This book was a split time novel set in the present time and also in 1776.
In the present time, Natalie comes across a diary of Mercy who lived during the Revolutionary war. The story jumps back to 1776 and we get to read about her story.

This story is about a mom who's son commits a crime killing several people. It's also a story of a women becomes a spy for the colonists after her fiancee was hung for spying. It's a story of a sister Maeylynn who al

Natalie & Maeylynn's story was harder to read and I skimmed some of the darker parts. As a mom, it's hard to imagine your children doing something so awful. It gave a clear picture of how someone's actions affected more then just them or a few people around them. I could feel the depth of pain, grief and love Natalie, her husband and daughter had throughout the story.

Mercy's story was interesting as well. I always have liked spy stories and found this one to be good. She too felt grief but It was different than Natalie. Its hard when you're torn between your convictions and your family. It was not as dark as the other story.

It was a hard book to read but I liked how the characters learned valuable truths such a forgiveness and love and salvation.
In spite of our flaws and problems, we are loved by the Lord.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Chiavaroli took my breath away with The Hidden Side. The raw emotion she managed to put in between the pages cuts straight to your heart and doesn’t let up. I found myself thinking about this story all day long, even when I was reading, and for days afterwards. The present day story felt so real to me, probably because it’s something that seems to happen frequently in this world. But to get inside the mind of the family who is suffering from this experience the most was absolutely mind blowing.

Here’s the thing. When we see something horrific happen, and a young person is responsible, many people are quick to judge the parents. To say they missed the warning signs, or didn’t raise their child right, or whatever. Let me tell you this – The Hidden Side will absolutely change your mind on that. You get an inside peek, and while yes I understand this is a fictional novel, Chiavaroli has perfectly and beautifully depicted the thoughts and emotions of the family members left behind. They were real. Not forced, not written just to fill the pages of a book, and not thrown together to make it look good. I could see mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers out there reacted and feeling like these characters. And through it all, Chiavaoli has managed to make me second guess my reactions in the past, and has challenged me to really stop and think before I react to situations in the future. I was so glad that she included both Natalie and Maelynn’s POV’s in the present day storyline. It added so much depth to the story, and really enhanced the reading experience for me.

I was just as happy with the story of Mercy. She was such a strong woman, and I found myself admiring many things about her. Mercy was not afraid to take a stand for what she believed, even if she did go about it in a secretive way. But here’s the thing Mercy learned. Even our enemies are just people at the end of the day. There are more to them then just war, or whatever the difference may be. Another important lesson to be learned. We need to stop and thinking about people on the other side. They have feelings, they have strengths and weaknesses. And at the end of the day, they are just fighting for something they truly believe in, whether it is right or wrong. It doesn’t make them any less of a person then we are!

Chiavaroli is one of my favorite time-slip authors. The talent this woman has is absolutely amazing. She writes like a seasoned pro. Her faith themes are woven through so delicately, and yet send such a clear message. At one point in the book, a character was wondering if God left them, or did they leave God. WOW. Such a powerful statement right there that jumped right off the page at me. The answer is simple really – God will never leave us. And yet sometimes we go through trials that feel like He did, simply because we have distanced ourselves from Him. An important lesson for this character, but an even more important lesson for the reader.

This is a story that will not be forgotten by this reader. Oh my goodness, I could keep talking about it for another week, month even. If by some chance you have never read this novel, I highly encourage you to. Yes, there are some difficult topics, but it is so worth the read! I received a complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a favorable review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Hidden Side
My opinion of the book changed a lot over the course of reading. It took me a while to get into this book. I was reading it on my kindle and at 55% into the book I was still not really into it, by into it I mean, I was disconnected from all the characters, there was one of them I almost couldn’t stand, I felt like all the things that had happened thus far I could see coming from a mile away. However somewhere beyond that 55% mark and the end I got into the book. I became invested in what was happening to the characters, their cares and hurts. By the end the lessons each character learnt I took to heart, one of the reasons I pushed through that first half of the book was because I was looking forward to the end, the lessons, the great revelations, and I was not at all disappointed.
Hidden Side is split into Two parts(three technically). We first find ourselves in modern day with Natalie and Maelynn as narrators and through a journal written by Mercy we also are placed in the midst of the American revolution, the book bounces about a great deal between the two periods.
The common thread in the story is about all the characters coming to terms with their hidden side. I’m sure everyone can agree that keeping up appearances can be exhausting and each character had to come to terms with who they really are. What stood out most for me was how great the mercy of God is as well as His love, He knows everything about us, even the dark parts, and still loves us unconditionally.
Thanks to Netgalley and Tyndale Publishers for giving me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

