The Quiet You Carry

What a beautiful, haunting story! I loved everything about this book. The premise was frighteningly plausible and handed so well. Every character was multidimensional and fit well in the story. I cried, I laughed, I cheered. No one will regret reading this book, and will find that the story stays with you long after the final page is read.

Thanks for the early review copy!

I recommend this book to fans of young adult contemporary fiction. I've read a lot of YA and this one was well done and dealt with hard topics.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of THE QUIET YOU CARRY by Nikki Barthelmess in exchange for my honest review.***

4.5 STARS

Victoria lands in foster care after her father kicks her out in the middle of the night, throwing her plans to attend college next year into turmoil. Now she’s stuck with Connie, the foster mother from hell, in a new school hours away from her home, forbidden to check in on her stepsister. Despite her best intentions, Victoria’s hope to avoid attention disappear when she starts making friends. Sometimes people surprise you, if you let them.

I couldn’t help but to root for Victoria, even when she pushed people away. I understood why she was reluctant to tell what happened that last night at home but also wanted her to take the risk. At times I cringed at how she treated others, but putting myself in her shoes I can’t say I wouldn’t at time be myopic.

My only criticism is a certain character’s complete transformation. The reasons given made sense. If she hadn’t been written so one dimensionally before the growth I might have bought into her rapid positive change with less skepticism.

THE QUIET YOU CARRY keeps me glued to my kindle, completely invested in Victoria’s journey. I can’t wait to see what Nikki Barthelmess writes next.

It's rare that you see a YA story centered around the protagonist being placed in foster care especially at the age of seventeen. Victoria's story is heartbreaking but I was encouraged by the positive people she met in her journey to finish high school and come to terms with the people that let her down.

I think this is an important topic. The characters were not very well developed, and the plot was a little dragged out, but I think this book would be beneficial to people living this situation.

Although this book was about a difficult topic, it was interesting to read. I felt like the characters were realistic and likable. I often wondered what it would be like to be a foster parent and so I am glad they shared Connie's story as well.

For someone who doesn't really care for series books, I kind of want to know how the rest of Victoria's story evolves!

Thank you to North Star Editions and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

A heartbreaking story that grips you from page 1. I don’t think “enjoy” is the right word, but it was a beautiful journey.

I don't know if I would have read this if I had known it was about sexual abuse. I know it's heavily hinted at in the synopsis, but for some reason I didn't realize it. I'm glad I did read it though.

The Quiet You Carry is a very real story that unfortunately happens to thousands around the world everyday. Luckily for Victoria, she was able to get out. Many do not.

I liked Victoria a lot. At the rare moments we see her true personality she seems like a beautifully sarcastic girl who is also very kind and very smart. Sadly, these moments are pretty few and far between because of the trauma she has been through.

It was nice seeing her realization throughout the story that what her father did to her was wrong and that she was essentially conditioned by her mother to quietly withstand it.

Connie is someone I both detest and love. I do believe she honestly cares about her foster children, but I feel like she could have been a lot nicer. I know she has to have the rules she enforces, but I don't see why she had to be so nasty about it.

I loved Christina, Jamie, and Kale a lot. I'm glad they were all there to support Victoria, though I hate everything Jamie went through.

I liked how subtle the romance in this was, though I think the story would have worked better without it at all. I don't know if a teenager who is just getting away from sexual trauma should be in a relationship, but it did flow well and felt natural.

Victoria's inability to tell the truth annoyed me in the beginning, though I can't really blame her for hiding everything. Part of why she did it was because she was scared, the other out of embarrassment.

Overall it is an enjoyable, but sad, book. It does deal with some heavy topics so I suggest everyone use caution when reading it. Stay safe!

*This book should come with a trigger warning for sexual abuse.


The blurb drew me in as usual. We come into the book not knowing much besides Victoria is being taken away by CPS. We have no idea what happened; just that Victoria is saying that nothing happened and it was all a misunderstanding.

Victoria ends up in a foster home with two other girls, a preteen and a younger girl. The foster mother seems a bit harsh, but never having been in foster care I can't judge.

We slowly over time learn the truth about what happened on the night Victoria was removed from her home. It comes in pieces, but after the first couple of chapters, you pretty much understand what happened.

