While I had no idea this was technically a “Christian” book published under a Christian imprint, I’m super glad I went in blind.

Short Summary: Author Kendra is on deadline to produce her second novel. We all know that Sophomore Slump is a real thing for writers, and Kendra is more than aware. Her creativity is gone, her voice is silenced, and she’s struggling beyond belief. The main source of writer’s block? An anonymous letter from a “Disappointed Reader” who slams Kendra for ripping her successful first novel’s plot line straight from her life. The letter suggests that Kendra has been unfaithful to the narrative and misrepresented events and the people she used as inspiration. The problem? Kendra has used her writing to process the abuse (sa) she endured summer after summer at the hands of her best friend’s older brother.


The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water is at once disturbing, thrilling, and ultimately about the love and connections we make and lose along the way. The major theme I got here was of healing, in whatever form that takes. The novel is beautifully written and explicitly character driven. The only tiny critique I have is that there’s a character I did not trust one bit, and I kept expecting them to play a more sinister role in the plot. Imagine my surprise when I reached the last page and they didn’t turn out to have any malevolent intent. Truly bizarre as the premise and plot totally set up for that twist. Then it just didn’t happen.

Deep and emotional read based on the authors true life experience, which cannot be judged. Thank you to her for sharing her experience and writing about it and having the courage to do so and share it with others. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy.

Firstly - this is a book worth of reading it and discussing it! I find it a beautiful, rich, thought of read - also it is a read that might bring many debats and even polemics to the table. Always a worthy thing in my opinion, as the healthy discussions can enrich us all.
This is a story of Kendra, who is to write her second novel - after the first one, where she dealt with her sexual abuse when teenager. Writing that first novel has been her therapy. This summer she is to deal with her memories, her hurt, the consequences of her story and some new stories, too. Her road of healing will take her on the journey to confront her hidden pain and shame intertwining her past - but never forgotten - friendship with Cami, to whom she tells her story within this novel.

I have become a fan of Ms Bartels and I plan to read all her works - even if I think this novel is her most difficult, most personal of all of them. When reading I have had very strong feeling that this is a personal story - and she confirmed it in her afternote. I find it very hard to evaluate someone else´s story, as I have not been walking in their shoes. But let me say this - I love this novel. I love that the authoress is not shy in confronting victimhood as she/her character Kendra realizes that we are all guilty of something or other, that we all have responsibilities towards ourselves and the others, too. I love that her character walks in the journey of healing. I love that she actively tries to forgive and to understand. I see that she is true here and I have learned a lot. Yet - there are topics where I disagree. We are all guilty of something - but the level of our bad deeds differ. Secondly - the topic of sexual abuse is severely downplayed. Tyler is a rapist. But in some parts he seems only like bad boyfriend of sorts, the one who pushed the girl, not who raped her. There are no consequences of his crimes. Not even a therapy! I realize that there are reasons, deeply disturbing reasons, for his deeds. But he is bearing very little consequences - and this lack of consequences also might halt his own healing (both from the crimes of others towards him and his own crimes).
The parental figures are very much absolved from their own lack of parental love. Where they were all the years? Were they blind or busy with their own lives not to see that there are tragedies about to start?
<spoiler> Imagine a father who realizes (years later, but still) that his adoptive son had raped his own flesh and blood - and does literally nothing! I am not saying he should enter a warpath - but at least some tough conversations should take place??? <spoiler>
And lastly - I do think that knowingly or unknowingly, Ms Bartels writes to herself. Her "Cami" is in my opinion herself - and she is recognizing, fighting, loving, forgiving and seeking forgiveness from abandoning - herself. I hope she knows that.

Beautiful, rich, disturbing, worth reading of and discussing - this novel has it all. I am disagreeing with many parts - yet I see a very nutritious food for thought here, prepared with love.

