A very well written, thought provoking book written from the perspective of a woman whose sister has committed suicide. The author cleverly weaves past and present together. There are no easy answers in this book, just a realistic look at life. This would be a good book club read. ( )

NCLA Review - Abigail Bennett, a successful thirty-something accountant lives a seemingly perfect life. Her life fragments when her younger sister Hailey commits suicide. Unable to cope, travels to British Columbia to confront Hailey’s boyfriend. But Abigail can only receive peace by turning to God who can provide the forgiveness and closure that she seeks. The story line contains two rotating subplots: the present with Abigail in Canada, and the past as she and her dysfunctional family relations unfold. Nicole Baart provides a poignant look at how mental illness takes its toll on an entire family. Here is a gripping fictional account of mental illness, of emotional risks of relationship, exploring the costs of regret, the desire for revenge, and the redemptive power of forgiveness. The Moment Between is a heart-wrenching and moving story not to be missed. A reading group guide is included. Rating: 4 —MF ( )

Though there were some aspects of this book I appreciated, notably the interweaving of the present narrative and the past narrative (with the past finally catching up to the present by the end), the novel seemed heavy and tedious overall. The themes are heavy, and by this very fact, it makes sense that the novel could legitimately be heavy. But I mean heavy more in the sense of a slow read made slow not because of wanting to savour the characters and experience of reading, but just of seeming to go on longer than necessary, especially in the beginning.

This is a story told mostly, but not exclusively, from Abigail's perspective. It's the story about a dysfunctional, nuclear family and Abby's role within it. It's especially the story of Abigail's experience in being a sister to Hailey, a difficult child from the start who, it turns out, is suffering from various psychological ailments, including bipolar disorder.

SPOILER ALERT: THE REMAINDER OF THIS REVIEW MAY GIVE AWAY MORE OF THE PLOT THAN SOME POTENTIAL READERS CARE TO KNOW

The trigger for Abigail's story is her finding sister's body, dead, in a bathtub, succumbed to self-inflicted cuts. Her reaction becomes of one of wanting to hold someone accountable and deciding to blame Hailey's boyfriend, Tyler (in addition to herself), who Abby sets out to find...and, it seems, kill.

The strength of Abigail's desire for revenge in the truest sense of an "eye for an eye" didn't ring true to me. As she found Tyler and got to know him, I expected that her want for vengeance would become a want for understanding, that she would come to question him and seek to better understand the last days of her sister's life. Instead, Abigail eventually finds herself with a gun pointed at Tyler and, apparently, a real possibility of pulling the trigger, something that seemed entirely implausible to me.

I felt I could relate to and understand Abby in many ways, but certainly not in her being able to point a gun at Tyler in an scene premeditated over the course of months.

One aspect I was fascinated with was the father's perspective, which was presented early on. Lou had only a grudging acceptance of his first daughter but an immediate, resonating love for his second child. I suspect this happens more often than parents let on, and I would have liked to read more from his perspective as the novel went on, but his point of view was dropped and not picked up again.

I felt the same way but not to the same degree about, Melody, the mother. In her case, it wasn't see much her perspective or thoughts I would have liked to have pursued more, but the impact of her death on her daughters. How did Hailey, especially, deal with the loss of her mother, over the longer term? Did it contribute to her demise?

In the end, Abigail is left as the only living member of this nuclear family. Her loss and grief, to me, seem broader than that related to her sister. Quite a tragic ending, but her life goes on. ( )

It is hard to review a book that you don't understand. I read the first 75 pages. I had trouble following the story line. I am not dumb or learning impaired. I just found this difficult and unenjoyable to follow. So after 75 pages I sadly put it down. I don't like to do that and usually finish anyway. This was too difficult. ( )

I thought this book was really, really good. But, the religious/Christian twist at the end really threw me. I'm not all that religious and if it had been listed as Christian fiction, I probably would not have read it. Most of the book was not overtly Christian fiction until the very end. I would have liked an ending that was some kind of resolution rather than faith being her salvation. ( )