Whispering Through Water by Rebecca Wheeler Book Review

About the Book:

The coming-of-age story follows Gwyn Madison, the summer after her high school graduation, as she grapples with her fast-approaching future. She’ll have to face more than she bargained for with her Aunt Delia, the family matriarch, who holds the purse strings and the final word. In the meantime, Gwyn stumbles upon a tightly held family secret. Could a mysterious letter provide Gwyn the leverage she desires? Will it only bring more family division? Or, maybe, the past was never meant to stay buried after all. Whispering Through Water navigates family dynamics, young love, and female autonomy with a little 1990s nostalgia.

• Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C
• ISBN-10: 1957656052
• ISBN-13: 978-1957656052
• ASIN: ‎B0BCCW8T54
• Print length: 265 pages

Purchase a copy of Whispering Through Water on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add this to your GoodReads reading list.

My Review:

This is a good young adult, coming of age story. Gwyn is a delightful character. She has an independent spirit in the midst of a controlling situation, dressing in her own way and fighting for her future. Yet she is quick to admit wrong when she becomes aware of it.

Her situation is shown by my favorite quote in the book. Gwyn thinks, “I hoped the price of becoming an adult wasn't letting go of your passions for what the world deemed the more appropriate choice.” (26,27) Other issues are covered in this novel too, such as family secrets, shame, relationship to parents, young love, and doing penance for wrong.

The novel is well written. This adult reader was engaged in the story and I think young readers will be too. I was a little uncomfortable with the intensity of the physical touch involved with the young love but was happy to see it was controlled. There is a reader's discussion guide is available so this would be a good selection for a teen book group.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

GIVEAWAY

You can read reviews by others on this tour and enter to win a copy at 

https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/2023/01/whispering-through-water-by-rebecca.html

About the Author:

Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler was raised in West Point, a small town in the Tidewater region of Virginia. From the moment she submitted her first short story to a young author’s contest in second grade, Rebecca knew she wanted to be a writer. Her love of writing led her to earn a BA in English and an MEd in English education. She spent several years as a high school teacher, during which she also developed a passion for mental health advocacy. Rebecca completed an MA in professional counseling and now works in the school-based mental health field and as a college adjunct psychology instructor. Rebecca also teaches yoga for the young and the young at heart, and she likes to infuse yoga and breathwork in her counseling practice wherever she can.

She believes the most valuable use of her time is teaching youth how to love and care for each other and the world around them. Her stories share her focus on positive relationships and a love of nature. Rebecca now lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and two spoiled Siamese cats.

Whispering Through Water is her first YA novel and second book. Her picture book When Daddy Shows Me the Sky was released November 2021. You can follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccawwheeler_author and www.rebeccawwheeler.com..

Monarch Educational Services LLC, 265 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Women on Writing. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by Women on Writing.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)