Victoria tries hard not to make any friends at her new school, but Christina and Kale won't let up on her and eventually, they become her biggest allies in the book.

I have to say that this was a tough one to get through, I understood where the main character was coming from, and how the stepmother could be blind to it all. But in the end everything worked out; and that I am glad for.

A tough, gut-wrenching read, but absolutely fantastic. This is a must-buy for libraries who serve teens.

Okay first of all I have to say I absolutely loved this book from page one.
I loved our main chapter so much and really connected with her story and the struggles she was going through.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves books that suck you in because this is an intense page turner!
Overall one of my favourite reads so far this year. I really enjoyed this book it’s a really raw and amazing story that hit home with me on a very personal level and I’m so thankful to Netgalley for sending me a copy.

This book had me near tears at some points. It's a solid 4 star if not 5 I can't quite decide yet.

Victoria was an abused girl. I felt so bad for her because her situation wasn't made any better by the broken foster system.

I honestly cannot believe what her father was trying to do to her. Her and her stepsister. And the stupid stepmother and I guess even Victoria's mother let it happen.

I do have a tiny grain of sympathy for the stepmom. She was also being abused by the father. I sincerely hope he is in jail and there wasn't some kind of wishy washy issue about 'evidence'.

I am also sincerely grateful that Victoria finally opened up about her issues to save her sister. It probably saved Sarah from that last violation.

I am also very grateful for Victoria's friends. Kale and Christina are good friends/boyfriend.

The Quiet You Carry is a story about a girl who was put in the foster care system because her father stated she made advances at him and he needed her out of his house.

What this young girl goes through is heartbreaking but at the same time her strength is amazing.
I loved this story because it touches on so many issues kids go through today within their own families as well as in the foster care system. Thank you for writing about the "Elephant in the room" Ms. Barthelmess. I believe with this story you will be helping a lot of young women and men get through tough times in their lives.

The quiet you carry by author Nikki Barthelmess is a great literary fiction with a huge plot. The characters are relatable in some ways and the story doesn’t leave you hanging. A great read!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Quiet you Carry in exchange for an honest review.

This book provides a fascinating look at the foster system in fictional form. Victoria ends up in the foster system because her father kicks her out. The foster home she's in is very strict, but she ends up making friends and growing to like the new neighborhood. However, she can't forget her home, the reason she was kicked out, and her fears for her stepsister who is still there.

I learned so much about the foster system and how hard it is to get out of it, how difficult it is to be believed when you're a child, and what happens to you when you age out of the system.

Plus, Victoria as a character was very intriguing. Her relationship with Kale and her friendship with Christina are great and her experiences in the foster home with Connie and Jamie, as well the issues she had with her father and her stepmother are so mesmerizing. I read this book in less than a day.

This book tugged at my heartstrings and not in a good way. It brings to light an abuse of power, trust and protection and you have a seventeen year old, Victoria, who is kicked out of her home by her Father and thrust into a foster care system in a blink of an eye.

In reading the book, I felt Victoria's rage, mistrust, angst and most of all, the need to simply move on, to somehow live her life without focusing on what she struggles to forget, but this trickles down to her step-sister Sarah, and suddenly the feeling of anger, wanting to break someone into pieces comes to light.

The author brought to light abuse, challenges of foster care, the burnout of social workers and more than that, in her redemptive arc, she made reading this bearable.

Aside from the very appealing cover, the title is also representative of the story within. I received a complimentary eARC of this book courtesy of Netgalley.

That was a really powerful story. Some parts definitely made me cry, but I also loved seeing Victoria grow and learn to stand up for herself and to let people in. The premise was frighteningly plausible and handed so well. Every character was multidimensional and fit well in the story.

It's not often you see foster kids portrayed in YA literature, and especially not in such a true to real life way. I really liked this book, even though parts of it were upsetting because you know there are kids who go through that, and worse, every day.

This novel has a gentleness to it that will pull at your heart. The voice of the main character, Victoria, is ever-present and strong. The author does a wonderful job in creating such a sympathetic view of Victoria that it engrosses you into the story and the reader is psychically on this uphill journey of rehabilitation of her heart and her soul. Beautiful and wonderful read!

