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Book Review: The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess


 

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars




This was a really gripping and compelling read I must say, and the portrayal of the adverse experiences and trauma that those in the care system can go through for instance due to abusive parents, in Victoria's case her own blood father sexually abusing her, was very intense and heavy. This along with the serious impacts it can have on their mental health, which is depicted very heavily and intensely through Jamie, Victoria's foster sister. Honestly it was all very intense and heavy and not at all an easy theme to write about and depict, so I very much command that. You can't help but feel so strongly for poor Victoria as well, with the endless trauma she's had to experience, having her own father sexually abuse her, being thrown out of the house by him after that at 3am on a winters morning, then being accused of being the one at fault, then taken away by the CPS who are very brusque and cold with her, being made to sleep in the CPS office, then having a social worker who just sees her as a number and is also not very understanding and compassionate with her and always impatient with her at that, being thrown into care, then her foster mother being unpleasant to her, then being arrested for sneaking out and having to spend the night in jail (I still don't get why she'd be arrested for something like this as surely if they run away or sneak out from care that is seen as a cry for help or something to be concerned about rather than a crime!). Honestly, it was one heck of a trauma conga-line she had to go through and that was very distressing and disturbing to see.


The main thing that annoyed me to be honest was the way she started this new school feeling very vulnerable, and all of a sudden she had a confident, popular girl approaching and wanting to be friends with her straight away, as well as a guy who of course is attracted to her and wants to be with her like the second he sees her. I just did not find this very realistic at all, as I know from reality that starting a new school when you are vulnerable like this is certainly not that straightforward, you don't magically have people wanting to be your friend and partner the second they meet you. I mean yes she still had some bullies but it still wasn't very realistic at all and very forced at that. It might have made more sense if she had gotten to know them over time then became friends with them, developing that friendship. Victoria finding a love interest in Kale as well was very shoehorned and annoying the way it didn't even fit in with the story, like it was clearly just there for the sake of a romance, because of course every female protagonist needs a love interest in every story even when it has nothing to do with the story, so that was really annoying. I mean couldn't they have just been friends? Like the romance just didn't add anything to the story, it was clearly just there for the sake of a romance and female protagonist having a love interest. That and I really don't think realistically that with just how much Victoria was going through and had on her plate that she was really ready or in the right place for a relationship, so that just seemed a bit silly too.

I did like how Connie reformed and redeemed herself, as I honestly couldn't help but hate her at first, like I just can't see how anyone could be so unpleasant and lacking in compassion towards kids who are so vulnerable and already starved of love, though I appreciate she had a conscious and felt remorse for this and took the chance to reform.

A great deal of effort clearly went into this book, with just how heavy a theme (or themes at that) it deals with as well as how long it is, and it is definitely not ideal for if you want a light and fluffy or easy, relaxing read, being what I say a very heavy and intense read, so I really command that. Despite how annoying the things I've critiqued are, it was still a very well done and strong book overall.
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