All That We Carried: A Novel

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Stephanie McCallTop Contributor: Harry PotterVerified Purchase Too Light on Development, Yet Heavy and Plodding Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2021 Oh, Erin Bartels. What *happened?* Your other two novels were amazing, but this...well, was the exact opposite. Not that Erin didn''t try. All That We Carried has a classic Bartels premise of people trying to work through everyday problems and find who they were... See more Oh, Erin Bartels. What *happened?* Your other two novels were amazing, but this...well, was the exact opposite.

Not that Erin didn''t try. All That We Carried has a classic Bartels premise of people trying to work through everyday problems and find who they were meant to be, how to live as they were created to be. The novel also has some of the lyrical prose I so enjoyed in Erin''s other novels. Olivia and Melanie had potential, both as sisters and on their own. I was especially drawn to the spiritual aspect of the novel, particularly Melanie''s "cafeteria-style spirituality," because my spiritual journey was the exact opposite. As in, you get your plate, you eat what''s on it, and if you look at anybody else''s plate, you''re wrong. It can take awhile to build a relationship with the Chef out of that.

Ahem. Enough with the food metaphors.

Basically though, what readers get from this is a lot of exposition and dithering. As in, we''re told up front what the problem is--Melanie and Olivia are trying to work through the death of their parents and using a hike to do it. We''re told up front what their personalities are, which boils down to the stereotypical profiles of oldest vs. youngest you''d see in a birth order-themed self help book. We''re told where they''re going and what they''re seeing every minute of every day in every chapter.

Of course, I tried to excuse that. I told myself I was taking longer to "get into" this book because I''m not much on hiking, camping, and similar activities. But it''s not just the hiking and the plodding pace of it. It''s the fact that Olivia and Melanie spend much of the hike in silence (we''re told). And when they do talk, it''s to bicker or tread the same conversations. Thus, those conversations don''t go anywhere. There''s also no true introspection to break them up, or stopping to see anything unusual or interesting and learn from it. For instance, both sisters make a big deal out of seeing eight waterfalls, but then when they see a waterfall, nothing happens. Melanie tells us she feels connections to the animal world, but we don''t see any, except Olivia shooting her down, and the sisters having a senseless argument over whether passing fauna was a cougar or deer.

There are also no other characters to break this up for over 2/3 of the novel, except some obnoxious unnamed hikers, some guy named Josh, and Justin Navarro, who Melanie makes a big deal out of forgiving and spending time with, but who isn''t even there. I did find some mildly interesting flashbacks to the sisters'' childhood, but they seem oddly placed and disconnected from the main story.

I hope this is a case of Erin Bartels writing that one clunker, because I so love her other stuff. Unless you''re a fan of somebody like Thoreau or Emerson, though, I wouldn''t recommend this--and maybe not even then. It never goes anywhere, just sort of plods and plods like tired hikers. Better luck next time, Erin. 4 people found this helpful Helpful

AngelaVerified Purchase Beautifully Woven Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2021 Erin Bartels does not fail to impress. This is a captivating story about the angst of two sisters who love each other but are struggling to let go of their own hurt to see the other''s. I love that the story communicates progress and growth instead of perfection. Thank you,... See more Erin Bartels does not fail to impress. This is a captivating story about the angst of two sisters who love each other but are struggling to let go of their own hurt to see the other''s. I love that the story communicates progress and growth instead of perfection. Thank you, Erin, for sharing characters that will remain with me. One person found this helpful Helpful

Nanamarcy8Verified Purchase Good book. Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2021 I loved the way Erin Bartels used the elusive Josh to give a picture of Jesus. I do wish that would have been expanded on. Still a good book about sister relationships, deep wounds and the search for God. Helpful

Elizabeth Kendrex Compelling Story of Two Sisters, Though Too Parable-ish Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2021 All That We Carried is one of those analogy-centric stories where everything is related to the theme the author is trying to convey. In this case, it’s the idea of burdens, of walking the “right” or “wrong” paths, all wrapped in a hiking trip that two estranged sisters... See more All That We Carried is one of those analogy-centric stories where everything is related to the theme the author is trying to convey. In this case, it’s the idea of burdens, of walking the “right” or “wrong” paths, all wrapped in a hiking trip that two estranged sisters take.