Kendra is on contract and deadline to write her second novel when she receives a letter from "a very disappointed reader". Kendra lets the letter disrupt her writing and decides to go to her grandfather's cabin in upper Michigan to sort out her life and career. What follows is an unraveling of Kendra's family history. The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water carries a hint of romance, but it is provides a lot of insight into writing and the writing process. In addition, the novel is about teenage sexual abuse. Discussion groups will have a lot to talk about concerning how Kendra reacts to her abuser.

This is a story about long kept secrets and healing....a love story, friendships, a story about growing up. I enjoyed this read. It kept me interested even though there were some parts that were unpleasant. It really makes you stop to think about your childhood memories, how you remember things versus how they happened in another persons eyes. I would recommend it. It is a good read, easy to get through, and keeps you interested. I would also be interested in seeing what other books this author has to offer. 🙂

I hadn't realised this was a 'Christian' book published by a christian publisher, but fortunately it wasn't too christian! A story about past trauma and the powerlessness of the young victim and her later coming to terms with this. Rather an unfocused path through the past as Kendra, now an adult writer trying to overcome writer's block, tries to sort it all out. Perhaps a better edit would have made it stronger.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance digital galley.

The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water by Erin Bartels was a very surprising read. This book was nothing like I expected and it is actually written in a very unique writing style. The book is hard to understand at the beginning and a little awkward to get into. But if the reader perseveres, Ms Bartel's writing soon becomes clear. While I respect that author's attempt to deal with some of her own past trauma and put it into this book, which she does quite successfully, I had a great deal of difficulty with this book. The redemptive and hopeful elements of this book were quite small in comparison with the trauma, and this resulted in a mostly traumatic experience for myself as the reader. This book is well written and I am glad the author was so vulnerable in writing it. It might be helpful for some people. It will also be quite triggering for many, many people as well. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Emotional and riveting. This is the first novel I have read by Erin Bartels, and it certainly will not be the last. She has a wonderful gift of storytelling and a way with words.

This is such a deep story, with so many layers of emotion and developing storylines. Once I began reading it, I could not put it down - it held my attention the entire time.

Each of the characters is wonderful to follow and read about. Bartel is a deeply descriptive writer, and has fully developed these characters down to the most minute detail.

This is a must read!

Bartels' new book, The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water, was not what I expected. Currents of faith or Christian perspective are either brief or missing entirely. The tone of this book is rather dark and emotional. It includes scenes of sensitive topics that should have some warning. These scenes are not left to your imagination and to the credit of the author's writing ability are very emotional and vivid. To be fair, the theme of this book is taken from the author's own experiences and I do not want to diminish or downplay what she is trying to convey.

All in all this is not a book that I would recommend to Christian fiction readers who are looking for an uplifting spiritual resolution or those who may be triggered by traumatic experiences.

I went into Bartels' latest novel with enthusiasm, even though this was the first time I picked up one of her works. The premise sounded intriguing, and it is definitely a fault of mine to be completely unable to walk away from novels about writers struggling with their writing. However, this book was much more than the protagonist's writing struggles: it heavily relied on childhood trauma and abuse themes. Sadly, the author did not handle these crucial issues with the nuance and, mostly, the respect they deserve.

One of the most rage-inducing storylines in this novel is how rape is treated in such a blase and trivial way. There are many scenes where the abuse is palpable, proven, and impossible to deny: yet the victim, decades later, chooses to downplay her own trauma, forgive her abuser without pursuing any sort of consequence for him, and let bygones be bygones. If that isn't a terrible and almost unforgivable example for real abuse victims, I don't know what is.

The victim is, in fact, more worried about how her abuser perceives the fictional character she created inspired by him, than the actual abuse itself, and even what the abuser's family might think of her if the 'secret' comes out to light. The protagonist invests a lot of time justifying the abuse, but not as a reflection of how victims might process abuse by denying the facts: just as a tool to move forward the plot, to the point when she finds in her heart that she can forgive him.

I always try to be respectful in my critical analysis of a text. Still, in good conscience, I cannot avoid acknowledging that the author handled the abuse theme in a disgusting and utterly disrespectful way.

