Kendra grew up spending glorious summers at Hidden Lake with her grandfather, and her best friend Cami. Years have passed since she's been to the cabin; she has published a novel, her grandfather has passed away, and nobody has heard from Cami in too long. She returns with questions, and the answers may be harder than anyone expected.

This novel left me feeling conflicted. There were much harder topics broached than the description hinted at - topics that may catch readers off guard. But necessary topics to be discussed. Kendra's past that she tries to reconcile in her heart and mind, the topics that she wrote about in her book with thinly disguised characters, while shocking, are handled well in the writing. Kendra doesn't brush them aside. She doesn't immediately feel healed. Her relationships are not immediately hunky dory. She struggles with her own role in what happened to her, and whether she could have prevented any of it. She struggles with forgiveness.

While all of these struggles were more realistic maybe than other novels have attempted, as a Christian-published novel, I would have liked to have seen more hope, or counseling, or growth. It doesn't need to wrap up neatly, because real life isn't like that, but there seemed to be no resources outside of Kendra's own strength and resolve to move forward.

I give this book 3 stars; I can't fault the writing, but it was not really my cup of tea, and the description led me to expect a very different book.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

We follow Kendra as she begins her stay at her newly inherited cabin on a lake in Michigan. This young woman has recently gained fame for her first novel, and she is hurting from a letter she received from an unhappy fan.

As she goes about trying to find the letter writer, she talks in her mind to her estranged childhood friend Cami, who is also missing.

This book quickly became a page turner looking for answers, and finding out what Kendra and her neighbor's books are about. There are some surprises, some very dark happenings, and then there are answers of long unanswered questions.

The author also gifts us with a possible love interest, and I loved the character of "Andy"!

Come and journey for a summer of rememberance, and a road to forgiveness and peace.

I received this book through LibraryThing and the Publisher Revell, and was not required to give a positive review.

Erin Bartels is a new author to me, but I intend to read whatever she writes, hereafter. The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water are the reflections of a coming-of-age story that touched me deeply. A brave, albeit realistically awkward journey to forgiveness for the unforgiveable and the perspective that comes with it.

The story begins with novelist Kendra Brennon’s return to her childhood retreat—her late grandfather’s lakeside cabin—where her wounds took place. Wounds which were reopened in her bestselling novel. She’s on deadline to finish her second book but is creatively paralyzed by a letter from a “Disappointed Reader.”

As she delves into the possible reasons for her critic’s cryptic words, she analyzes her book—which is more than loosely based on her past. Her investigation “rocks the boat” for herself and her best friend Cami and her family. She mucks up her idyllic childhood with dark memories she can no longer hide.

Bartels’ writing flows like a gentle lake current, then churns and overpowers with her stormy revelations. Her story rocked the boat of my own past.

A gifted writer will not eliminate the darkness of life but will define its boundaries with the Light of God.
If you want a book that is beautifully and poignantly written with literary fingers that grab for the gut, The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water is a highly recommended read.

I was given an advanced reader’s e-book by Revell and #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.