I liked that Bartels portrays Olivia and Melanie as completely opposite belief-wise and that at the end of the novel they’re still sort of searching and asking questions (maybe not the very end, but at the end of the hiking trip, anyway). The backstory and all of the problems related to their estrangement was well done, and it was an interesting and compelling story of forgiveness in the midst of tragedy. And their reconnecting on the hiking trip was realistic and believable. In short, anything involving the relationship between the two sisters was good.

Where the book fell flat with me was the odd Jesus character, when the book fell into some sort of strange parable territory. Basically, the sisters run into a man named Josh who gives them all the advice they could find, gives Olivia a compass (which SPOILER she uses at the end to follow “the narrow path” to find him, which is either a really obscure way of saying she died or a really obvious way of saying she became saved), and in general is wise and calm and exactly what the sisters need. He was obviously supposed to represent Jesus, though I wasn’t sure if it was meant to be literal until the end when he simply disappears, and no one remembers him being around. Which…okay, a Jesus-figure in Christian novels is relatively normal, but having him literally be Jesus made everything far-fetched. I get what Bartels was trying to do, and if you set aside the “Is this supposed to be Jesus or just a really decent and kinda perfect man?” questions, then you’d probably be really interested in this story, which is at its heart a journey of faith that two sisters go on.

I liked it enough that I’d probably read more by Bartels given the opportunity, but I’m not overly fond of parable/analogy stories, and the Josh character just threw me off too much. I did think the book had some fantastic themes and a fairly compelling story, however, if a bit too neatly put together. This is a good book for Christians, but it won’t appeal to anyone outside of that faith in any way. It doesn’t have to, but I think the best Christian books do.

Disclaimer: Book provided by publisher. All opinions are my own. 4 people found this helpful Helpful

Kendra Choy Not for everyone Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2021 Round up to 3.5 stars Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review and honest opinions All That We Carried is the story of 2 sisters who are each struggling with their own lives following the tragic deaths of their parents. Olivia carried on... See more Round up to 3.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my review and honest opinions

All That We Carried is the story of 2 sisters who are each struggling with their own lives following the tragic deaths of their parents. Olivia carried on with her life, determined to succeed as a prosecutor. Melanie leads a more serene life as a life coach, blogger and lover of spirituality. The sisters have led separate lives for the past 10 years until one day, they end up taking a hiking trip in the Porcupine Mountains. Along the trip each girl struggles to find the courage they need to find forgiveness with themselves, each other and the past as they learn to love one another again.

This was my second book by the author, Erin Bartels, and while I enjoyed this one, it wasn''t my favorite. I was intrigued by the storyline of the sisters, I just had a really hard time enjoying the hiking aspect of it, as that is not something I enjoy in my life. I also was expecting a very dramatic ending, but it ended up falling short for me. There was so much leading up to it, suspense and drama, then it happened, and I found myself a bit disappointed. While not a bad book, I didn''t find myself being drawn to continue reading this one. I''m sure there are readers out there who will enjoy this more than I did. 4 people found this helpful Helpful

Norma Downing Slightly disappointing Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2021 My Thoughts: While All That We Carried was an entertaining story, and the author, Erin Bartels, seems to be a talented story teller, it wasn’t a favorite to me. Things I liked: The cover was really nice. The colors are lovely and I liked that it was... See more My Thoughts:

While All That We Carried was an entertaining story, and the author, Erin Bartels, seems to be a talented story teller, it wasn’t a favorite to me.

Things I liked: The cover was really nice. The colors are lovely and I liked that it was original and not run-of-the mill. The characters were well developed and you were drawn into their stories and really want to see them work out their problems. I almost always like a good outdoor adventure book, so that was nice too.

However…

Things that I did not like:

I like a story with a definite Christian theme, at least as a background issue. Though you could see the growth that these two women make through the story, they never quite get there at the end. Though there was some mention of God, the Christian aspect was weak at best. Even at the end I wasn’t even sure I would consider this a Christian fiction story. And the vague Josh character was an issue for me as well. Was he an angel, or what? And if he was supposed to give them Christian advise…he failed miserably, in my opinion.

