with heartrending hardship and luminous hope. Julie Cantrell is a writer to watch!”

Lisa Wingate, best-selling, award-winning author of Blue Moon Bay and Dandelion Summer

“This is an amazing debut novel with beautifully crafted prose, but be warned: Portions of the story are rather dark and disturbing—not for the timid reader.”

Melody Carlson, author of Finding Alice

“I appreciate a novel in which the love of God is woven as seamlessly into the story as it is into real life. Julie Cantrell has written such a novel, full of the kind of human drama and spiritual struggle that we face with every bit as much trepidation and doubt as Millie Reynolds does. I had to check twice to make sure this high-quality work was a debut novel.”

Nancy Rue, author of Christy Award–winning The Reluctant Prophet

“Evil abounds in this first novel by Julie Cantrell, but faith prevails. Millie Reynolds is a character readers won’t soon forget. At once she is brave and fragile, victim and heroine, a girl you’ll find yourself rooting for again and again as she transcends unthinkable tragedies and lifts herself Into the Free.”

Suzanne Supplee, author of Artichoke’s Heart, Somebody Everybody Listens To, and When Irish Guys Are Smiling

“Julie Cantrell has a sweet and powerful way with a story. She knows how to make friends with a reader. You’re going to fall in love with Into the Free. I did.”

Don Reid, The Statler Brothers, and author of O Little Town and One Lane Bridge