What do you do when there is zero possibility for a happy ending? To whom do you turn when life is unbearably broken? That is the situation that Natalie Abbott and her family are thrown into when one of them commits a horrendous act. I had to digest this book and ponder those questions for awhile. Heidi Chiavaroli does such a beautiful, eloquent job of handling a very tragic, very relevant part of our current culture. She also uses the fictional story of Mercy Howard, a New York Patriot during the Revolutionary War, to show the universal nature of suffering and hardships. As the Abbott family deals with the aftermath of their tragedy, they read Mercy’s story and find inspiration in her reliance on faith when she has nothing else left in life.

This book is not a warm, fuzzy happily ever after type story, but oh, how I love it anyway! I consider it a must-read for those who feel like they have no hope and no one to turn to in life! I received a copy of this book from Tyndale House through NetGalley and am under no obligation to post a positive review. All opinions are my own.

The Hidden Side is the first book I've read by Heidi Chiavaroli, but I will be looking for her others now! This story went beyond powerful, straight to gut-wrenching in the space of just a few pages. Everyone who has kids in school, or who teaches, or who IS in school - upper grades, please - should read this dual-timeframe story.

Set in September 2016, the story is told through the eyes of mother, Natalie Abbott, daughter, Maelynn Abbott, and the third narrator comes out of the American Revolution, Mercy Howard, fiance of Nathan Hale. Natalie Abbott is a radio personality on a Christian station. She doles out spot-on parenting advice on a daily basis, but at home, her son is more and more withdrawn, and her daughter wants less and less to do with any of them. Then comes the morning her station manager interrupts her morning show with the news that there's been a shooting at her kids' school and she needs to go there immediately.

Rushing to the scene, Natalie is frantic about her twins. When she arrives, her police officer husband, Mike, comes out of the school and directs her to care for their daughter. Equally frantic for her son, Natalie questions Mike, and mistakes his grief, thinking Chris was one of the ones who was shot. When Mike corrects her to say, No, he was the shooter, her world collapses. Will she ever be able to show her face in the town again, when everywhere she goes there is condemnation? When even her church isn't a safe place?

Maelynn's heart broke the day her brother shot her boyfriend. It broke still further when he pointed the gun at her, too. He was her twin. How did she not see how messed up he was? When she finally visits him, she learns that not everything that day was as cut and dried as it appeared. Can she find forgiveness for a brother who protected her, and himself, the only way he knew how, and will her forgiveness begin the healing that her family so desperately needs?

Mercy leaps off the pages of her journal, and her insights about living a dual life, help both Natalie and Maelynn to see some of what Chris was dealing with daily. After her fiance was hung as a spy, Mercy chose to help the Revolution in his stead. Her fear is palpable, and her complete distaste for lies of any kind, makes her a most unlikely spy. Can Mercy evade the long reach of the Redcoats, when everywhere she turns, they are wreaking havoc? What happens when one of them slips past her heart's defenses and becomes someone she could love?

I knew this book would be gut-wrenching as soon as I read in the author's notes that Ms. Chiavaroli thanked Carol Kent and Sue Klebold for their authenticity in telling their stories. I'd heard Carol Kent tell her son's story before, and I recognized Sue Klebold as the mother of Dylan Klebold, the Columbine shooter, so I knew going in that this would be a hard story to read - but a necessary one. Even kids raised in Christian homes, with all the love in the world, can listen to the wrong voice, and do something unspeakable, given enough provocation. No one is immune. As someone who substitute taught 8th, 10th and 12th grade English, I remember being absolutely stunned at exactly how mean kids could be to one another, and no, the Christian kids weren't always any kinder.

This book felt like I was sitting with an arm around Natalie and the other around Maelynn, as they processed the devastation their lives had become. I wept with both as they stumbled, repeatedly, and I wept for Chris, as one rash decision destroyed any hope of a life outside the walls of a prison. This story is about finding grace and forgiveness amidst tragedy, and finding the tiniest glimmer of hope, in the darkness of despair. I highly, highly recommend! If there were eight or nine stars, this one would get them from me.

