Immediately intrigued by the prologue! This is a historical fiction novella about an American nun living in El Salvador during the civil war in the 1980s. I didn’t know about this piece of history and felt like I learned a lot despite the short length of the story!

The writing is beautiful and descriptive. We really get to know sister Agnes and see the effects of war and loss through the characters. I think the pacing was well done and I will be adding the suggested books mentioned at the end to my tbr so I can learn more about the civil war! Overall it was a fascinating look at strength, resilience, faith, and moral reflections set in the backdrop of a devastating time period for El Salvador.

I look forward to reading more from her in the future! I’ll be posting my review to IG and TikTok by august 20

Thank you netgalley for an advanced ARC of this short story

I really could not get into this story and I didn't connect with the main character at any part of the story

This was a great read. When I first picked up this novella I was kinda dreading that it would be another story along the lines of the ‘White Saviour’ archetype, but it definitely was not. The story was very heart-wrenching, and had me ‘on the edge of my seat’ for quite some time. The only thing I didn’t quite love about the book was one of the stylistic choices made: the parts of the story that take place in the past, i.e. the majority of the book, the dialogue is not written in quotation marks. I understand it being a stylistic choice, as, at least for me, it made me feel removed from the story, so that I empathised with and felt for the characters but never really developed an attachment, which may well have been the intent. However, it just personally wasn’t my cup of tea. The rather abrupt ending was also a stylistic choice that personally wasn’t really my favourite.

Love and loss, a combination that over the years has been explored in various novels, focusing on a wide range of situations and emotions. While reading this novel, I felt enveloped by the story, immersed in each situation with emotions amplified to the maximum because every event was narrated with a truly unique emotional touch.

There were moments in the story where my attention was slightly tested, and at times I had to "push" myself a bit to continue, not because the story was bad or poorly written, but simply because it felt as if, at certain points, the effort to keep the reader's attention and interest high had momentarily taken a back seat. However, it's important to note that these are very brief moments that never really affect the overall enjoyment of the story.

For me, it is a well-structured short historical novel with a magical writing style and a plot that can be fully appreciated by readers—especially those who love historical fiction, although it is also perfect for those who want to approach the genre for the first time.

I finished this novella a week or two ago. The author notes that this story is fictional and true. The Salvadoran Civil War occurred from 1980 thru 1992. The author chose to write a novella, but provides resources if you want to do further reading. When the author asks North Americans whether they have heard about the Salvadoran Civil War, they either respond they don't know anything about it or they vaguely remember a bit in the news. I fall into the later category and vaguely remember some priests and/or nuns being killed and never really understood why.

I don't remember reading any books with a setting of El Salvador, and only a few from Central America.

I'm glad to have read this book and feel a little more knowledgeable. Thank you to the author for writing The Ones Who Stayed.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Book Whisperer for approving my request to read the advance read copy of The Ones Who Stayed in exchange for an honest review. Publication date was Feb 2024. Approximately 100 pages.

This novella follows Agnes, an American nun who is working in El Salvador in 1986 during the war. It tells her story over the next few months, detailing all the horrors she encounters and the work she engages in in an effort to make a change.

I was surprised by how well this novella captured the atrocities of war. It was a truly tough read but an important story to tell. The author did a fantastic job of transporting the reader to rural El Salvador and creating a tense and unpredictable atmosphere.

I’m very glad to have read this and learned more about this snippet of history through a viewpoint I never considered before. I would widely recommend this to anyone interested in historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Book Whisperer for access to this ebook in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars* I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

When I started reading I was instantly enthralled with this book. More so towards the middle however, I did kind of lose a bit of interest. This book is beautifully reflective of many other world issues, not just what is told in the story.

It takes you on a journey of Sister Agnes and her time through the Salvadoran Civil War and the atrocities she faces and the challenges she endures during this time trying to provide light and aid to the Salvadoran people. I was scared it would come off as "white savior complex".
However, the more the story developed and she spoke on her connection to the country and feeling the sense of belonging to El Salvador more than in America it was refreshing and put that fear at ease. Also, let's not forget the beautiful love that was portrayed and progressed throughout the story, starting from very benign inklings of feelings to the progression we see toward the end of the novel. I liked how it wasn't overdone and didn't take away from the storyline.

In the end, we see the long term impacts of loss and the experiences of war shaping who and how Sister Agnes is.

Overall, the story was beautiful and I truly believe important for many to read. I think this was my first book I ever read set in El Salvador and I'm very glad I could read it and grasp a little bit of knowledge of the country's history.

However, I will warn it may be too graphic for some individuals, but check the trigger warnings.

It took me awhile to get into this one despite its shortness, but I did find it interesting. There was also a twist I didn’t think would fully take action, and then of course afterwards a hole was ripped right into not only Agnes's heart but surprisingly mine as well. I didn’t think I had gotten attached to the characters but I did. It snook up on me, and most of the time I see it coming. This heart wrenching story keeps one on their toes, and making them cry along with the characters. It’s definitely not a favourite but it is more than worth the read.

The Ones Who Stayed is a historical fiction account of the El Salvadorian civil war that lasted from 1979-1992. Like most Americans, I knew nothing about this conflict before reading this book. This novella tells the story of Sister Agnes, an American nun who lived in El Salvador during the civil war and stayed long after her fellow sisters left for safer assignments. Agnes felt there was nothing left for her in America and felt a deep desire to help the El Salvadorian people whose lives were in constant danger. The novella describes the great lengths that Sister Agnes went to to help them. While I enjoyed learning about this time in history, parts were very violent and graphic. (Note: Normally that wouldn't bother me, but in this case, it did for some reason.) This was a quick read, but an unsettling one.

