Wow! What an incredible novel!
Nora, a high school English teacher, starts down a long and painful journey when she sees a floating face in front of her one afternoon at school. It is a journey that has not so much been forgotten as it’s been suppressed over the years.
Revisiting the darkness, that she buried so long ago, brings risk that she didn’t see coming. Is uncovering the truth about yourself worth loosing your family?
Anna Quinn’s novel touches on some hard topics that may be triggers to some. I, however, thought it was well written and very believable. I felt myself drawn to a lot of the characters and hoped that Nora would finally get her happy ending.
The Night Child was a quick, and enjoyable, read. Thanks to Blackstone Publishing (and NetGalley) for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Night Child

It didn’t take me long to read this book, I couldn’t put it down. It’s almost an oxymoron of a book; it’s a beautifully written prose about a not so beautiful subject.

An impacting and intense novel that will stay with you long after you’ve finished. Four stars from purplebookstand.

I liked this book because it's not your ordinary childhood drama novel. It deals with a woman's struggle, Nora, the main character, to block what happened to her in her childhood. It's cruel and harsh, but it exude compassion.

I didn't feel like I got "to know" any character very well. I wish Elizabeth, Nora's student had been focused on more. I was more interested in how the author was to present the course of Nora's therapy and her psychiatrist's intervention. I didn't find it difficult to follow the progression of the story and of the unfolding of the problem.

What intrigued me was how in a relatively short period of time Nora could go from leading a perfectly mundane life to a totally uncontrallable one. For someone interested in the going-ons of the mind and psychiatry, this is a gripping novel. Yes, gripping. I might be easily impressed, but it kept me interested until the last pages. Sure, some things were to be expected; sure, there could have been more depth of characters; but overall it was a good novel, dealing with a tough subject.

What could have been left aside were the graphic descriptions. The novel deals with child abuse and the clear depictions were, in my opinion, unnecessary, as one can get the idea of the root of the whole issue Nora is facing.

I think there was more to this novel than the mere desire to tell a story. The choice to pack so much into a short time span, the choice to set the story in Seattle in the mid 1990s are elements I don't understand, but it sets the story apart.

I wouldn't recommend this novel to just anyone, and I would certainly warn of the difficult subject matter and the graphic aspect of it.

I really wanted to like this book, but it was not as I expected. The premise is interesting, but the story itself was
not compelling. I did finish the book , but would not recommend to other avid readers.

This is the story of how the impact of traumatic childhood experiences can have on every day life. We know that olfactory, auditory and visual experiences can trigger memories and blur the lines between past and present. This story evokes hope, and the power of the mind and spirit to save itself.

I recieved this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I am not sure if anyone can say that they really loved this book because the content is hard to read, but I couldn't put it down and I really wanted to finish! The best character in my opinion was little Fiona she was so sweet. I couldn't stand Paul (the husband) and felt as though he treated Nora horribly on her road to uncover the past. This book starts with Nora seeing an apparition of a little girl and her search to find out why she is seeing her. This book is a must read for everyone even though it has triggers for abuse and rape.

NIGHT CHILD WRITTEN BY ANNA QUINN

i was utterly blown away by how Anna Quinn could take the disturbing themes of sexual child abuse, severe neglect, Alcoholism and turn them into a masterpiece of literature. This debut novel NIGHT CHILD took ten years to write. While heartbreaking and painful to read at times, I compulsively read this masterful narrative in one sitting. Nora, Margaret and David are richly constructed character development at it's ultimate best. I usually avoid books dealing with such tough subject matter and didn't realize when requesting this that the subject matter dealt with the tough issues this creative author uniquely explores.

In Anna Quinn's capable hands this book is written in stunning prose that illuminates the protagonist's Nora and Margaret's fragile psyche stemming from childhood. The events that mold and shape us psychologically early in life can be repressed and wreak havoc on us later on as an adult. This emotional story is told in vivid prose. I was captivated by how realistically Nora, Margaret and the compassionate David's character development was depicted.

Nora has been married many years to the emotionally distant Paul. They have a six year old daughter Fiona. Nora is an English teacher who one day sees a vision of a blue eyed apparition. Nora think's that she hallucinated this vision, but she sees it again and begins to question her sanity. Like peeling back the layers of an onion Nora begins to slowly uncover with her psychiatrist fragments of long repressed memories of her childhood. David is a character that I liked and admired for his empathetic style while working with Nora and Margaret. I really liked John's character. While this amazing debut may not be for everybody due to the issues it tackles, I think Author Anna Quinn handles this difficult subject matter in a highly sensitive and unique matter. I will be watching and anticipating anything she writes in the future.

A huge amount of gratitude is owed to Net Galley, the talented Anna Quinn and Blackstone for providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A child's face floats in front of you speaking only one short sentence..."Remember the Valentine's dress." You've lost your mind, surely you've gone crazy. This is what Nora believes to be the case first at her school then secondly on her holiday vacation. Little does she know this warning will awake in her more than she ever deemed possible.

Mother of a six-year-old and wife of a big time commercial realtor, Nora begins to hear and see the face of this young girl desperate to share a message. With the help of a psychiatrist, Nora uncovers happenings from her past which match with this girl's message only surfacing now as her daughter, Fiona, reaches the age in which she as a child faced the occurrences.

After a hit and run accident puts Nora in a hospital forced to face these issues, the truth must be told from her therapist to her husband and brother. How will she deal with this from a psychiatric ward of the hospital? How will her husband and brother feel once they've heard these truths? How will she help her poor little Fiona who she fears is in imminent danger?

First book under her belt, Anna does a superb job of the feels here. I was grabbed by the story and felt so compelled to finish. I wanted Nora to be a strong character and was not disappointed. Very well written.