The Hidden Side by Heidi Chiavaroli has two storylines, one contemporary and one during the revolutionary war period. It is an amazing undertaking by Ms Chiavaroli. The subject matter is highly relevant to today's world and it is a very heavy subject matter at that. I really thought the characters and their lives were well thought out and developed. I think that the contemporary story overshadowed the historical one somewhat. Overall, this is a great read and I highly recommend it. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

This book completely wrecked me for all of the right reasons. While I was not a huge fan of the author's first novel (I just could not like the main characters in that one), I kept hearing good things about this one and opted to still give it a try. I'm very glad I did. This novel is a dual timeline - one in present day and one in the Revolutionary war days. The modern day timeline does have 2 different points of view - Natalie, who is a Christian radio program host, and mother of a high school shooter, and Maelynn, who is a junior in high school and twin sister of said shooter. The revolutionary war timeline is from the viewpoint of Mercy Howard, the fiancee of Nathan Hale (who was famous for saying "I regret that I have but one life to give for my country") as she comes to term with his death and how she can both obtain revenge and continue his work for the patriots. In both timelines, the women are dealing with shame and hiding.

Both timelines deal with the question of where God is when the absolute worst thing that can possibly happen happens. In both timelines, the characters struggle with doubt/lack of faith, believe that God has abandoned them, and then come back to a point of faith and redemption and finding their hiding place in God. This is a beautiful story of redemption and faith and takes you through the whole gamut of emotions. It also gives a new perspective on how we treat some who are in the situations these characters find themselves in.

Special thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ebook copy of this book. I was under no obligation to write a review and the thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.

Having recently finished “The Hidden Side” by Heidi Chiavaroli, I am happy to have had the chance for the preview; thank you Net Galley!

It was hard to put (part of) this story aside in my mind. Even though I am a fan of historical fiction novels, I found myself more interested in the present story-line as opposed to the past while reading this book. I was aware of myself hurrying through Mercy Howard's portions of the story. Eventually, I wanted to skip through all of those chapters, and continue only with Natalie and Maelynn's story. I didn't give in to the desire to read out of sequence, but I was very tempted. Their story felt so dreadfully devastating. Emotions were there while reading about the Abbotts' family crisis. Unfortunately, Mercy's ideals and drama didn't hold the same intensity and depth for me. This was a tragic and heartbreaking story; one that I will remember for some time.

Once I had read her debut novel, I was much more open to moving on to Chiavaroli’s next book, The Hidden Side. And I was not disappointed. This one was better than her last — significantly, even. This is a novel that asks some hard questions about life, tragedy, and what constitutes a victim. For this one, I was surprised to find that the contemporary plot captured me more strongly than the historical one — but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy both. Mercy’s revolutionary era story was fairly subtle (which resulted in its lacking what could have been very fascinating details on espionage) – but it was a wonderful complement to a contemporary story that put emotions through the wringer.

The contemporary story tackles a timely issue, but does so with only a couple of predictable details. Mostly it focuses on the effects of tragedy in the family of someone who initiated that tragedy. It’s a wonderful choice and helps the readers enter in to considerations of who all suffers during a tragedy. It’s not only the obvious victims.

I loved that, in the end, answers aren’t really resolved in either story. Life doesn’t usually resolve things perfectly. Rather, if we seek God we can find His peace despite the reality of this fallen world. That doesn’t make the world less fallen. It just makes us aware of our deeper need for His strength and wisdom.

I’ll heartily recommend Heidi Chiavaroli — and I’m looking forward to what comes next for her.

I'm going to give this book 5 stars because I like the story line and what it means to me.
As was reading along in this story,
I was beginning to realize that may be all these school shootings are happening today because certain kids are being bullied and the adults don't do anything to stop it.
I sometimes feel like these kids and I'm an adult.
I feel like sometimes people don't like me because of how I look or maybe I'm not smart enough to be in the in crowd.
There were things that I enjoyed about school but not all of it.
As I got older I realized that I didn't really care about being in the in crowd because all they are is just a bunch of mean kids.
I cried through some of this story because I know just how the person who did this terrible thing feels most of the time.
Since I'm not really finished reading this book In I'm not sure how Mercy's story is going to fit in.
I feel like I'm invading someone's diary when it comes to her side of the story.
I'm not sure about twins connecting but I do know that twins run on my husband's side of the family lol. Maybe it will get my son. Who knows what God has in store for us.
I can only hope and pray that someday there will be an end to all these school shootings and justice is served.
I worry and pray for my son and his fellow students every day
Is there a real reason for this? Why does God allow this to happen?
Is it so we can draw closer to God when the bad things do happen?
I'm thinking so since I'm a believer.
Well, need to finish this book before my final thoughts
I do recommend this book because I believe there's a special message everyone needs to read
God bless!!