Thank you to Book Whisperer and NetGalley for a review copy of The Ones Who Stayed.

A lovely, well-paced, insightful, and utterly heartbreaking story! I couldn't stop thinking about this well-written narrative for days after reading it. However, I do want to point out that there should be a trigger warning involving infant death.

4.5 stars.
I really loved this book! The writing was so well done, and I thought the story was the perfect length to encapsulate everything without being unnecessarily long. Since this story follows a white American nun in El Salvador, I was worried this was going to be a white savior kind of novel, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that to not really be the case. Additionally, it has been a while since a book moved me quite as much as this did. It was so short and yet incredibly heartbreaking and beautiful. I didn't know much about El Salvador's civil war before reading this book, but I feel like even going into it knowing nothing I was able to understand the sheer brutality. Overall, just very well written.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This novella was a 5 star read for me not only did it educate me on an event that happened in my lifetime I knew nothing about it also wove a story I don't think I can easily forget.

Based during the El Salvador Civil War the story of the nun who through duty voluntarily stayed behind during a time of uncertainty and danger just hit all my emotions. This book hit on friendship, love, loss, poverty but the heart of all this was a woman who helped when no one else could. The way the author blended the reality El Salvardorians faced with the fictional take of a woman who felt bound by her faith to reach out help and stay with those who needed it the most.

The author has so beautifully written the story intertwining the Spanish language, religious prose and English, which leads it to be almost poetetic in nature.

I think I will forever have this story etched in me, I am a bit of a history buff and am now seeking out both fiction and non fiction on this period in history. I look forward to also finding more pieces by this author.

The book as a meal: I am eating scraps in a bunker, wondering if and when I will get to eat my next full meal
The book left me: Melancholic

Why did this call out to me?
The cover is absolutely stunning, and when I read the description I fell in love with the book. Right up my alley

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Very pick-up-able, I wanted to keep on reading this even when I was falling asleep. But it took me two sessions of reading before I finished it

Issues:
Main character seems very unsure of her choices
The romance came a bit out of left field

Good things:
Atmospheric, got me feeling things
Perfect pacing for a story like this

How did it feel to read?
Felt very much like I was in the story itself. Sucked right in. Whenever it was dangerous, i felt lik I was in danger. When there was a lull between happenings, I was calm, but also wondered how long my safety would last.

What mood would I read this in?
This is more so a summer read, it has a warmness and summery feeling to it

Where does this fall in my tier list ranking?
A safe A rank. Gave me feelies, I wanted to read it, and I am thoroughly satisfied by it. Will recommend.

Not a bad story, however not my favorite.
The way the text reads definitely needs more definition between thoughts and direct quotes. The lack of quotation marks kept pulling me from the story, and I had to work to understand what was said and what was description.

A wonderful and heartbreaking story of love and loss. Beautiful story. The story of a nun discovering herself and questioning her ideologies. The story of a priest who guides the last nun of the village to challenge her beliefs in order for them to both find love. The Ones Who Stayed is a work of art.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

The Ones Who Stayed is a novella-length historical fiction book. While I need to admit that I don't read a lot of historical fiction, something about this summary caught my attention. And I'm so glad I did read it.

I appreciated the short chapters honestly. It really did help keep my attention and help me understand things.
The story was tragic but beautifully told.

4.5 stars rounded up.

A heart-breaking, tragic, and beautiful tale about the horror that occurred during the Salvadoran Civil War. As an American with little previous knowledge about the war, this book was eyeopening and humbling. While I can never pretend to imagine what the Salvadoran people and individuals in the country at the time actually went through in the war, this beautifully written novella provides an insight I didn't have before.

What Worked For Me:
- Full disclosure, I was a little nervous about seeing the horrors of this situation through the eyes of a white American nun. I was worried it would come off as a White-Savior kind of novel, but I actually did not have that feeling at all, and we got insight into Agnes' stark realization that she truly can't save anyone, and it's only through working together and listening to those who live in the region that she can really do anything good at all.
- The way this story was written was beautiful, Even in the stark bleakness of the topic, the prose was poetic and elegant, and I appreciated the fluid mix of English and Spanish dialogue.

What Didn't Work:
- I'm sure it was a stylistic choice, but the lack of quotation marks throughout the book made reading it much more of a struggle than it would have been otherwise. The author notes that this book is intended for American audiences, but the lack of traditional American formatting makes the story and content less accessible to a general audience and, as someone with slight dyslexic traits and focus problems, the blocks of unmarked text meant I often had to read and re-read passages in order to figure out what was dialogue and what was narration. The formatting is really the only reason for taking off half a star!

A beautifully written, absolutely heart-wrenching novella! This story is well paced and left me thinking about it for days afterwards. I highly recommend.

A brilliant and poignant novella about war, religion and love. This novel was written with so much love behind every single word, despite it being on the shorter side, I really felt everything. I found the brutal and unrelenting plot serving as a reminder of the beauty of the mundane, something we often take for granted. Well written and delicately executed, a fantastic glimpse into a part of history that is often overlooked.