This book had immense potential going in. The mother clearly had something going on in her mind, but at times I thought maybe we were actually going to veer into the supernatural. Essentially four things happen in the book, and the rest is reactionary. Which normally I wouldn’t mind, but I feel like there was no follow through on some things that were teased. I couldn’t understand why we continued to have POV’s for the mother once she was no longer important. There were a couple instances where it was pointed out that Art had tremors that had started previous to one of the events, so I assumed that was going to be relevant later. However, we never learn why that was important to note. Be that as it may, I did love the way the trauma was felt in this book. Marie and Maddie were two amazingly written characters. Both were incredibly human and easy to empathize with. Their “have to” communication was beautiful and something I think more couples should use. For me, this was a 3/5.

If you like books that show how trauma and stress can affect people and their relationships, this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

'I'm not me anymore.'

(4.5) When a woman commits an unspeakable crime, convinced her daughter is possessed by the devil, it sets off a chain of events connecting her family with the detectives assigned to the case, examining how no one remains untouched by the legacy of trauma and violence.

Bluebird At My Window unfolds gradually, and I found it staggering how my empathy/sympathy shifted for certain characters as the story went on. It was truly impressive how H. Noah managed to hook the claws of one character in particular into me, and I couldn't let her go. Arthur, the detective driven to the edge by justice for a child he couldn't save, resonated with me deeply, particularly in parallel with Marie, who experiences her own trauma and must live with the fallout of that, supported by her girlfriend Maddie. Towards the climax and finale of the novel, where Marie and Maddie's storyline comes to the fore, I was struck by how actuely apt so many of the lines were to my own feelings and experiences.

This novel truly grew on me as I delved deeper and deeper into the story. At first, I wasn't too sure how I would feel about it, because there were a few too many point of view characters for my personal tastes. I still feel more time could have been given to character development if there were less narrators. However, that is my only slight criticism. Otherwise, I am full of praise for this novel. It may be difficult for some to read at times, and the author provides content warnings, but I also think it is a powerful and necessary read. The characters' stories, and particularly Marie, will stay with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free eARC of Bluebird At My Window. These opinions are my own.

If you’ve been looking for a story that is completely character-driven and that examines the different paths one chooses to deal with their trauma, then you’re in the right place!
Here’s something Bluebird At My Window showed that I absolutely loved. The conflicting everything. Someone can be simultaneously toxic and good. They can deal with their trauma while harming their loved ones and their loved ones are allowed to want to protect themselves while still think they’re being selfish for that, and all this conflict adds depth to the characters. Even the side characters.
Ok let’s go to the chapter formatting because that was *chef’s kiss* especially the way the formatting showed each characters mental state and how the formatting changes as their stories progresses.
And last but not least, the amount of validity in this book. You’re still valid if you want to put you first, and you’re still valid if you think you’re weak, and your emotions are still valid and everything is valid and I loved that. (A bit spoilery since I’ll mention a small tiny event in this part so skip it if you want: there’s even a teenage kid going through a breakup and he’s just a side character but his dad told him his feelings are valid and I absolutely loved that! We often see in media that teenagers’ feelings aren’t valid because they “haven’t gone through tougher stuff yet” and this book calls bullshit on every single one of these stereotypes)
And I know this review is a bit longer than my usual ones but NOTHING can encompass the amount of feelings in this book. And the way we see different characters deal with trauma differently and choose different paths, and the way anyone could choose these paths and that these paths aren’t linear or obvious. And the symbolism 10/10 (yes I had to ask the author about the symbolism because I can’t pick up on symbolism even if my life depended on it, but I had a vague idea about there being symbolism so, that counts)