This is one of the most heartbreaking books I’ve ever read. If I hadn’t been at my daughter’s ballet class when I finished reading it, I would have been a blubbering mess throughout its final chapters. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have been able to read the words at all, so perhaps it was better that I was somewhere I was forced to restrain my emotion! As it was, I still had to go digging for a tissue to surreptitiously wipe the tears that kept blurring my vision before streaming down my face. And yet, through that crippling heartbreak (I say crippling, because I have never had a book affect me so viscerally before) there is such a beautiful picture of our refuge in Christ.

The story is related from three different points of view: in the contemporary story, it’s Natalie Abbott and her daughter Maelynn who share the narration, while in the historical story, it’s Mercy Howard. Each of these women are hiding in different ways. In Mercy’s case, the hiding is a deliberately cultivated choice—essential to her success as a spy. For Natalie and Maelynn, hiding is an instinctive response to shame and brokenness.

It’s difficult to imagine a plot that would resonate with readers more than the contemporary plot in this book, but I’m warning you: it will take you to one of the most emotionally difficult places you could possibly go. Which is exactly what makes this such a powerful story. It not only shows a side of tragedy that most of us would give little thought to, but it portrays a convincing and utterly compelling journey from hiding in brokenness to hiding in God.

I was so firmly in the grip of the contemporary story that the historical story felt like an interruption at first, but it became a compelling story in its own right as it developed. It was the perfect complement to the contemporary story, showing in a very literal sense the kind of bondage that comes with hiding our true selves.

I’m of one mind with C.S. Lewis when he says, “Don’t use infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite”, but this novel deserves all the positive superlatives I can come up with. Every single one of them would be justified.

A very heart-breaking story about the tragedy of rape, bullying and a school shooting. Paralleled with another story of choices made during the Patriots fight for freedom from the British make this a powerful novel. The frank voices and feelings of the main characters throughout the book is hard to read at times. Highly recommended!

Wow. This is one of the best books I have read recently. So good.

The thing is this book wasn’t what I accepted at all…it was so much better.

I don’t even know where to begin. I could so relate to Natalie as a mom. Worried about her kids, thinking she was over reacting.

Maelynn, Natalies’ daughter, is just a typical teenager, trying to fit in and be “cool”, yet questioning herself all of the time.

Mercy is a sympathetic, strong character.

All of these women have things to hide from the world.

I love the honesty of Natalie questioning God, so true to life. Life is messy and this book gets messy. I couldn’t put this one down. It is not your typical book at all, it spoke to my mama heart very deeply.

A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley.com. All opinions are my own.

6/5 stars.  I started Heidi Chiavaroli’s novel weeks ago and found myself unable to continue—but not for the reasons you might assume. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind and I knew…KNEW…this was one of those books that had tremendous power and there would be no going back once started. So I set it aside until I could devote a full, undivided attention to each page. Simply put, my heart needed to be ready.

I've read many good novels. Extremely good novels…but once in awhile, I come across something truly profound. The Hidden Side falls into this category. It hits hard and true. In my humble opinion, it’s literary and needs to be viewed as such. One of these days, I expect an inspirational author to win the Pulitzer. The skillful writing absolutely sucks the reader in. The Hidden Side is something that needs to be read and discussed on a wide-scale basis.

So that high praise said, let’s dive into why The Hidden Side is so evocative and timely. First of all, that beginning… A mother searches through her son’s drawers not certain what she is looking for. It’s beautifully juxtaposed with a dog-eared copy of The Velveteen Rabbit and memories of her hiding contraband in her drawers as a teenager. Something is wrong. She knows it…and indeed, with all the heart cry instincts of a mother, she’s right, even if the evidence isn’t clear. 

For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him.

From there, we get a glimpse into the mother’s (Natalie) world. Her twin son (Chris) and daughter (Maelyn) are at odds with each other and Natalie can’t get through to either of them despite being a popular radio counselor. Little does she realize the depth of sorrow her children are going through. Rape and bullying occur at the public school with unimaginable consequences.  Even a counseling degree or loving parent can’t always penetrate into the deepest pain, self-distortion and evil. At what length does abuse change a child or teenager? How should we treat mental illness? What happens when we put on a facade of perfection and isolate ourselves? And what lies do we tell ourselves and others to maintain that facade?

