The Words Between Us, (Paperback)

** “Isn't that how it so often is? the pastor says. “We ask God for something, he grants our request, and almost immediately we begin to fear. We fear the dangers around us, we fear the unknown, we fear he'll let us drown. We don't trust him to keep us safe. We don't trust him to follow through. And as we sink into the raging water, there are two things we can do. … We can forget about God — ignore the fact that he's standing right there, within reach — and instead flounder around on our own, trying to keep our heads above water as we slowly sink. Or … we can call out to him. And that's what Peter does. He cries out, ‘Lord save me,' and immediately Jesus reaches out to him. Immediately. He takes hold of him and says, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt? And they get into the boat … and the wind stills.” ** A love story to novels, Erin Bartels' “The Words Between Us” is also a beautiful story of loss and forgiveness. Told between two time frames — “Now” and “Then” — “The Words Between Us” tells the story of Robin Windsor, a girl struggling with her true identity. In the “Now,” her father (a former senator) is facing execution for several murders as well as a number of other charges, and her mother is also in prison for her role in helping cover up his crimes. Robin is living under a pseudonym, trying to keep her small but struggling bookstore afloat. The “Then” picks up immediately after her parents' imprisonment when 14-year-old Robin moves to a small town in Michigan to live with her grandmother. As she tries to hide her true identity, she meets Peter Flynt — a fellow teen trying to overcome his own trauma with the sudden death of his mother, a former English teacher. Robin's and Peter's relationship grows over their love of the written word — they share Peter's mom's books — until some unfortunate circumstances and misunderstandings occur, leading Robin to run away. Each timeframe's storylines blend together beautifully, building Robin's narrative of overcoming trials while searching for truth and forgiveness. Bartels does a great job of developing very real and very flawed characters. This is definitely a love story for the written word and books and the struggling bookstore. It reminds us that stories are alive and live forever and bookstores connect us to friends that won't ever fail you. But “The Words Between Us” challenges us even more deeply. It deals with struggling that we will only disappoint God (“I wish I was so sure that God looked at me with anything but fathomless disappointment”); we must stop worrying about what others think; dealing with and overcoming loss; if not careful, we can become caught in a prison of our own making; just because something is hard doesn't mean it isn't worth fighting for; and we don't need to doubt God's ability to rescue us. While providing us a beautiful story, Bartels is also a beautifully descriptive writer, with passages like “The spine (of the book) crackles and the sweet perfume of time drifts up to my nose. The lines slip under my eyes like a mother duck and her brood slipping down the river.” This book is a pure delight! Five stars out of five. Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, provided this complimentary copy for my honest, unbiased review.

This is such a special story and perhaps the title tells it all....the words between us can't express just how much I enjoyed it. Erin Bartels has been able to capture the feelings of Robin Windsor as both the young girl hiding from the shame of a father convicted of a horrible crime and as the young woman who has tried to create an adult life based on anonymity. Robin was just a young teen when her father's crime was discovered and she was sent to live with her grandmother, but she had to pretend that they were distantly related. Her fear of being discovered left Robin avoiding people and she found solace in her love of books and the power of words. She did experience friendship with Peter, a neighbor boy, and eventually confided in him but their friendship was shattered when she believed that he had told her secret. Now, the adult Robin continues to find comfort in books and her bookstore until she discovers that there was more to her father's crime and her mother's involvement. Seeking to unravel the mystery surrounding it and to discover who is sending her books through the mail, Robin is forced to rethink her past and her present. The Words Between Us is told alternately as "Then' and 'Now' and it is evident that Robin carries so much of her 'Then' into 'Now'; children often carry the stigma associated with the actions of their parents. Some readers may think this is a sad story but I found it to be uplifting because in the end, it is a testament to the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit. I received a copy of this book from the publisher but I am voluntarily sharing this review. These are my own thoughts.