Wow, what an absolutely powerful book Nikki Barthelmess has written. Growing up I knew a lot of kids in school who were in foster care. One particularly stands out to me, and I remember her so well to this day. We became close friends, and kept in touch for awhile even after she went home again. I always think about her, wishing I could remember her full name to look her up on social media. I can't recall that, but I remember her and her heart breaking story so well.

What Barthelmess has done here is so very honestly laid out how life is for a lot of kids "in the system". They all come from a desperate, sad, or bad situation and often times they don't want to talk about it. Can you blame them? They often feel humiliated by what has happened to them, and many blame themselves for their parents failures. Victoria's reluctance to speak up and her need to lash out at those around her just felt so true and real, and unflinchingly so.

It's not often you see foster kids portrayed in YA literature, and especially not in such a true to real life way. I really liked this book, even though parts of it were upsetting because you know there are kids who go through that, and worse, every day. Well done, Barthelmess. Well done.

This was another book that I wasn't quite sure where to post - it is definitely a YA book, but one that had explicit and dark themes. Not one that you would want to be read by a young teenager, particularly as the protagonist appears to be punished for what has been done to her (victim blaming at its finest). For older teens and adults it is completely clear that this is not ok but I fear for younger teens in this position it would just add another complication that encourages silence. So it's here - with the adult books. 

From the get go this book reminded me of one that I read as a teenager. It wasn't my typical reading material but it had come free with a magazine (probably more magazine, which looking back was wickedly inappropriate for a young teen - oh well). I have tried to search for the name of the book but google is drawing a blank and I'm concerned about ending up on a weird watchlist so I've decided to stop. Anyway that book was the introduction to me that weird shit happened in the world and that I was probably pretty lucky to read 15 or so and have no idea that these types of things happen. Probably an upside to growing up pre-internet. 

Back to the story here - it was an intriguing read. The author had a good understanding of the inadequacies of the care system and the lack of support available to everyone in these situations (with a huge dollop of empathy for both the social workers and the foster carers). One thing that frustrated me was that the principal appeared to have an interest because he had been adopted - I'm not sure that having him be adopted added anything to the story. It is his job to make sure that he looks out for a child who has just been placed in a care facility, no justification needed. This is nit-picky, I know, but  I work with children in similar positions and feel that bonding over not being with birth families is perhaps not something that happens on first meeting. Certainly the principal should be better at his job than having this the way to show he was trustworthy. 

I enjoyed the writing and story and I did read all the way to the end. Unfortunately the story won't stay with me in the same way that the previous book did. 

I would rate this a 3.5 out of 5. 

ARC provided through netgalley.

*Scheduled to post on publication date*

Everyone has that something that they deal with, that they carry alone.... unless they choose to let others in. This book was not easy to read, but one that NEEDS- to be read. It was hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking. Its one of those books that may not be for you but you can tell, its written in a way, that it was meant for someone.

In the Quiet you Carry, we follow main character Victoria, who goes through something awful and gets put into Foster Care. She suffers from PTSD and has to learn how to grow, move on and deal with what has happened to her. As her life is thrown into chaos- we get to see how she manages the changes. Victoria's character growth, throughout the book was amazing to read. The author did a fabulous job telling this very empowering story of life in the foster care system. If you're looking for a book that takes all your emotions and throws them into a tailspin- one that grips you and your heartstrings...from the very first chapter- I totally recommend this one!!!

Here is a short and sweet review to close off 2018... a review for a YA tragedy that had me tear up throughout.

This was such an intense book from the first chapter all the way to the last one. It's a book that grips you and never leaves you with a dull moment. I guess it may be strange for me to say so, but sometimes I will read books that don't have much development in them - that is not the case with The Quiet You Carry. I got real development from main and secondary characters, from the plot, and from the entire situation the protagonist goes through. It's a book that moves... and it will move you.

I'd like to thank North Star Editions for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A heartbreaking and empowering story of life in the foster system, author Nikki Barthelmeiss has drawn on her own experience to create the story of Victoria, a seventeen year old girl thrown out of her home by her widowed father who has accused her of making sexual advances towards him. As well as dealing with the loss of the only family she has left, she must learn to cope in a chaotic foster home run by a strict disciplinarian , whose only interest in her charges seems to be financial, while worrying about the younger step sister she has left behind. To cap it all off she has to move away and change schools , putting her college aspirations at risk. It is no wonder that she builds a wall and makes it difficult for anyone in her new life to connect with her, despite their good intentions, but eventually she makes some true friends, ones that will help her face up to some very difficult decisions and help her to do what she must.
As I mentioned it is clear that this is a book written by somebody with experience of the foster system, and while the situations described may be harsh, they are absolutely believable. I found myself really rooting for Victoria as a character, and I felt the highs and lows with her as her story progressed.
I read and reviewed a book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher,all opinions are my own.

