I couldn’t put this book down. Does the worst thing you have ever done define you? Should people who have taken a life be forgiven? These are important questions that are explored. I loved the characters with all their faults and loved watching them grow. I highly recommend this book.

In the debut novel Penitence, author Kristin Koval weaves an emotionally complex story of tragedy, forgiveness, and redemption.

Two families are linked together from a series of tragic events, and they are forced to confront their shared pasts and guilt, seeking forgiveness and redemption.

Angie DeLuca and Julian Dumont were high school sweethearts in Lodgepole, Colorado. When a tragic accident occurs on the ski slopes, their families decide to separate them. They carry the guilt of the accident with them through the years, and the secret that they were still together away from their families while living in New York City. Dealing with their shared past along with a series of issues: Julian's drinking and his preoccupation with his law career, eventually drove Angie to leave Julian and return home in September 2001. Fast-forward to October 2016, another tragic event brings Angie and Julian back together, not only to deal with the tragic murder in Angie's family, but also to deal with unresolved issues from their shared past: long-held secrets, guilt, and betrayal, in order to seek forgiveness and redemption.

In Penitence, author Kristin Koval weaves a gut-wrenching tale that engages the readers to follow along as Angie and Julian's story unfolds with a strong emotional pull. There is plenty of drama, long-held secrets, trials and tribulations, life challenges, and unresolved family issues that they are forced to face. The story is told in the alternating past and present timeline, and the reader is taken on an emotional roller coaster ride and will experience the full gamut of emotions as both tragic events unfold, and how it effects Angie, Julian, and their families. You can't help but feel for them as the trauma of their past resurfaces, and how they must resolve it with a hope for true forgiveness and redemption.

Penitence is a compelling story of forgiveness, especially when people deal with loss, grief, guilt, and long-held secrets.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of the book from the author / publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I also purchased a hardcover copy from my monthly subscription to Book Of The Month.

https://jerseygirlbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/03/penitence-by-kristin-koval-book-review.html

I'm surprised by some of the lower ratings for this novel. I found it pretty profound, raising important questions about juvenile crime, the impact of crime within a family, and the juvenile justice system as a whole. Most importantly, about half way through the novel, I thought it was moving toward a neat and tidy ending that would make things seem a little better. It did not, earning loads of respect. In my opinion, this is well worth your time. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

This family drama fueled legal thriller reminded me a lot of Angie Kim’s books (one of my current favorite authors). Koval has experience as a lawyer and it was interesting following the case of 13-year-old Nora being charged with shooting her brother. However, I feel like this book focused more on the drama between the family as a result of the event and their history instead of the case at hand - so the legal aspect kinda took a backseat. It missed the mark on a few things but overall i was pretty interested in how the story played out.

It begins with a moment that shatters everything: 13-year-old Nora confesses to shooting her older brother Nico. From there, the story spirals into grief, guilt, and the impossible question—why? But Penitence isn’t just about that moment. It’s about the complicated love between parents and children, the mistakes that echo through generations, and the people we become when we’re forced to face the past.

As the Sheehan family struggles to hold together, old connections resurface—most notably through Martine, the local attorney pulled into the case, and her son Julian, a big-city lawyer with deep ties to Angie Sheehan. The story weaves between timelines, slowly revealing how the past never really stays buried, and how forgiveness, in all its messiness, might be the only way forward.

Koval’s writing is tender and intimate, even when the emotions are sharp. She gives space to every heartbreak, every small hope, and every question that doesn’t have a neat answer.

What a fantastic debut!! All the stars!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to pick this up a few times and just found myself reaching to do other things instead. I was intrigued with the first 1/4 and really enjoyed the writing but then the story quickly started to lose me.

In the opening pages of this novel, we learn that thirteen-year-old Nora has murdered her fourteen-year-old brother, Nico, and has been arrested. Nora won’t speak or explain her actions. Angie and David, her parents, enlist the help of the town lawyer, who realizes she is out of her depth with this case. She eventually brings in her son Julian, a powerful criminal attorney and Angie's ex, to help in Nora’s defense.

