The Quiet You Carry released last year, but I have to say I missed this release. The next book Quiet No More is releasing soon and I’m on the blog tour. To prepare for that I needed to read The Quiet You Carry first. I have to say this definitely wasn’t an easy book to read and brings its own set of trigger warnings that I will address at the beginning of my review.
A big thanks to the publisher for providing me with an e-copy of this book on Netgalley to read and review!
Victoria Parker knew her dad's behavior toward her was a little unusual, but she convinced herself everything was fine—until she found herself locked out of the house at 3:00 a.m., surrounded by flashing police lights.
Now, dumped into a crowded, chaotic foster home, Victoria has to tiptoe around her domineering foster mother, get through senior year at a new school, and somehow salvage her college dreams . . . all while keeping her past hidden.
But some secrets won't stay buried—especially when unwanted memories make Victoria freeze up at random moments and nightmares disrupt her sleep. Even worse, she can't stop worrying about her stepsister Sarah, left behind with her father. All she wants is to move forward, but how do you focus on the future when the past won't leave you alone?
The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess
Published by Flux on 05/03/2019
Genres: Contemporary
Pages: 340
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads
Review
As I said at the beginning of this post, there are some trigger warnings you need to be aware of before picking up The Quiet You Carry: domestic sexual assault, domestic abuse, suicide, self harm. Please be aware of these subjects before reading this book.
Before I start my review, you should be aware The Quiet You Carry has some trigger warnings: domestic sexual assault, domestic abuse, suicide, self harm.
I have to start off by saying that writing this review isn’t easy as well. Where do I start? The Quiet You Carry isn’t an easy book to read and made me quite angry. It’s not one that I could read in one sitting, because it’s just too much.
Our main character Victoria ends up in foster care after an unusual night at home and being locked out of the house in the cold in the middle of the night. My heart really broke for Victoria. She’s so confused about everything that occurred and just wants to go home and finish her senior year. It’s clear early on that isn’t going to happen. Something was going on though, because we slowly get pieces of her memories and feelings throughout the book.
Even though all foster homes can’t be compared to the one she ends up in, unfortunately they’re not all amazing and loving. Also, this book shows that social workers have large case loads that can be too overwhelming. I really hope that this is something that changes in the future. These children really deserve more time and care when their lives are flipped upside down. Even though the characters develop in this story, it’s still a difficult situation.
Victoria isn’t a character that gives up though. She starts trying to find a way to get into college and make sure she can continue with her life. There’s a struggle in wanting to protect her father, herself and her stepsister. I can’t imagine what that’s like and I can say I’m grateful for that. It’s really hard to put this into words, but if you’ve read the book I think you’ll understand what I mean. Luckily Victoria does get a few characters in her corner and that was a good balance to see in this story.
I’m not sure how Victoria’s journey will continue, but I appreciated that this author didn’t make it seem that everything is sunshine and rainbows when certain events take place. This impacts a life so much and doesn’t disappear. The author doesn’t shy away from heavy subjects and I can say this was unlike anything I’ve read.
The Quiet You Carry is definitely a hard hitting book that isn’t always easy to read. I am curious to see how Victoria’s story continues. Keep an eye on the blog next week for my review of Quiet No More!