This is a beautifully heartbreaking and harrowing story of a girl, who at 17 is put in the foster care system after she realises her father is not at all the man she thought he was.

This is such a heartbreaking and wrenching story of a young girl, on the cusp of adulthood having to confront things that cause her a great deal of pain and sadness. This book is brilliant and I loved every moment of it. It was definitely one of my highlights of 2018!

Thank you for the chance to get an early copy of this book. I think this book fills a need that I have not read in other YA literature. The topics covered in this book are handled with tender loving care and as the reader I was truly moved. The characters are well developed and I plan on adding this book to our collection.

“None of us can understand what’s going on in another person’s life from the outside looking in. No one can really see the quiet you carry, unless you let them.”

Truer words have never been written. Everyone in this world has, or is, going through something that shakes us to the core and completely changes our lives - sometimes it’s good, and sometimes it’s not, and other times it is deeply traumatic. Some people are better at hiding it than others. I know I was, and to a degree, I still am.

Barthelmess tackles several very serious issues in this book, and they were done so masterfully and sensitively. She really gets into the head of a teenage girl who is struggling with the awful reality that she has found herself in, but is not yet ready, or is unable to confront it.

I identified so much with Victoria and all she went through, reliving my own experiences, remembering my feelings and fears as I read about hers. And if I were to use one word to describe the result it would be: genuine.

The Quiet You Carry is very confronting and it may be a trigger for some people, so please take care and read with caution.

Thank you to Nikki Barthelmess, North Star Editions/Flux, and NetGalley for an arc of this compelling book in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful title for a beautiful book. The Quiet You Carry is a compelling and soulful story about a girl forced into the daunting foster care system while coming to terms with her father's abuse. I loved how the story was realistic and did not try to soften or romanticize Victoria's situation.

I could completely relate to Victoria and with every step she took, I felt like I was there with her. I could feel like anxiousness, her confusion, and the hurt as she was yanked away from her life. I cried as she tried to piece together everything that happened and still try to blame herself. My heart broke at the pure cruelty shown to Lizzie, a little girl denied the right to play with toys, when that's exactly what a child should be doing. But, both mine and Victoria's hearts began to heal with the support of Christina, Kale, and Principal Nelson. I smiled at Christina's unwavering support, giggled at Kale's antics, and felt my heart become full at Principal Nelson's kindness. And finally, by the end of the book I felt like everything was going to be okay.

This book is a real eye-opener to the foster care system and how much it can affect a child. Barthelmess has a talent for writing emotions and enticing the reader to dive deeper into the book. The Quiet You Carry outlines how discouraging the system can be, but also highlights how one can successfully navigate through it with the help and support of the community. Five stars for you Ms. Barthelmess.

Thank you #Netgalley for allowing me to read #Thequietyoucarry as an advanced reader copy., Ms Barthelmess has a tour'dforce of YAlit, definately five stars , and if Netflix, Touchstonepictures or other production company hasn't offered a movie deal for this book they better not wait long. Readers who loved A Fault in Our Stars or A Walk To Remember will be in a complete book hangover for A Quiet You Carry, I feel this story will also become as significant as 13 Reasons Why, and will be one parents will talk about with their teens.
Victoria is the first protagonist in a very long time that I felt should have an interview after the story was over, She is that friend you had that smiled bravely despite her world falling apart around her. That student that every teacher had sitting by herself , without a coat or a second pair of shoes . A girl we see getting off the bus trying to smile ,but holding back the t.ears. I know those monsters Victoria dreamed of, that she desperately wanted to set free, Every child who ever has lived through abuse were not taken safely away by CPS, and tough as Connie was, she was doing her best as a fostermom, but not all children are lucky to end up with a Connie . In this story, it will make you think, please make sure to share the contact numbers of CASA with a child you may think needs it. There are so many raw and real topics explored in this story, foster care ,abuse, cutting as a sign that a child needs emotional help. The Quiet You Carry should be shared by librarians, reading groups, and high school english classes. The Quiet You Carry is that nightmare that if we are lucky we are able to set free.
The cover: gorgeous
The characters : five star memorable.
The author: Best Debut Author of 2019...