The story is slow-paced, but that does not stop the author from fleshing out the characters and really digging into deep topics such as guilt, grief, and how to love one child when they are responsible for killing your other child. So much of the story ties back to the death of Angie’s sister, Diana. That one life-changing incident had lasting effects on the way Angie and Julian ultimately dealt with Nora’s case and Nora herself. I really enjoyed this one and look forward to Koval's future novels.

I had heard good things about Penitance, but I was not prepared for just how moving a story it would be. A chilling mystery about a family dealing with the absolute worst thing happening, it held me in its grip from the first page to the last. Highly recommend this one.

Thérèse Plummer did an excellent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Kristin Koval, Celadon Books, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

"A mother is supposed to love her daughter, but Angie tingles with fury at Nora, a fury she's not sure she could control in person. A fury that might dip into hate."

This is a book unlike most I've ever read. It delves deep into the feelings a parent has towards their children. What happens to those feelings when one child hurts the other? How do you reconcile that and how does it affect the marriage surrounding those children?
The writing in this book was excellent - it made me think, made me connect, and made me feel. I have no idea what I would do if my child hurt someone close to me, let alone their sibling. And Nora was only 13 - how would her treatment in the legal system affect her long term?
There are so many things to unpack in this book and it has a twist, which I had mostly figured out, but that did not affect how I felt about the book. With the subject obviously, there are some political issues wrapped up in this story, but I did not feel like they were too heavy-handed. Overall, this book was a very good character study of a family in crisis and the legal system they have to navigate while also trying to save their own lives.

Thank you to Celadon Books and Net Galley for the advanced digital copy of this book.

How could you possibly kill your brother? Especially when you are a teenaged girl? Are you jealous that he was more talented? Did you want to spare him the suffering that comes with Huntington’s? Nora, by all accounts, loved her brother Nico. But it is her voice on the 9-1-1 call saying she shot her brother. This book has excellent word pictures and character development. It is bleak, and dark. The struggle for two parents to figure out what happened, were they to blame, is all too real. Martine their lawyer and her son Julian, a juvenile defense lawyer, find answer while dealing with their personal relationships with Nora’s parents, Angie and David. Angie and Julien have a shared past. There are no easy answers in this book. This would be great for book club. Put it in your beach bag so you can just look at the water and think about it. Read this and thank me later

How is this a debut?!? This book is stunning in so many ways. The writing is phenomenal with steady pacing, graphic details and complex characters. The story brought out so many emotions along the twists and turns of these two families. An obvious hand-sell for fans of Jodi Picoult.
My only critique would be the number of characters and their relationships that caused some confusion in the beginning. I actually drew out a family tree to get everyone sorted.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a free copy of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion!

I honestly walked out of reading this novel with some of the same questions I went in with, which was honestly a bit frustrating. That being said, this was still a five star read for me. I love books with multiple timelines, unreliable narrators, and different POVs. This book had all of that and so much more; Julian and his mother were my favorite characters in this book, I was so grateful for their relationship and the way they were just so REAL. Kristin Koval so obviously put so much time and effort into creating this amazing book and I look forward to reading more by her!

This novel the emotions of guilt, love, and redemption after an unthinkable family tragedy. The writing is impossible to put down. While the subject matter was heavy, I found it to be a powerful read that lingers long after the final page.

Penitence is a good debut drama set in a small town in Colorado. There are some strong topics packed into this book such as mental health, gun control and child death. In the very beginning the book starts strong when there’s a shocking shooting that turns the life of a family upside down. The story to me is a slow burn with dual timelines making it easy to understand the backstory of the characters. There’s a lot of shame, guilt, loss, and love packed into this book. I think it was a little slow and by the end I still felt I didn’t have all the answers I wanted which landed me at a three star read. I would recommend to a target audience.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon for the ARC.

