A story of redemption and renewal and a story of an unlikely friendship between an African-American preacher's wife and an Amish wife. Delilah and Malachi move to Pennsylvania with their remaining children for a new start after losing their son, Carver in Alabama. Delilah blames her daughter, Sparrow, for Carver's death. Emma, an Amish wife, is harboring more than one secret from the Amish community and from her husband. Sparrow, feeling no love from her mother, ends up spending a lot of time at Emma's house and Emma becomes like a surrogate mother to her.

This story is tangled with emotions of grief, social issues, secrets, and difficult decisions. It does become a little preachy at times, but all in all a good story.

Thanks to Elizabeth Byler Younts and Thomas Nelson -- FICTION through Netgalley for an advance copy.

This is an unforgettable read....full of heartbreak and hope. Written beautifully. Immerse yourself in it. You will be glad that you did.

Heartbreaking, beautiful, and hopeful. This beautifully written historical fiction novel shares the story of two women from very different backgrounds who find hidden pain that connects them both. This will go on my list of favorite books for 2018. Amazing book!

It’s not often that a book sets me back on my heels and makes me really think the way The Solace of Water did. The story starts in the summer of 1956 as Delilah and Malachi Evans set out with their four kids on a journey to their new home in Pennsylvania. Delilah, who describes herself as having skin ‘the same color as the soil,’ resents the move away from friends and family. She especially resents leaving the fresh grave of her young son.

Emma Mullet, mother to Johnny and wife to John, has the soul of a poet trapped in the work-worn body of an Amish woman. She, too, carries sorrows and secrets that weigh her down. When she finds young George Evans lost in the woods near her house, she returns him to his home and her life changes as the fate of the two families intersects in an odd friendship.

Sparrow Evans, eldest daughter of Delilah and Malachi, hates herself and feels responsible for her little brother’s death. She doesn’t just know she’s responsible—her mother tells her that it’s her fault her brother died. Her mother’s grief changes her in profound ways that Sparrow cannot understand or cope with.

Although told in the present, the narrators keep poking sticks at the wounds in each character’s past, drawing the reader in to their present pain. Multi-generational points of view keep the narrative fresh and accessible to readers of all ages (teen and up).

This is a book to buy and place on my ‘read it again’ shelf. If I really like someone, I’d probably let them borrow it.

THE SOLACE OF WATER by ELIZABETH YOUNTS takes place in Pennsylvania in 1956 when racial tensions were running very high in America. In the story we see interaction between an Amish family on the one hand, and a black family on the other, living in a community divided between Amish, "Englishers" and African Americans. Although there are no signs up, as there are in the South, there is still segregation between White and Black.
Malachi and Delilah Evans and their family move to Sinking Creek, where Malachi is to pastor a church, in the hope of starting afresh after losing their young son, Carver.
Delilah, or Deedee as she is called, holds her fourteen year old daughter, Sparrow, responsible for Carver's death. We see how grief takes hold of Deedee to the extent that she really cannot function properly, how she blames Sparrow relentlessly and how her unkindness leads Sparrow, who feels very guilty for not looking after her little brother, to feel unloved and worthless.
Emma Mullet, the wife of an Amish head deacon, also has a great sadness - she cannot get over losing her little daughter. She is lonely and has a hard time covering up her own secret and that of her husband, John. Their son, Johnny, is friends with the wrong crowd and Emma is afraid for her him.
These two unlikely women, unable to get on with the women in their own communities, are drawn to one another. We see their friendship growing, even as they battle to hold to the traditions of their very different churches.
Emma and Sparrow become very close. Emma sees Sparrow as her own daughter and gives her the affection that she has not received from her mother since Carver's drowning. Deedee gives Emma the affection she craves as well.
The pond on Emma's property, and water in general, play a big part in the story. As we see Emma, Deedee and Johnny helping to clean people up and put ointment on their wounds, we are reminded of how the Lord takes us, battered and filthy as we are, washes us clean, and restores us to life in Him.
The story is beautifully told and we really get insight into the struggles that the characters are going through. It is a story of friendship, forgiveness, restoration, accountability, family relationships, making the right choices and the importance of being real and honest with one another.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to the publisher, Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Elizabeth Byler Younts novel in exchange for my honest review.

Initially, I was immediately drawn to the story of Delilah Evans an African American preacher's wife grieving for the loss of her little boy. Hoping to give the family a fresh start, the family moves from Alabama to Amish county, Pennsylvania. However for daughter Sparrow and her mother nothing can erase the accident that caused the death of Carver.

Sparrow takes to inflicting self harm and her mother's icy demeanor only adds fuel to the pain. Soon the family meets their Amish neighbor Emma, who is harboring deep secrets of her own.Emma recognizes the deep pain in lonely Sparrow and offers her a source of comfort.

It was halfway through this story, where I began to lose interest. The tone of the novel switched from historical fiction, coming of age saga to a religious preachy tome of forgiveness, rebirth and renewal. I was feeling an overtly Christian message, which left me feeling uncomfortable.
Perhaps, this novel should have been marked as Christian Fiction, which would appeal to other readers.

I was excited to read this book as it looked very promising and while it was well written I found the book to be overall depressing and gloomy. I didn't really connect with any of the characters and found the whole premise to be so heartbreaking with not enough resolution and happiness at the end.
If you are up for a sadder story then it is a decent read, but be prepared for heartbreak!