Wow. That was raw and emotionally brutal.

I will not recover from The Quiet You Carry, but that's kinda the point.
Like most people, I'm aware of foster kids, went to school with some, knew of some foster parents in my small town growing up, but I never really understood the deep emotions of those involved. And I don't think I ever will fully understand what those kids go through. This book will help empathize and shed light on a whole world most of us know only a little bit about.

It should be a no brainer, but this book has all the trigger warnings. As I was reading it, it brought up every pain I remember feeling in junior high and high school. And I had a pretty easy time compared to most! If you're in any way feeling depressed, or anxious, or alone ... just be careful before starting this book. It's going to hurt, but hopefully you'll feel cathartic at the end (which is as happy an ending as can be).

Barthelmess writes in a way that's gripping and holds your attention. The story moves quickly and there are no extraneous words, sentences or scenes. Everything is important. You're inside Victoria's head as she's trying to resolve what happened to her and her new life in foster care at the same time. The constant back and forth between PTSD and trying to attend high school is unsettling. As a reader we're never sure when Victoria's mind might trigger a memory or gut reaction to something others may find mundane. In that way, the storytelling is perfect and truly accomplishes Barthelmess' goal.

I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 5 stars
Writing/Prose: 4 stars

The Quiet You Carry is realistic and heartbreaking with an element of suspense as Victoria suffers from PTSD and struggles to keep up with the lies she's told for self-preservation. The character development and backstories are remarkable all around, from Victoria to Connie to Christina. While this book provides excellent representation of a child in the foster care system, it may not be for everyone due to the amount of triggers for everything from sexual abuse to self-harm, to eating disorders, and more.

“No one can really see the quiet you carry, unless you let them.”


4,5 stars


Thank you Flux, North Star Edition for giving me this book through Netgalley! As usual this had no influence on my willing and honest opinion!


The author in her acknowledgement explains how she was put in foster care when young and how she had no idea what that was before entering the system.

She gives what I think must be a very accurate description of foster care, with its overworked social workers, with foster parents enforcing strict rules, with kids thrown into it in the peak of a crisis and being left disoriented, groggy from what has been and is happening.


You’ve guessed from the synopsis that Victoria entered foster care after something her dad has done to her.

This first scene was brutal.

She was taken away by a police officer and a social worker and they were brusque with her.

Victoria had to leave everything behind: her phone, her computer anything of value and take only clothes with her.

She’s slept the night on a couch in the social worker’s office.

If this is not traumatizing, especially when added to what happened with her dad I don’t know what is!


From that moment on she will live with two other foster girls in the care of Connie. Connie is her foster mom and she had such strict rules that the girls hated her.

I confess that Connie’s character was very hard to like but that’s the beauty of this story: nothing is to be taken at face value and many characters hide their true self behind a mask!


This story shows the limits of the foster system and of justice. In case of abuse it’s the victim’s word against the aggressor. If the victim is mute because she is afraid of the consequences, she’ll be thrown into a very hard system.


Victoria will rage more than once again this system and against what is happening to her. She will also live in denial because like most victims she will have great difficulties to go against the perpetrator.

This book highlights how manipulator can perpetrate abuse and have the victims think this is not so serious. Victims often feel a sense of loyalty and obligation to their abuser as sick as that may seem.

Victoria’s dad was one of the worst manipulators.

He manipulated Victoria’s mom who convinced Victoria that a woman had to do everything to keep the husband happy. She also entrusted her husband into Victoria’s hands leaving her feeling responsible for her dad’s happiness. Hence not wanting to condemn him even after what he’s done.


This is a complex story as the characters go through a tempest of emotions and contradictory feelings. In this again the author did an excellent job portraying teenagers thrown into foster care and having to deal with being a victim. Coming to term with what has been done to them. Accepting their new situations is not easy! They are told they should make “the most of it” but most of the time they’ve been through trauma and landing in a stranger’s house, leaving all your friends behind really leaves you …lost.


