We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels

Review: Sit up and take notice. Erin Bartels is an author you are going to want to watch closely. I am in awe at the quality of this debut novel. The story, the fluidity, the characters, the writing... remarkable. I am actually quite stunned at both the quality of this work as well as the story itself. 

When I finished "We Hope for Better Things", I set the book down in my lap and simply sat there on the couch for several long minutes. So many things were rushing through my mind, and one of the main ones was, "How am I going to do justice to this novel in my review?"

I read a lot of books that are grand entertainment, and I also read a lot of books that have zero entertainment value and 100% educational value (bleh). There are very few books that I have the pleasure of reading that improve who I am as a person and that strike me as truly important. The stories told within the pages of "We Hope for Better Things" are stories that need to be told. The layers that are slowly pealed back within these pages to reveal glimpses into how society has viewed the African-American/Caucasian relationships and inter-racial love over the past hundred years is shocking and so very important to see and understand. 

This is a story that needed to be told, and I feel like I am a more understanding person for having contemplated the thoughts it raised. "We Hope for Better Things" is three stories in one but all following one family over the span of several generations. The stories flip back and forth, but the changing timeline is done seamlessly and only adds to the power of the overall message. First, we have Mary, a young and recently married woman whose husband goes off to fight in the American Civil War. Mary ends up opening up their farm to slaves escaping towards Canada. In particular, this story focuses on her deep friendship with an escaped slave named George. The second story is told from Nora's perspective. Nora is a privileged Caucasian girl who grew up in upper scale Detroit, and through an odd stroke of fate, ends up meeting and falling in love with a African American photographer named William. Their interracial relationship is met with such ferocity it left me reeling. Their story takes place during the time of the terrifying riots in Detroit. Lastly, we have Elizabeth's story. Elizabeth is a journalist and is trying to untangle her family's history and come to grips with the reality her female ancestors faced. She begins dating a man part way through the book, and it is only near the end that I realize he is African American - a beautiful and telling exclusion of detail. 

I loved this book and plan on reading it again. I give it my highest recommendations, and I honestly believe that everyone should read this book.

Thank-you to Graf Martin Communications and to Baker Publishing House for a copy.

Back Cover: The past is never as past as we'd like to think

When journalist Elizabeth Balsam is asked to deliver a box of old photos to a relative she didn't know she had, the strange request seems like it isn't worth her time. But as she explores her great-aunt's farmhouse with its locked doors and hidden graves, she soon discovers just how dramatically some of the most newsworthy events of the previous two centuries shaped her own family. As she searches for answers to the riddles around her, the remarkable stories of two women who lived in this very house emerge as testaments to love, resilience, and courage in the face of war, racism, and misunderstanding.

Take an emotional journey through time--from the volatile streets of 1960s Detroit to Michigan's Underground Railroad during the Civil War--to uncover the past, confront the seeds of hatred, and discover where love goes to hide.Head over HERE for a quick read of the excerpt