I give this a two out of five stars. Revell, a division of Baker publishing, sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 3 people found this helpful Helpful

Miranda Reads Fairly good book Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2021

Sisters Olivia and Melanie couldn''t be more different if they tried but growing up, they were as close as can be...until they weren''t. Ever since their parents died in a car accident, Olivia and Melanie drifted far apart. Ten years later, Melanie feels... See more Sisters Olivia and Melanie couldn''t be more different if they tried but growing up, they were as close as can be...until they weren''t.

Ever since their parents died in a car accident, Olivia and Melanie drifted far apart.

Ten years later, Melanie feels like she''s not only mourning the loss of her parents but also her sister.

Olivia drowned herself in work - spending every spare moment on furthering her career. And Melanie just felt like she was drowning - and no matter what she tried, she couldn''t save herself.

In a last-ditch effort to reconnect, Melanie convinces Olivia to go on a hiking trip in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan - just like they used to.

But once the two sisters get on the trail, old hurts and angers resurface. Will this trip reconnect them? Or just drive them further apart?

Whew. This was my first Erin Bartels book and I was rather impressed.

I loved the overall concept - two sisters needing each other but not knowing how to reach out. And the things that they carried (grudges, grief, etc) being what they needed to leave behind in order to make things whole between themselves.

I also feel like the author nailed the interactions between the sisters. For example, the way they would constantly try to help the other one but always manage to do the exact worse thing...it definitely gave me vibes of growing up with my sister.

The setting was really well done - I''ve been to the UP many times (not normally for a hike but often for a drive in public land) and I loved how reading this book made me feel like I was right there.

Now, as a heads up, this is a book with a religious leaning. There are some books that have religion play a very heavy-handed role and some that have more of a subtle undertone (this was the latter).

One of the sisters tries to believe in everything, one of them believes in nothing and by the end of the book they are both leaning towards a more religious outlook.

That being said, it didn''t feel too overt and was enjoyable for me to read.

Overall, I rather enjoyed this book 2 people found this helpful Helpful

Kav Interesting read with a unique twist Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2021 This is a hard book to review because I''m still on the fence about it in some respects. Was it thought provoking? Yes. Inspired questions that caused me to reflect? Yes -- in fact, I was desperate to find someone who has read the book and have a good chat-fest about it! (I... See more This is a hard book to review because I''m still on the fence about it in some respects. Was it thought provoking? Yes. Inspired questions that caused me to reflect? Yes -- in fact, I was desperate to find someone who has read the book and have a good chat-fest about it! (I think it would make a really great book club selection because there are lots of talking points.) But...I''m still floundering over how I actually feel about it over all.

I found the wilderness setting fascinating -- definitely the trek Olivia and Melanie take is way out of my city-livin'' comfort zone so getting to live through their daring (and scary!) adventures was eye-opening. The author is just as adventurous as this sister duo and her love of nature and God''s creation comes through in every descriptive phrase.

And, while the idea of estranged sisters mending their relationship held great appeal...actually living with their sniping and bickering was hard to deal with sometimes. It was a loooonnngggg hiking trip. :-)

Now, here''s the funny thing, I really could not connect with Olivia and was far more willing to extend grace to younger sister Melanie. That''s funny because I''m the youngest in a sisterly duo so the know-it-all, hyper-vigilant, overly-organized, always-right Olivia just grated on my very last nerve.

Meanwhile I found myself totally sympathetic to Melanie''s peace, love, and happiness mediator vibe -- even if she blithely embraces bits and pieces of every world religion and culture according to her whims. She could be just as annoying as Olivia, in her own way, and yet, I found myself excusing her actions while I went all judgmental on her older sister. I''m sure there''s some deep psychological reason for that which is entirely not the author''s fault. I blame growing up with my sister. :-)

About half way through the book there''s a subtle shift where it ventures into allegory territory -- I think, anyway. One of the reasons I''d love to book-talk about it because...well, I can''t say without giving anything away but I have ideas about a certain character.

This is the part of the story that shakes Olivia and Melanie out of their hurtful patterns and becomes the catalyst to their reconciliation. I would have liked more closure on this aspect of their story. Bartels leaves it pretty open ended and while I can see why she chose to do that (yet more talking points for a book club!), I tend to like my stories wrapped up in a nice little bow, which is my problem, not the author''s.

All in all a captivating and challenging novel that''s just a bit different from the norm.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc. One person found this helpful Helpful Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

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