Apart from this massive issue, there was no substance whatsoever in this novel. The characters are one-dimensional, the romance eye-rolling inducing and impossible to believe, and the author handled the mystery elements very poorly.

Overall, The Girl Who Could Breath Underwater is a novel I wish I had not read. I do not recommend it, at all.

I didn’t reaiize this was supposed to be a Christian book. Maybe it is a cross over? I thought the storyline was solid if a little bit done=-how many books are there where someone returns to a cabin to confront their past? More than there are cabins! But it was okay. I felt like the details were supposed to be shocking but I thought it was a little predictable.

I really enjoyed the overall premise of this story and Bartels is always a terrific, engaging writer. This wasn't my favorite of hers, but it was an interesting and intriguing read just the same. Looking forward to what she will put out next <3

Thanks to NetGalley & Revell Publishers for a gifted digital copy. All comments and opinions are my own.

Beautiful writing and a bittersweet story that takes place during one summer on a small lake in Michigan. The expressive writing reminded me of the water and wildlife described in Where The Crawdads Sing. This novel also focuses on a young woman, a first love and her early sexual experiences. But that's where the book diverges into a different story.

Twenty-six year-old Kendra has written a well-received debut novel inspired by her own experiences. She has come to her late grandfather's lake cabin to write her second book without distractions, but has writer's block due to a letter from A Very Disappointed Reader. Hoping to discover who the letter writer is and complete the novel which has an impending deadline, Kendra is also determined to get answers while facing her past.

On one level this is a novel about friendship and its dissolution. As the novel progresses, mysteries are disclosed when Kendra learns truths about her family and her origins. Bartel tells the story from Kenda's perspective, often with Kendra talking to her missing girlhood friend Cami.

This is a novel about telling the truth, with Kendra realizing that even fictional books are often based on the truth of the past. As she explains to her mother midway through the novel, "all fiction is based in reality. That's why we read it. That's why we write it. To process reality. To deal with all the crap that happens to us."

Though this is marketed as a Christian novel, written by a Christen writer and published by a Christian publisher, I was disappointed that there is no real hope offered by or to any of the characters. While I did appreciate the few authentic references to God scattered throughout the pages, it would have been a stronger book if the ending included a more specific spiritual resolution. At least the author does quote scripture to back up her points in her concluding "Author's Note." Nonetheless, it's a well-written, memorable story about family, forgiveness, and new beginnings.
Content warning: This story deals with sexual abuse, child molestation, and rape.
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I just finished this book and am not sure how I want to write the review. Do I talk about the different characters, or do I mention the many emotions that spilled across the pages? The story is very intricate in details with layers that have been hidden for years. To do justice to this story I have to go with my feelings and just write what I have on my heart.

The book deals with subjects that may trigger some so be cautious if you have trouble reading about suicide, sexual assault, drug abuse or child prostitution. Yes all these are in the book and I did have a hard time reading it. But I continued because I so desperately wanted to see how Kendra would deal with her own personal journey.

For victims of abuse there are many ways to hide the truth. You can forget about it and hope you never have to think about it again. For some they find talking about it helps. Kendra writes a book to try to heal from her abuse. Did it help her? I’m not sure that she found everything she hoped for but she did unravel so much more than she realized. Her emotions are raw and exposes the pain of losing her innocence while feeling ashamed for what happened.

I have zero sympathy for Tyler. Yes I know what happened to him as a child, but that should make him not want to do it to others. I have always disliked when someone says, “if you have been abused, you will probably abuse someone yourself.” That is such a horrible statement and I resent when people use that as a defense. We are not defined by our past.

The person who really grabbed my attention was Cami. She was Kendra’s best friend, yet she felt like she was invisible. Cami needed a friend who she could count on and share her secrets with. Kendra was so wrapped up in being the victim, she never realized that Cami was hurting as well. I wonder how many of us have made everything about ourselves yet forget that our story affects others? To all the Cami’s of the world, I hope you find peace, forgiveness and love.

I received a copy of this book from The Librarything Early Reader Program. The review is my own opinion.