I had no problem at all walking in Victoria’s shoes. She was solidly fleshed out as were the side characters as well. The friendship and budging romance helped alleviate some of the gloom and offered Victoria the support she needed. Because amidst all the drama, she remained a teenage girl who wanted to assimilate, to blend in, to live a normal life.


“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I sob. “I couldn’t. It’s humiliating. It’s sick. It’s wrong. These aren’t normal problems. I just want to be normal.”


Recommend it? Totally!

This is truly a heart-wrenching story. It's the kind of book that will stay with you for a while because it pulled on all of your heart strings and made you cry. This story focuses on Victoria, our main character, who has suddenly been kicked out of her home by her father and forced into foster care just a few months before turning 18. Readers don't get all of the backstory immediately, so you learn about Victoria's past and the relationship between her and her father gradually as the story goes along. And unless your heart is made of stone, you will feel reeled in.

Sexual assault and child abuse are very hard topics to approach because they need to be handled correctly. An author cannot go into a story with no understanding of the effects it has on children without completely ruining the message. Nikki Barthelmess handled this so well. This is just a personal opinion, but the topic was handled really delicately and without any harsh stereotypes or insensitivity. These kind of stories need to be told, but the right way. Readers get a close look at the family dynamic in Victoria's home. We are not simply catapulted in to an awful situation to try and figure out how Victoria got there. Instead, Barthelmess takes us all the way back to the beginning and shows us the relationship between Victoria and her father, mother, stepmother, and stepsister. There is a lot going on in this, but it's not overwhelming (at least not in that sense, though the emotions can be). We're also given a fairly realistic look at being a foster child at several different ages (thanks to Victoria's foster sisters Jamie and Lizzie).

The plot is fairly slow-paced, and the book is pretty short, but for this type of story where readers gain information and insight as the story builds, this works. The last few chapters of the book speed up a bit to wrap everything up, which is one thing I think could've been tweaked a little. I'm glad that readers get some closure from this story, but I personally would've liked an extra chapter or two to really carry out the ending the way that Victoria, Sarah, and Jamie deserve.

The characters all shocked me. In a lot of books, we see development of the main character, and maybe minimal development of a supporting character or two to feed the story. However, in this one, it felt like practically all of the characters were developed for us. Victoria gets a lot of new people in her life thanks to being put into foster care, and for such a short novel, I didn't think we'd learn so much about all of the people around her. Even Connie, who I really didn't care for, has layers beneath her hard foster mother exterior. The friends that Victoria make don't just add to the story but they get a little piece of their own in there, too. It isn't often that I get to see so many contributing characters get legitimate story lines, but I really liked it.

Overall, this is definitely one that I'll remember for a while. I was pulled in, my heart was shattered, and I was proud of Victoria in the end. She became her own beacon of hope, and if you love a story like that, then definitely check this out.

This book was nothing like I ever read. I really enjoyed the way the author tackled the subject matter. I do believe it was a little slow at times, but it still gave a me a good story.I was on the edge of my seat most of the time reading this book. The emotions, characters, and relationships all felt real and genuine. We get a few instances of "don't judge a book by its cover" which I also appreciated and found fit well in this story. If you're looking for a story that will have you hooked from the beginning than this is the book for you.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Flux/North Star Editions for presenting me with an ARC of The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess for my honest and unbiased review.

Nikki jumped right out and grabbed me with the first page of her book. Victoria’s father throws her out of their home she shared with him, her step-mother, and her step-sister Sarah in the middle of the night in the bitter cold with no coat, no shoes, just the clothes on her back. Victoria ends up at CPS to sleeping on their couch until morning comes and they can put her into the foster system.

Nikki brings us a story with a subject that nobody likes to hear about, not alone talk about it or read about it. Nikki had quite a bit of knowledge of how well the foster system operates being a former foster child herself. She captured all the characters and Victoria’s story so vigorously that came out in a heart wrenching and heartbreaking story that you will not soon forget.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would highly recommend The Quiet You Carry, but know that you may get angry, cry, and maybe even have to put it down sometimes. However, when you are done you will be glad you picked it up and read Victoria’s story.

I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book I have read by this author. The subject matter is difficult but Nikki handles it delicately. I think this is a meaningful book that is important to read to see a side of the world that ppl tend to ignore because it's not easy or pleasant.

