When faced with trauma, how would you react?
Would you survive, succumb, or lose yourself to your own meaning of justice?
Ann was only seventeen when she died. She tried to be a dutiful daughter, to pray, to repent. But it wasn’t enough. Her mother, Diane, didn’t mean to kill her but when she found Ann consorting with devils, she had no choice. She believed the angels—that in the end, the water would save them both.
But every choice holds weight.
One death, and Arthur is thrown back into the work he wanted to leave. One death, and Richard must face the reality of his choices. One death, and Maddie and Marie are confronted with the hardest parts of love.
If only good intentions were enough to keep them from the carnage of their own decisions . . .
A dark contemporary fiction drenched in blood, this debut novel from H. Noah has an intricate true crime feeling with psychological depth.
Content Warning
The following book centers around processing trauma. Please be aware that it will touch upon such topics as violence, sexual assault (not overly descriptive), racism, microaggressions, misogyny, incest, and homophobia. This book also focuses on mental health and will cover depression, anxiety, PTSD, suicidal ideation, hearing voices, religious fixations, delusions, self-harm, and drug abuse.
This book is dark due to the topics covered. This is not a horror or thriller meant to scare you. Please be kind to yourself and put the book back if you are not in a good place to read any of the things mentioned above.
Quarter Finalist
Plot/Idea: 10 out of 10
Originality: 10 out of 10
Prose: 9 out of 10
Character/Execution: 10 out of 10
Overall: 9.75 out of 10
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Noah has crafted a complex and nuanced storyline that introduces readers to a dark world. The plot is grim and surprising, taking readers and characters in unexpected directions.
Prose: Noah is a strong writer, able to gain and hold the reader's interest through well-defined characters and a tense, albeit bleak, storyline. Equally strong is the commanding dialogue, description, and action.
Originality: Bluebird At My Window is exceptional—the story's premise is profoundly meaningful while still maintaining a level of suspense, and the memorable characters lend weight to the book's originality.
Character Development/Execution: Characterization is a central component to the novel's success. Readers will experience Diane's mania and Art's malaise right alongside them, thanks to Noah's attention to detail and rich descriptions.
Date Submitted: August 26, 2022