Prepare yourself. This story deals with a school shooting and like I said, dear reader…there is no going back with this one. Meanwhile, the reader is given a parallel glimpse of another world during the American Revolution and one woman’s struggle when the man she loves is hanged for being a spy and her decision to act against the forces that stole so much from her. The threads of past and present connect in marvelous ways, creating a tapestry of pain and grace and resilience. Heidi Chiavaroli is the master of parallel storylines. Profound questions arise. Does the end ever justify the mean? What role should grace play in tragedy?

I dare not give too much away at the risk of spoilers but this novel could very well be my pick of the year. I can’t see how any other novel will challenge as much as this one has. It is moving, devastating, and you may even find your previously held assumptions challenged or jettisoned. 6 out of 5 stars for a provocative read. I was provided a copy by Tyndale and NetGalley for an unbiased review. My thoughts are my own.

THE HIDDEN SIDE by HEIDI CHIAVAROLI is not a light and easy read, but it is well worth reading. It is very well put together, with the story of Mercy Howard, who lived in 1776 in war torn America, intertwining with the story of the Abbot family in 2016, who were fighting their own war.
When Natalie Abbot came across the book, The Journal Entries of Mercy Howard, next to her twelve year old son Chris' bed, she did not know what an encouragement Mercy's story would be to her and also eventually to Chris' twin sister, Maelynn.
Natalie works for a radio station under the nom de plume, Skye, and she and her co-host, Tom, take calls from people, mostly desperate ones, giving them Godly advice and encouragement.
In spite of the heaviness of the subject matter, hope shines through both Mercy's and the Abbot family's stories, and we see that the Lord can bring good out of even the most awful situations. As hidden secrets are eventually revealed, the healing begins and life goes on.
It is a very "real" book and an excellent read. I received a pre-release copy of the novel from Tyndale House Publishers Inc. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

The Hidden Side by Heidi Chiavaroli is a parallel time novel that alternates between the present and the Revolutionary War. Both Natalie and Mercy watch their worlds being ripped apart by undexpected tragedy. Chiavaroli lets you feel the hurt but lets you see how God and their faith brings them through it. Natalie's story involves a school shooting, and that story brings an overwhelming wave of emotions that affect people in different ways. For me, I could only read a few pages at a time and not as a bedtime book.

There are some stories that I can't begin to imagine the journey the author went through to write them. There's a certain responsibility when writing difficult stories because at the same time you're not assuming to know what it means to go through these situations, you want the readers to have a glimpse, to connect, to not let these stories be forgotten so we may pray that they may not be repeated. Hence, I believe as challenging as they might be, they must be written and we readers should search for them.

I've been impressed with Heidi Chiavaroli's writing since her debut novel, and, honestly, I'm having a hard time to believe this is only her sophomore novel. "The Hidden Side" is told from three points of view: Natalie and Maelynn Abbott's in the present and Mercy Howard during the 18th century. I was never lost, never bored, and can't possibly pick a favorite. Each characters' journey is unique at the same time they echo and intwine somehow with each other.

The Abbott's household is hit by a tragedy and they are left to ponder: why? how could this happen? where was God? And they have to somehow pick up the pieces and continue their normal routine though it's impossible for things to go back to the way they were. In midst of heartache, Natalie finds solace in Mercy's diary. Though both women share a broken heart, only one is because of a man with a noble cause.

Both women are trying to understand what happened and if they truly knew their loved ones after all. Their hearts are burdened and a need to do something starts nudging them; a need to believe there is still good they can do to offer love and hope. It's not easy, it's not straightforward, but to live any other way will be to not live at all for you're giving darkness the last say.

This is not a beach read or a book to pick up for leisure. I would never pick it up before bedtime for I knew it could challenge me, and I wanted to be fully committed to every word and every pain. This book investigates suffering beyond what you might imagine at first; the actions are never condoned, but there's a nagging question: is this it? is this truly the end?
And it's not. We are NOT called to conform; but to do something we need to have our eyes opened, as well as our hearts. I believe this book can play a roll in that so I couldn't recommend it enough.
Bravo, Heidi Chiavaroli. Very well done!