This book is about a girl who fell through through the cracks. An abused little girl. The Quiet You Carry is a very real story that unfortunately happens to thousands around the world everyday. Luckily for Victoria, she was able to get out. Many do not.

This book hooked me in right away. Victoria’s story is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I grew to love her and even her foster mom. This story touches on such hard subject but does so with grace.

Loved it !!

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This is one of those books where you find yourself rooting for the main character, Victoria the entire way. She was a well written, complex character and I felt so much love for her. I felt the plot was unique and interesting. This was a one click read and I could not put it down. The way this book was written was also heartbreaking at some of the very realistic things that happen through the system. The writer defn knew her stuff. Overall I give this 5 stars!

Thank you Net Galley,
Even tho this book was very predictable, I really!!y enjoyed this novel. I cried at times . I want to read more about Victoria ,

Life can be so damn cruel. Life can happen suddenly. And life can unexpectedly pull the rug right from under you. When that happens, you land flat on your ass or back and get the wind knocked right out of you. Once you have a second to catch your breath, look around and take note in the fact that you are at the lowest point possible. But more importantly pay attention to the fact that you have the option to stand up, again. And that is what stuck out to me most about The Quiet You Carry.

Imagine having a secure idea of the future. You have plans to attend college on the dime of your lawyer dad, a stepsister who isn't quite like Cinderella's and some friends that have gotten you through some of the worst. Now imagine that all disappearing in the blink of an eye. And on top of that you are forced from your home into the home of a stranger who takes in foster kids to live off of the government provided funds. This is now the life you lead. And why? Because of action that are no fault of your own. Your whole world ripped away in a flash because of something you never did, wanted or had any control over. And the only option you have is to sit back and swallow the bitter ass pill forced down your throat. Now you've met Victoria Parker...

What I loved about this story was the support Barthelmess offered to readers. There is the piece dealing with entering the foster system. While it is heartbreaking, it is the sad reality for nearly 500,000 kids in the US alone. While the statistic is staggering, you can tell Barthelmess wanted to reach those kids who might feel alone and lost. Mission was accomplished there. There is the piece about keeping a terrible secret because you are ashamed or you want to protect someone. This was a pretty major struggle for Parker. Many of us adult readers, simply might not understand why no one would not come forth. But Barthelmess provides insight into another view, she ensured that readers understood the logic behind it the struggle of staying quiet or not. Also, I think she did an amazing job letting readers know the importance of a support system. What she did best was set Victoria on a path to better herself. While Victoria struggle and suffered, she looked toward a future. She wanted to move on. And I think this was one of the strongest lessons of this story.

Overall, I rated this story with 4 stars because I found myself a bit annoyed with our narrator at times. But I think that comes with the territory of being a 17 year old girl. So if I am being fair, Barthelmess execution of a 17 year old girl is spot on!

Thank you NetGalley and North Star Editions for an advance copy of The Quiet You Carry. I think this story has great potential to touch many young adults.

**A BIG THANK YOU to NetGalley for the for a copy of The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess in exchange for my honest review! **

Wow! What a read! It sucked me in in within the first few pages. Such a powerful, heartbreaking, raw, and heartwarming book.

The Quiet You Carry by Nikki Barthelmess is a heartbreaking story that will have you hooked from the first page. I flew through this novel because I had to find out what happened to Victoria. The subject matter might be for older readers but I believe it was an eye opener on the foster care system. Great Read

This is a good book, well written with a believable story. We follow Victoria from the moment she has to live her house and be placed on a foster home, due to the actions of her father.

The way her inner turmoil is portrayed is very good, her insecurities, the effort to hide her situation from her new classmates, the inability to trust someone else when her primary care giver has failed her. All of that makes perfect sense and the flow of the story is very good.

Recommend it to everyone who likes to read a good story that does not portray the usual teen angst, but still shows us a reality that is very present nowadays.

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.

This was a heavy book, I had to grab my box of tissues because it does have some difficult topics throughout. I thought it was well worth the read and the writing style was beautifully written.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of The Quiet You Carry #Lovestruck
Pub Date: 05 Mar 2019

Thank you for the ARC!
This was such a beautiful story I really loved it. Thank you for writing such a real and honest account for those out there who have lived through such trauma.