The Complex Art of Being Maisy
- Vanessa Bettencourt
- Jun 10
- 2 min read
@topplingstackstours & @sabkleckner
My review
5 stars
"Artists are nostalgic."
I loved reading this one. Very relatable, too, even if you are only an artist or in the photography niche. It's about taking a courageous step and being willing to experiment, and putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations.
Maisie wants to challenge herself by learning different things, saying yes more, and self-discover her own style and self rather than copying her family's art style. She moved from New York to London and met new challenges and new relationships. I love that she tries hard. She has another motivation besides self-discovery as well. She doesn't want to look like a loser to her friend Alicia, who is winning at her university.
It's not easy. It's much easier to crave and run home because it's familiar.
Part of the book deals with her brother's relationship and how his actions were relevant to her growing up.
Very sweet, light YA. Makes me want to do more photography this summer.
I wish I had a large poster of this cover
The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark by Sabrina Kleckner
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publishing Date: June 10, 2025
All eighteen-year-old Maisie Clark wants to do is leave her tiny town in upstate New York. Crescent Valley is home to Glenna’s, the family-run portrait shop she loves more than anything. But after years of imitating her dad’s artistic style, Maisie fears she will never find her own voice. So, she comes up with a plan: quit working at Glenna’s, go to art school in London, and, most importantly, stop painting portraits. If she can’t find her voice by the end of the year, she’ll give up art entirely.
Unfortunately, pushing outside her comfort zone is (surprise!) uncomfortable. Maisie struggles to connect with her eccentric new flatmates, feels farther away from her best friend than ever, and hates every art course she signed up for—especially photography, where her talented but prickly partner, Eli, is not afraid to point out her every mistake on their semester-long project. Maisie is already questioning all her life choices when a crime strikes Glenna’s, reopening old family wounds she thought she’d long healed from. It’ll take even more discomfort, as well as help from Eli, her older brother, Calum, and his earnest boyfriend, Benji, to confront the layers she’s painted over the past. But maybe, just maybe, the keys to finding herself lie closer to home than she realized.
Book Links:
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-complex-art-of-being-maisie-clark-sabrina-kleckner/1145949147
IndieBound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-complex-art-of-being-maisie-clark-sabrina-kleckner/21629944
About the Author:
Sabrina Kleckner is a teacher by day and an author by early morning and night. Her debut middle grade novel, The Art of Running Away, was a 2023 ALA Rainbow Booklist Selection; the 2022 Moonbeam Awards Bronze Medalist in Pre-Teen General Fiction; and a 2022 IPPY Award Silver Medalist in Juvenile Fiction. On her days off, she can be found traveling the world or gushing about her three cats to anyone who will listen.
Sabrina can be found online @sabkleckner and can be reached on her website sabrinakleckner.com.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.sabrinakleckner.com/
Twitter: https://x.com/sabkleckner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabkleckner/
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