I do hope that you read it. The writing is gripping and the pace is somewhat moderate. There is no plots of murder, or dangerous things. The Night Child is a book of painful memories, and the strength the mind has to withstand it. We might be broken, but we can still fix it, so long as we ask for it. 
To all the Nora Browns in the world, we can only use hope as our floater, and resilience to propel us out to darkness.

This book is just the reviews in the summary says, beautiful and remarkable. It kept me on the edge of my seat and left me wondering what was going to happen next. I enjoyed this book so much, but at times it could be very slow! I would give it 10/5 stars if I could!

Right off I knew this was going to be an emotional read. We are told in the description that “ a terrible secret is discovered -- a secret that pushes Nora toward an even deeper psychological breakdown .”

Nora has noticed that she’s not as happy with teaching as she used to be. It used to energize her and she felt lucky to be able to do what she did. However, now the large class sizes and government requirements have left her feeling worn-out. After class one day she suddenly feels a headache coming on but then feels like someone is whispering or breathing near her and suddenly….

“In front of her, a girl’s face, a wild numinous face with startling blue eyes, a face floating on top of shapeless drapes of purples and blues where arms and legs should have been"

When Nora locks eyes with the girl she feels a terror rush through her like she’s never felt before. But as quick as the face appeared it disappears. She tells herself she’s just tired, that it must be her imagination, that it must have been a hallucination. The next day she goes on vacation with her husband and six-year-old daughter, Fiona. She’s convinced herself that what happened was brought on by exhaustion. But then it happens again, and this time she doesn’t just see the girl’s face…she hears her voice.

“Remember the Valentine’s dress”

She feels like she’s going crazy….

Sometimes memories start to resurface when we least expect it and in ways we never would have anticipated.

“It’s the secrets that make us sick; it’s the telling that heals”

I was pulled in to the story, invested in the characters and anxious to know how things would turn out. However, this book was even more emotional than I expected. It deals with many very important issues but readers should be aware that the subject matter may be triggering for some. It's quite descriptive and I did find some parts very difficult to read.

Although I wouldn’t classify this as a suspense novel, it’s definitely an interesting psychological read about the strength and resilience of the human mind.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone publishing for an advanced copy in exchange for this review.

Nora is a high school English teacher. She's married and has a young daughter. One day after class, a face of a child suddenly appears. Nora experiences a sudden terror, and the face returns a few days later. She begins to see a psychiatrist to discover what this could mean and what secrets lay beneath seeing this little girl.

This is a quick read. Without giving too much away, it all happens so fast. The time span is over several months, and at times it feels like the story is moving faster. The book is good, but I felt like the story could have been much more had the author gone deeper. (Nora's marriage, how some secrets affected aspects of her life, the super short story line involving one of her students) I wanted more from that. The story the readers are given is good, but with some extra work, it could have been great.

I enjoyed this novel. I found it easy to connect with each of the characters. I appreciated the way 5he story was told, because it offered insights from each of the characters without getting repetitive.

Even though this book is a challenging read because of the subject matter - child abuse and sexual violence - the author masterfully highlights the main character's fragile state and the ways her mind went to protect her. It was a captivating read. Thank you to Anna Quinn for an extremely well-written novel. I would highly recommend that Night Child be on anyone's must read list.

This book was not what I expected. Nora's vision in her classroom made me think the story would be about ghosts and hauntings. Instead, it's a powerful story about Nora's own personal ghosts and her journey to process repressed memories of her childhood.

In every chapter, Nora remembers new details from her past. Her secrets come to the surface and she struggles to face the demons. I loved Nora and felt such heartache for her with each battle she faced. Anna Quinn's account gives a very real and raw insight into Nora's trauma. I also liked her psychiatrist David, her friend John and her brother James. They were well developed and they gave the story hope.

Anna Quinn's writing is excellent and flows easily through Nora's story. The content becomes difficult to read as the story unfolds, but Quinn proves exceptional at handling such a tender subject and the damage that child abuse can do to the young psyche. I was so invested in Nora that I held my breath and kept reading. I finished this in one afternoon but the story will stay with me for a long time.

Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

The synopsis of this novel is right up my alley, including the Seattle setting and the suggestions of the supernatural. However, the writing is, unfortunately, very much not what I enjoy.

From the beginning, I did not like the present tense. The characters had no development before the author expected me to identify and sympathize with their experience, and so I didn’t.

I did not read very far before determining that this novel isn’t for me, so I’m not going to do an official review on my site or goodreads, as I feel I didn’t read enough to provide a fair review.

Thank you for the opportunity.

I had high hopes for this novel and it gets off to a somewhat promising start. In terms of genre, it is somewhere between a psychological thriller and a mystery. For the first half of the book, the layers unfolded slowly and the pace kept me reading. However, once I realized what was happening, the story dropped off so abruptly, it was difficult to finish. The characters are very flat, the subject matter difficult, and ultimately it lacked the depth necessary to make it believable. The end is so abrupt and rushed it doesn't match the slow pace of the first half. Disappointing.

This is an atmospheric and chilling read. Great attention to detail from the author and a wonderful premise that definitely did not disappoint. If you enjoy a chilling read rather than scream out loud horror, you'll enjoy this book. Anna Quinn has crafted a pageturner that never hints too heavily about what is coming next and simmers gently with menace. This was a perfect Halloween read that kept me turning the pages long into the night and had me checking the landing before going upstairs to bed. Thoroughly recommended if you like chills rather than gore.

Unable to review as it is too bleak for me I'm afraid. The child abuse and alcoholism were not something I want to read about in quite so much detail and it's not a book I would recommend so I won't post a public review.

This was a powerful story about a very difficult topic. I thought the evolution was described very well. I am glad I read it but I fear it may be triggering for many.