4 1/2

Imagine your teenage daughter kills your teenage son. What is your first reaction? Mourn your son, of course. Exclude your daughter from your life, pretend she doesn’t exist, ignore her, ignore her, ignore her, and leave your husband to the task of mourning both children? The dead one and the living one, at a juvenile facility. And then your husband will contact the mother of your first love to defend your daughter, regardless of your wishes, forcing you to come to terms with emotions and secrets you’ve kept hidden. Years of bad decisions and avoidance come to a head impacting everyone in Kristin Koval’s Penitence.

Penitence is an engrossing character-driven novel that considers how far people will go to control other people’s lives, the secrets that are kept, and how things can still go awry.

For much of the novel Angie is a self-absorbed person, which results in her not being particularly likeable. As events transpire she begins to see things more clearly, perhaps even how her own actions have contributed to outcomes. At the end, it seems she might have had an epiphany.

On the flipside we have Angie’s daughter, Nora, a teenager with an artist’s sensitivity. It’s through her eyes that we see a justice system that doesn’t work. How a young girl can be at the hands of a man’s political inclinations. And how people stop being people but rather cogs in a revolving system.

Despite the novel seemingly being about Penitence, it is also very much about control. Parents try to control their children. People try to control narratives, and then outcomes. But perhaps the obvious conclusion is that control doesn’t exist. Not when other people can still behave in any way that they see fit.

While the characters, storyline, and writing were all well done, I had the niggling expectation of a twist, something major that I would find unexpected. A reason. There was a twist, of sorts, but not unexpected to the reader, or at least this reader. Was my expectation inherent to the novel or rather one based on so much prior reading in which satisfaction can only be achieved by the big reveal? Perhaps that little tinge of dissatisfaction is on me. Perhaps I have fallen into the pit of needing a larger spoon being fed to me. It’s something I will consider.

Penitence is for anyone who enjoys thoughtful, unflinching literary novels.

Many thanks to Celadon Books for sending me a copy.

Penitence was absolutley heartbreaking to read. What happens when one sibling murders another, but the motive is not clear? Penitence explores that. While at times the story was a bit slow to read, as soon as I started to lose interest, something would happen that kept me reading. I am happy that I stuck with is because the ending was worth it.

A heartbreaking debut novel about 13 year old Nora who shoots her 14 year old brother. Kristin Koval explores multi-layered family relationships, small town dynamics, the justice system and guilt/forgiveness. This is a great read!

The book opens with a murder, Angie and David, desperate to protect the family turn to small town lawyer Martine. However Martine is unprepared to take on a case if this magnitude and asks her son Julian to help them. Highschool sweethearts Angie and Julian find themselves back in each other's lives, each having to come to terms with their shared guilt stemming from a tragic accident from their teenage years.

This dual timeline story follows Angie and Julian in the days and years following the accident, to Julian helping Angie with her legal battle.

This book was definitely a slow burn, and while I did enjoy both sides of the story, I found the ending to be a little lacking.
While I'm all for an open ended ending this one left a little too many questions for me.

But while the ending missed the mark (for me) this book is definitely worth a read. I will definitely keep my eye out for more from this author.

There isn't too much mystery here, and I agree with some other reviewers that this is billed incorrectly. The narrator was excellent, one of the most expressive I've heard. But the story was redundant. I think this would've gone better as a short story or novella, as by halfway through I felt the author was really beating us over the head with Angela's feelings. A bit more look into the other characters or more plot would've been helpful.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I had high hopes for this book, but it unfortunately took a different turn than I expected. It was an interesting concept and definitely made me question things ive never thought about before. I love a full resolution and answer at the end of a novel and this was left open ended. I wish there was more of a concrete answer to why certain things happened. I really enjoyed one of the twists toward the end tho! That I did not see coming