The Hidden Side the second novel by author, Heidi Chiavorli. I haven't gotten around to reading her first novel, but I think I will want to pick that up soon. With The Hidden Side, I was introduced to Chiavorli's writing and now know why good things are being said about her writing. With a women's fiction novel, I expect to be touched by a difficult topic and dive deep into the character's emotions. Chiavorli does a good job at creating a timely story with deep characters.
My favorite thing about her writing is the transformation of the characters as they move through the story. In the beginning, the character claim a faith and belief in God, but then a crisis strikes, and they are tested. Their faith deepens as they struggle and grow closer to God. Some novels I have read, the deep desire to question and seek God appears fake and forced by the author, but I believe Chiavorli's dug really deep and created an authentic character.
I enjoyed the character of Mealynn. I personally related to her the most. Being a mother, I thought I would empathize with Natalie, but I didn't. . I empathized with Natalie as she pondered what she could have done differently when raising Chris. I empathize with the twin of Chris. I could feel Maelynn's hurt and anger as she walked through this difficult time in her teenage life. While the character of Mercy is the historical character, I really didn't empathize with her or enjoy her story. After reading the complete story, I still am confused on what Mercy's story has to do with the other one. I understand Natalie and Maelynn read the journal, but what did it have to do with the modern day story.
I enjoyed the contemporary timeline. It was very timely and important for this day with all the school shootings. Chiavorli's perspective with the mother, father, and sister of a shooter is different than anything I have ever read, and I felt swept up into the action within the first chapter. This was a wonderful book to spend a day or longer with.
Overall, Heidi Chiavorli's second book The Hidden Side was all about taking a different viewpoint on a hot topic. Maelynn was the character I related to the most. The historical story felt out of place. Even though the contemporary story captured my attention. I believe fans of Rachel Hauck, Beth K. Vogt, or Laura McNeil would enjoy this women's fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of The Hidden Side by Heidi Chiavorli from Tyndale Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

This was a story that sucked me in and held me tight until the very last page. Unfortunately, we live in a world where it’s not abnormal to hear about bomb threats and school shootings. Sadly, people shouting “gun control!” won’t fix anything because it all comes down to a heart issue. Yet how would I react if one of my very own kids ended up being the one behind the gun? How would I feel towards my child that I know I did my best raising, and raised them up in the church to love the LORD? How would I best be able to help a child of mine if they were being bullied and embarrassed to talk about it? I myself was a bullied kid. I’ve never understood wanting to hurt someone else for hurting me, but I know what it’s like to wish I was invisible so that I couldn’t be hurt anymore. At the end of the day we have to all admit that none of us have all the answers. Even Bible-believing, regular church-attending Christians can be hit with the unfathomable. I believe that the author did an excellent job of portraying how the different characters were effected individually by the shooting. I found myself putting myself in the shoes of each of the characters as I read which made it an even more emotional read. I can only imagine how emotional it had to have been for the author in the process.

There is also an alternate story that took place during the late 1700’s. While it was good on it’s own, I don’t think I got the connection as much as I should have. I believe as a stand-alone I would have enjoyed it more.

I can’t say how strongly I recommend this book especially in light of what’s been going on in the world lately. In tragedy today, everyone seems to be looking around for who they can point their finger at who to blame. There is a heightened sense of “you hurt me so I’m going to hurt you more,” that only seems to escalate the violence and blame-shifting. Before God we all fall short. Before God we are all just as guilty. Before God we all need a savior. School shootings are unfortunately not uncommon anymore. The world is hurting. Instead of judging and blaming we need to come alongside the hurting and offer comfort and truth in God’s Word. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”~ Matt 11:28

*I received a complimentary advanced copy for an honest review from NetGalley and the publisher. Opinions expressed in this review are mine only.

In a similar vein as Freedom's Ring, we follow a modern-day timeline that lines up against a Revolutionary War-era timeline. In this instance, in the modern day timeline, we have a school shooting, where the perpetrator (rather than one of the victims) is the son of our main character...which offers a unique perspective into this growing crisis / trend. There are multiple narrative perspectives, but they each have a distinct voice and are easy to separate / follow. There are themes of being true to yourself, both publicly and privately, as well as maintaining hope during times of trial. Each of the main characters is facing a personal fork in the road, and her response will define who she is from that point on. The author does a good job of creating believable characters and describing their situations and settings, such that you feel as though you are right there in the book. It's a page-turner, and one that you'll not want to pick up until you have some time to devote to getting all the way through it!