I think Erin Bartels is an incredible writer, and her most recent book is no exception. I always struggle with Christian fiction because it feels cliche and hard to read, and while her book is published by a Christian publisher, it has themes of redemption, beauty and dealing with the hard issues without being overtly Christian or cheesy. The characters are complex, the story is well written and Bartels does an amazing job of keeping the story unpredictable and suspenseful. I would be sure to let people know the book does deal with topics of sexual abuse, so if that is a difficult topic for you, I'd skip this read. Otherwise, I recommend!

I look forward to reading this authors’ novels because of her writing style, transparency, subject matters, and the way she weaves a natural spiritual thread throughout the story. I wish the Author’s note to readers was in the front of the book. I would have been more prepared for what was going to be shared in this story. The author starts out her note by saying, “When I was nine years old, a friend’s older brother molested me …”

I had not read anything about this book, not even the back cover, before I jumped in. Not only that, I thought things were getting a little strange when the story showed teens sneaking cigarettes, smoking cigars, drinking alcohol, and a little more touching here and there than I’m used to reading. I had no idea where all this was headed. These topics were never addressed in previous book, so I was startled and wondered how far the author would take readers.

I enjoyed how insightful this author was in sharing this intimate story, with a beautiful lake backdrop, flawed characters, it’s realistic, but what was missing for me was the natural spiritual thread this author has had in her previous books.

I did enjoy the way Erin Bartels intertwined her transitions from scene to scene, with Kendra talking to her childhood best friend, who she hasn’t seen in a long time. This was a thought-provoking novel, that is tough to read in parts, but well worth your time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have received a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

The first thing to say about "The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water" by Erin Bartels is that you won't see it coming. This twisted and tense novel has the reach of an octopus, grabbing you from all directions.

Kendra Brennan escapes to her late granddad's lake cabin in hopes of completing her overdue second novel. However, instead of writing, she reflects. Who wrote an accusatory note about her first novel? Why did her childhood child Cami disappear? What really happened all those years ago on the lake? Whose story is true? The harder she looks into her past, the more Kendra fears the future.

The author has created characters etched in past pains and present fears. Readers are drawn into the stories surrounding Kendra, her estranged mother, a newcomer and a family she once considered as her own. The story is as murky as the lake's depths -- until the answers become too clear to ignore.

The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water is a very well written book. A great plot and character dynamics make this a fantastic read. Many thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

Masterfully written, this novel will reel you in and hold you enthralled as the layers of story are revealed. Highly recommended.

Writers are fueled by many things: love of language, an eagerness to explore ideas and themes, the belief that well-wrought characters and a dexterity with words will speak to others, and maybe even change the world.

Erin Bartels, author of three previous novels and a collection of short stories, brings to her fiction the love of history and place, strong personal beliefs, as well as beautifully crafted language. But in this, her latest novel, Bartels probes the very act of producing fiction, of looking back on one's life, of allowing painful experience to form plot and story.

Channeling memory, Bartels attributes a similar past experience to her main character, Kendra, also a novelist, who when the novel begins is staying in a summer house on a lake in upstate Michigan. Kendra's grandfather has recently died, her mother is estranged--the cabin on the lake providing a perfect place and time for Kendra to focus, finish her current novel.

At its beginning, THE GIRL WHO COULD BREATHE UNDER WATER acknowledges the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald:

For those I’ve failed and those I’ve forgiven   All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath. F. Scott Fitzgerald

WRITING THAT NOVEL 

Kendra knows the trajectory of her story, she just needs to tie up some loose themes, write the ending. But writer's block has set in, she now struggling with the words in a letter concerning her last novel, a letter signed by A Very Disappointed Reader. (an excerpt) Kendra, Your book, while perhaps thought “brave” in some circles, is anything but. It is the work of a selfish opportunist who was all too ready to monetize the suffering of others. Did you ever consider that antagonists have stories of their own? Or that in someone else’s story you’re the antagonist?   

