The Hidden Side by Heidi Chiavaroli

If you are looking for a fiction book that isn't just full of boy meets girl, they have a fight, make up and then live happily ever after, this is the book for you.  This is Heidi's second book she's written and it's even better than her first one and I enjoyed her first book, "Freedom's Ring".

This book takes a very tough subject, school shootings, and, while it's all fiction, to me it helps me to see the shooter and their family in a different light. It also flashes back to the Culper Spy Ring that was in action during the Revolutionary War by following the fictional character of Mercy Howard, who was part of that ring.

First, let me say, that the theme of the book, what all the main characters were finding was a hiding place in God. They were recognizing how much they needed God to get them through the tough situations they were in, whether it was dealing with being in an enemy's prison ship or dealing with the consequences and wrong choices of a son and brother, they clung to God for their lifeline. Not to start with, but that is how they ended up.

"I released a sigh at the immense relief of my spirit, convinced now it was entirely a work of God and not just my imaginings. He had waited for me, patiently. He had used this broken time in my life to pursue me. To give me a mercy I didn't deserve."

Chris, the brother, who still desperately needed Jesus when the book ended, was found to be a very troubled young man. Plagued by an undiagnosed mental health disorder, some substance abuse and other things, yet it was inexcusable what he did. I feel I'm already giving too much of a spoiler so I don't want to say more. But one thing I took away from the book is the need to extend grace and mercy to the family of the one who commits a crime.  They may very likely just be a normal family trying to navigate life as best they can and they too, are shattered, by the devastation their family member causes.

I want to end this review with the second to the last paragraph from the book: "Strange, but I felt at peace with that fact. I felt at peace in my own skin, even. Being real did hurt. But truly seeing ourselves - seeing each other - I finally got to realize just how loved I was despite the flaws I tried to hide." And the last sentence. "But in the midst of our grief, we were not without hope."

When we are in Christ, we have hope and I feel this book did a good job of portraying that. I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for some good fiction that isn't just light and fluffy in its content.

I received this book from Tyndale Publishers and I was not required to write a positive review.