The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water by Erin Bartels

 

About the Book:

The best fiction simply tells the truth.
But the truth is never simple.

When novelist Kendra Brennan moves into her grandfather's old cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend's brother--and the man who inspired the antagonist in her first book. If she can prove that she told the truth about what happened during those long-ago summers, perhaps she can put the letter's claims to rest and meet the swiftly approaching deadline for her next book.

But what she discovers as she delves into the murky past is not what she expected. While facing Tyler isn't easy, facing the consequences of her failed friendship with his sister, Cami, may be the hardest thing she's ever had to do.

Plumb the depths of the human heart with this emotional exploration of how a friendship dies, how we can face the unforgivable, and how even those who have been hurt can learn to love with abandon.

My Review: 

I have very mixed feelings about this book. At first, it took me quite a while to get into the book. When I started to get more interested in the book, things would crop up that I was very surprised to find in a Christian book--a brief discussion about homosexuality (it was a false story Tyler made up), a joke about Robert having a crush on Andreas, and an analogy to a "magician levitating." Add into this there was no references to the Lord in a way that changes lives--what you would expect from a book published by a Christian publisher. 

The book did draw me in as I connected with the characters especially by the end of the book. No one should endure trauma, and the book does make me think on the fact that people who do bad things often have had bad things that have occurred to them. The author does also have a way of writing descriptive scenes that truly helps the reader visualize what is going on. Some scenes, however, were hard to read--for some readers in particular these would be very difficult; a trigger warning should be given at the beginning of the book for this reason.

I voluntarily received a complimentary copy from Revell. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars