This is a powerful and poignant coming-of-age novel that tackles important issues such as abuse, trauma, and resilience. The story follows Victoria Parker as she navigates the challenges of being in foster care while dealing with the aftermath of trauma. The author's writing is raw and emotional, allowing readers to fully immerse themselves in Victoria's journey and feel her pain and struggles. This book is an important read for anyone who has experienced abuse or trauma, as well as those who want to gain a deeper understanding of these issues. Highly recommended.

I could not get into this book, sorry. Trying to clean up my netgalley. Didn’t realize that I was forgetting to leave reviews on netgalley itself, My apologies.

This was a pretty great book. Victoria's story was so compelling, I had to know which of my suspicions about her past was right. I was a bit intimidated by this book, contemporaries aren't really my thing, I've come to find, but I enjoyed reading it.

This book dealt with some very heavy topics. The title and the synopsis both give that impression, and this book fulfills it, and boy, I felt so bad for Victoria that she went through this! And the fact that she's not telling people what really happened, to protect her dad, when he's the one that did this to her...it was heartbreaking.

To make things worse, her foster home is a pretty awful place to live, where the mom seems to hate her, and there's really strict rules. And it's in a new town, so that's a hard experience! This book can really tug on the heartstrings with all that Victoria is going through!

The best thing about this book was the support system that Victoria built, of people who cared about her, supported her through these rough times. It was great to see some positive in all that was going wrong in her life!

I had a really great time reading this book, and I might check out the book that Goodreads says is its sequel.

17 year old Victoria finds herself thrust into the foster care system following her return home to police sirens and flashing lights. This YA fiction takes us through the journey that follows from this turning point in Victoria life and provides a good perspective on difficult subject matters.

Thank you North Star and NetGalley for this ARC.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

I received an arc from NetGalley for an honest review. As I've read and reread my review, I feel like I should preface that while this book covers very real topics, The Quiet You Carry is fiction.

I have been sitting on writing this review for almost a week now because I truly do not know how to express my feelings about this book.

This book is hauntingly, heartbreakingly, beautiful. I think those three words sum up this whole book.

The author does an indescribable job capturing parental abuse, the foster care system, and how it impacts one girl and the people in her life. I cried, a lot, but I also laughed and smiled.

Do me a favor and read this book. Read it for yourself, and then put it in the hands of the people you know who need to feel strength, hope, love, or just a really good book.

I'm sorry I can't offer you a synopsis with my opinions. They would not do this book justice. It has been a long time since I have read a book that has left me at such a loss for words.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess.

When Victoria is removed from her home at 3am after being locked out of the house by her father, she claims it was just a misunderstanding. But now she is in foster care, placed indefinitely while Victoria processes what led her there.

Slowly, through friendships and healing, Victoria is able to come to terms with the abuse she endured in her home, and how to move forward. But when it comes to family, it's not always that simple, especially when a sibling is left behind.

This is a review that I definitely want to handle with care as I believe the author herself was in a foster system as a child. I thought this was an important story, and definitely worth telling. It's most like a true and unfortunate fact that children in the foster program are still stigmatized and retraumatized by the program itself. I believe that this is the kind of story that could definitely help other's in similar situations feel less alone.

Overall I felt like this was written well, and has an initial vagueness and slow unfolding that is probably accurate to the experience. I did feel, especially toward the end, that it was a bit overdone and dramatized. But then again, I want to be careful before speaking about something that I have never experienced.

Well, this was a real tearjerker. I've always been drawn to emotional books about things I don't have any personal knowledge of (like foster care, abuse, etc.) but I didn't expect to be quite as touched by this one as I was. So many emotions going through me... mostly anger. This was definitely an eye-opening read for me.

I have never read a book about foster care like this before. The Quiet You Carry tells a story about childhood trauma and the foster system whilst also examining the aspect of life afterward. It was great to read about a person who was still trying to reach the same goals as “before”, like going to college, whilst also processing. This book will stay with me for a while, I think.

Another really strong story from Nikki. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to read this book, if I'm being honest because I felt like everything ended in the first book. I didn't really feel like I needed more of this story but I was wrong. It was really interesting seeing the aftermath of everything from the first story and watching the main character grow as a person - even if she struggles a lot along the way.

Trigger Warning: This book deals with topics of sexual assault, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, foster care abuse, and being arrested.

This book starts off so strong, but I felt like it fell apart a bit by the middle just to come back together at the very end. I enjoyed reading about Victoria as a character and seeing how she dealt with/began to overcome the trauma she had gone through. What bothered me were the stories of some of the side characters, plus the relationship drama that also occurred in this novel.

Victoria has gone through so much throughout this novel. She is still dealing with her mixed feelings due to her father’s gaslighting about the event that she went through. The entire book shows how she isn’t really receiving help for what she’s gone through while trying to continue with her life. Having your entire world flipped upside down in the middle of your senior year of high school can be devastating, as you want to focus on applying to college but now have even larger things to worry about.

Victoria’s life in the foster home was very sad to read about. The girls living in that home were under the iron fist of Connie. Connie never seems to directly lay a hand on these girls, but they do not have a happy life in her home. She also treats her biological daughter a lot better than she treats the other girls. Connie was painted to be a monster for the majority of the book, even though she provided Victoria with a place to stay. And I agreed with this definition of Connie. There were girls in her home going through unimaginable pain, and she wasn’t giving them the support that they needed. But this meant that I could give less of a crap about her backstory. I wanted to spend the least amount of time with her as I could. So when her character starts to develop, I felt conflicted. She did the things she had done in the beginning of the novel and she could never take those things back. Those things she did had consequences, and I feel like those consequences never came to fruition. I feel like I was supposed to at least want to tolerate her by the end of the novel, but I didn’t. This was what probably bothered me the most about the book.

Victoria’s friends in high school were truly the saving grace of the novel for me. They stayed friends from a distance and didn’t push her into telling them too much when they had just met her. But they still were by her side when she needed them to be, supporting her through this difficult year. I feel like this should have been the focus of the novel, her relationship with her friends. I feel like the boy she liked should not have really been in the equation that much for this novel. Victoria had so much trauma and PTSD related to intimacy that trying to be in a relationship would truly be too much for her to handle, and I feel like the boyfriend wouldn’t have been realistic. Her friends could have the same righteous anger for her against her father’s actions just like a boyfriend could.

This novel’s focus was telling a story about a girl who is attempting to overcome her circumstances. I feel like it did a good job of doing so. It did a good job of showing how if you are hurting yourself that you may overlook things around you. You may not be able to help others until you begin to admit what happened to yourself and help yourself begin to heal in that way.

I received a copy of this book and this is my voluntary review.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 books.

Wow! This book was a ride- the whole time I was on the edge of my seat! Four stars, easily! Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

It took me a little longer than I expected to finish reading this one because I found the prose unengaging. Things only started to be stimulating on the second half of the book. Still, this book is a good read for us to be more symphatetic towards children under foster care and towards victims. It could help us understand why they would be acting in a certain way that we do not understand. Though, this book would have trigger warnings for domestic violence, assault, suicide, and depression, I still liked the way it was concluded. The things that happened in this book, to Victoria, were not easy but it wouldn't be the definition of her nor of the people that are like her.

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.

TW: abuse, sexual assault, foster care

When Victoria gets uprooted from her home and moved to a foster care, she doesn't know what is wrong. Her father doesn't want her back and is spreading lies. But no one knows the truth of what happened that night, only Victoria. How long will it take for her to understand what had happened, to accept ?

It was a difficult read, I won't lie. The author takes the story and really digs deep into the Emotions and dilemma of an abused person. The conflicted feelings of Victoria, the MC, was portrayed really well I think.
Victoria is a character that not everyone will relate to but her emotions and personality is utterly real. At times, as a reader, I felt detached from her actions but the fact is, it was more real than I could've imagined. Her shame that kept her from speaking, her anger at herself, her second thoughts, the inability to open up - it was very real and sad to read about.
The story was very engaging. It kept me turning the pages because I wanted to know what happens next, how Victoria fights back, how she strives. The emotional blackmail that she went through really broke my heart. The book has a strong found family/friendship trope, done very well. I loved how her relationship with Connie improved and how she finally managed to find solace with Kale and Christina. It all really enfolded in a great way, taking us to the end, showing us a lot about a person who has lost everything but still fights back.
The story, though, felt a little dramatic at times, tbh.
I think it is an important story after all, that also shows a piece of life in a foster care home and the conflicted complicated emotions are abuse. It's very raw and heartbreaking, and I think it was done really well.
Thanks to the publishers for providing me with a e-copy.

This book really kicked me in the emotions. I really liked how this book tackled both the foster care but also the aftereffects of abuse. This book has many triggers warnings including abuse, sexual and emotions, PTSD, depression/ anxiety and sucied. I really was emotionally connected to these characters and this book made me tear up many times. It was book that was able to strike a balance between self discovery, friendship and romance. This book was super emotional read but one I loved. i can't wait to read the others book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess.
This was a YA contemporary book about 17 year old Victoria who suddenly finds herself in foster care after her relationship with her father becomes inappropriate and terrifying.
The reader follows Victoria along as she navigates a strict foster home, a new high school, makes new friends and tries to untangle what happened with her father the night the police came.
It is easy for reader to root for Victoria as she is a very sympathetic character. At first I was really disappointed in the almost cartoonish stereotype that Connie the foster mother falls into. But as the book moves forward you see a lot of masks fall away as Victoria gets to know people and finds that they are working through their own pain.
I recommend this book for anyone that is looking for a serious read about a girl trying to put her life together after a traumatic event and would like to see a glimpse of life in foster care. I look forward to the sequel and seeing Victoria’s life after high school. I give this a 3.5-3.75

My closest experience with the Foster Care system is a friend who adopted her children VERY young from the system. I have read a few books and they all break my heart, including this one. It was tough to read, but in a way that I felt like I should read it. The themes felt important and some aspects felt too good to be true, but others made me so angry due to how horrible they were.

It is emotional and there is a trigger for abuse. It is a hard book to truly enjoy but It really was a good read. I would definitely recommend.

An authentic aura of domestic fear and a very tangible story of growing up and growing away from everything you know. I liked Victoria, I liked this story. Not usually a huge fan of grit, but was very accessible and I found it easier to read than most domestic violence-related contemporary YA, which tends to over-dramatise an already dramatic scenario to add grit and discomfort.

I would recommend to people who enjoy YA and contemporary fiction. Whatever this 'realistic fiction' trend is within in the YA framework, it is difficult for books to stand apart within it. This book does so.

[Content warning: This book includes content that discusses abuse.]

The Quiet You Carry provides an insightful look into what it's like to be a teenager in the U.S. foster care system. It shows how social workers are overworked, foster care providers are limited, and children aren't given the mental health care they need after enduring traumatic experiences.

For Victoria, her life is completely out of her control. The parent that is supposed to care for her betrays her in one of the worst ways possible and then throws her out, leaving her confused and traumatized. When she is placed in foster care, she can't even speak about what happened to her and does her best to cope by pretending everything is okay and focusing on school.

Unfortunately, because of how much I sympathized with Victoria, it was incredibly frustrating reading about her experiences and feeling second-hand the helplessness of not being able to control even the most basic aspects of her life.

Despite liking the story and themes, I didn't love the writing nearly as much. The pacing felt very slow, and I often had trouble staying engaged with the narrative voice. I also wished the characters would have come to life a little bit more vividly.

All in all, I valued the discussion and voice that this book brought to the table, but I didn't love the reading experience due to the writing style. I have no strong feelings toward this book after finishing it, but I will say it tugged at my heart and I definitely cried a few times while I was reading.

If this sounds like your type of book, I definitely encourage you to give it a try! But if you are already on the fence, this might not be a strong enough book to pull you all in--it wasn't for me. The Quiet You Carry was more of a miss for me than I expected it to be, despite having its positive qualities.