It probably wouldn't have mattered what the letter said, but it does matter who wrote the letter. And this quest becomes the engine for the novel. Who wrote the letter and why. Who wants to hurt Kendra, to increase her doubts about her writing, her purpose in life, the pain that made her write novels in the first place. Being an author has saved her from an absent mother and other secrets of the past. Being able to write parts of her story has healed wounds.

Though readers of The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water are not privy to exact passages from the novel within the novel, we begin to see that this initial letter that is unsigned will haunt Kendra all summer, while she works on her newest book, takes up a friendship with a man who speaks fluent German and is translating her first novel into that language. 

Now older and successful, because of that first novel, Kendra has come back to this place of memories. She is eager to work and also enjoy the lake of her childhood. But the words of the Very Disappointed Reader haunt.

“the admiration of strangers is all you’re likely to get…It certainly won’t win you any new friends. And I’m willing to bet the old ones will steer pretty clear of you from here on out. In fact, some of them you’ll never see again." 

Such words become worse than writer's block. They prevent healing and encourage Kendra to push the memory down "under water," she being afraid to look at it, examine it and its eternal effect on her.

If Hidden Lake is a trigger, than what Kendra needs to deal with must involve the people who have also returned for the summer. In the light of sunshine and birdsong, will Kendra be able to heal, stop pushing the memory "under water", stop holding her breath? Maybe those who return to the lake are also connected to some "hidden" past. 

POETRY, PROSE and STYLE 

Bartels' writing soars, some sentences moving toward poetry.

In all our enchanted summers together on the lake, there had been more good than bad. Sweet silent morning. Long languid days. Crisp starry nights. Your brother had thrown it all out of whack, like an invasive species unleashed upon what had been a perfectly balanced ecosystem. But he hadn’t destroyed it. The good was still there, in sheltered pockets of memory I could access if I concentrated.

The novel can jolt a bit, Bartels often referring to You, as if this is a story for someone else, we are only being allowed to learn of the events. It's a stylistic device that eventually works--the YOU is Kendra's childhood friend Cami, who is not at the lake, who has disappeared. Her brother is definitely there: (Tyler would be there. Every paradise needed a serpent.) and thus we sense Kendra wants little to do with him. Once the reader adjusts to this methodology, the flow of the novel is clearer. 

It was apparent that she didn’t know that you and I hadn’t talked in eight years. That you had never told your mother about the fight we’d had, the things we’d said to each other, the ambiguous state in which we’d left our friendship. And now a woman who only talked to me when necessary was reaching out, wondering if I knew how to get in touch with you. That was the day I started planning my return to the intoxicating place where I had spent every half-naked summer of my youth—because I was sure that in order to recover you, I needed to recover us.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NOVEL   

…I was lying to myself about why I decided to finally return to Hidden Lake. Which makes perfect sense in hindsight. After all, novelists are liars.

But you know what it's like when someone attacks your writing. Criticize me about anything else - what I look like, what I drive, what my ancestors did to your ancestors- who cares? But my writing, your writing...that's the real you, isn't it? That's what is inside of you. To have it thrown back in your face is just the worst feeling in the world. 

All fiction is based in reality. That's why we read it. That's why we write it. To process reality. To deal with all the crap that happens to us.

The best fiction simply tells the truth.
But the truth is never simple.

FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH ERIN BARTELS 

Your main character is an author who wrote a novel based on her own experiences. Is any of your novel based on your experience?

Yes, though certainly not all of it. The emotions in this story are ones I've been working to process for more than three quarters of my life, and there are a few scenes that I wrote almost exactly as I remember them happening to me. But most of the story is simply extrapolated from my own experience and the experiences of a lot of women. I think every woman who reads this book will find herself somewhere within the pages.

Novels are about looking through someone else’s eyes, seeing what someone else sees when they look at the world, and realizing, perhaps for the first time, that other people are just as real and alive and hurt as you are. Erin Bartels

https://boomerhighway.org/the-girl-who-cou…athe-under-water/