The Words That Fly Between Us

I am emotional. This book truly wrecked me. A book all about self-discovery, friendship, getting through hard times and facing your problems, even though everything could change as a result. The discussion of abuse and people turning into someone we no longer can recognize was prevalent in this book and they feltband were so important. This story left me with tears in my eyes and a soft heart.

Living with her investor stressed dad and her mum, Lucy doesn't like to be around her dad when he's in a mood and he is often, causing verbal and emotional pain on his wife and daughter.



Her best friend Megan also gets put downs from her so called friend Hazel whom makes sly comments and digs at Megan's body and about her growing blog too. Despite Lucy's efforts she can't stop her best friend being effected by Hazel...



However as an aspiring artist despite what her dad says, Lucy has a generous heart and soon gets to know the mysterious artist next door after leaving her a gift anonymously and being left a gift back in return.



The main theme in this novel is about speaking out about abuse and it's never right to have to put up with especially at home. We see how the family changes due to stress about money from her dad. We also see how it's important to follow your heart and never giving up on passions and dreams. It was a really great novel in the way we can imagine being in Lucy's shoes and having to face so many issues alone.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Lucy doesn't hope for much these days. She hopes her father, a successful lawyer and all around workaholic, is in a good mood. Because he does not get angry when he's in a good mood. Dad doesn't bully Lucy with harsh words or order poor mum around when he’s in a good mood.

Lucy also hopes that one day, she can be an artist.

Whenever Lucy’s parents start to argue, she would climb to the attic and lie on the floor, hoping that soon everything will be back to normal again. One night in the attic, Lucy discovers that every building on her row is connected- through the attic. As she peaks into the lives of those who live on her street, Lucy finds a sense of connection and realisation that maybe she is not the only one who is suffering in silence.

“Lucy is forced to realise that while she can affect the lives of others from the safety of the attic, she will need to climb down to face her own fears.”


This beautifully written novel by Sarah Carroll highlights the courage of a young girl facing her own fears, and finding the voice that will power above the silence that had been suffocating her all along. I really enjoyed Lucy’s journey of finding comfort and safety in the attic and then meeting other people who are going through similar hardships as her and finding some comfort in that too. It was great to see Lucy gradually finding the strength to face her own fears in order to pursue her dream of being an artist one day. Highly recommend to anyone who wants an uplifting and heartwarming read.

3.5 stars


“I hope you feel safe all day”


Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK Children’s for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of The Words That Fly Between Us.

My review will be posted on my blog by March 5 2019

Lucy is living in a beautiful, expensive house along with her joking, playful dad and her lovely mum. Everything should be perfect. Her dad is a property investor, making millions, and she and her mum don't lack for anything in their lives. But still, Lucy lives her life on edge, controlled by the words around her, whether they are spoken, or unspoken. You see, her dad is a bully, edging closer and closer towards physically abusing her mum, and Lucy is manipulated by him, unable to express her true feelings, or fully develop her artistic side which is where she feels her talents lie but her dad says won't ever lead to her having a successful life.

Lucy's friend Megan is also suffering abuse from a bully, but this time the bully is another girl at school who is making sly comments about Megan. Lucy tries to encourage Megan to find her own voice and stand up to this girl, whilst being aware that she isn't following this advice with her dad. There are a lot of secrets, both hidden by Lucy and hidden from Lucy. There are all the secrets her dad is trying to hide from everyone, with the way deals are collapsing around him and the illegal money handling that's going on, then her mum seems to be hiding something from Lucy too. There's the mysterious neighbour next-door whose life is shrouded with secrecy, then there's Megan's blog, where she gets to live out secret fantasies and share other secrets. Lucy also has a secret attic space, covered in art that she's made, giving her a refuge to go to whenever her parents start to fight.

The different aspects of the story work well together, so there is the mystery of Lucy's neighbour and the secret parcels that Lucy leaves for her. There's also the rather more unsettling mystery of her dad's dodgy dealings, with the suspense of what will happen if he finds out that Lucy has got involved. I liked the different layers to the book, and the sense of the danger that Lucy is placing herself into as she investigates the goings on on her street. As a mum, I confess I did feel some concerns about some of the methods Lucy employs in her investigations, but I put those to one side for the adventure factor to the story!

I really loved the descriptions of some of Lucy's pieces of art. It made me wish that the book was illustrated, though perhaps any real images wouldn't have captured the wonders I was imagining in my head as I read. The descriptions are great, and the characters are really well created. Lucy's dad manages to be both a terrifying villain and yet also just a flawed human being, whilst the bully is utterly dreadful and yet also, just another struggling young girl. And I really liked the suggestions throughout the story of the strength of words, and the dangers of silence.

This is a really good, powerful story, with important messages at its heart about confidence, and abuse, yet it manages to deliver these without being so dark as to be upsetting to those who have lived through this themselves. Lucy feels like a real girl as you read, and you understand her conflictions, and the fears she is facing, whilst still being sure of the hope that things will get better for her. Definitely recommended for those around ten years and older.

Whilst reading the blurb I didn’t think much to it until the moment I opened this book, something grabbed me and I just felt these overwhelming emotions that I doubt I could do any justice by attempting to describe them.

The words that fly between us is such an incredibly emotive story, Lucy is a wonderfully strong character with a great presence that I couldn’t help but connect with so easily. The way Lucy describes her art was incredible to read because my mind could picture what she was creating with ease which is very refreshing as often books pull on the basics of drawings, I would honestly love to see these pieces come to life and be present in the book somehow or even just available as posters.

The topic of abuse is very prevalent throughout the entire book and it’s spoken about in such away that it feels real and raw, I’ve read a few books where the topic of abuse is used but nothing matches up to the way the author has written about it. I feel so many emotions but the moment I began reading I felt this strong wave of sadness and as you read on it fluctuates and dampens depending upon the chapter and with this it made me want to continue on reading the book.
I did shed a few tears whilst reading this book especially when Lucy stood up to her father about the email, I just wanted to protect her and give her back her innocence. The way the author wrote each scene containing the abuse gripped my heart and made me connect with Lucy like no other has before.

Lucy just feels real...

“ I hope you feel safe all day “ will definitely be a quote I’ll carry along with me for quite some time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I will definitely be recommending this to others, thank you netgalley and to the publishing house for allowing me to read this book, I’ll definitely be picking it up again soon.

"Shaking my head, I look through the darkness of the attics. Each has a panel. A lid keeping secrets locked inside. Until we opened them."

I have really enjoyed this story and Lucy, whose perspective this story is told from is a really strong narrator. From the outset I could really feel Lucy’s varying emotions due to her father’s controlling behaviour towards her mother and also due to the fact he didn’t appreciate or understand the talent Lucy has for art and drawing. Instead, he harbours a belief she should be doing something more practical so Lucy feels a need to keep this side of her secret.

Another secret she has from her father is how, due to the terrace they live in having one long roof, their attic is part of one long tunnel linking all of the houses together. Unbeknownst to her father, Lucy has access to each house in the terrace via their ceiling panel in the attic. It is really clever how this plays an integral part as the story progresses and how each house and its occupants hold their own secrets. Moreover, as the story develops we see how Lucy deals with the knowledge she gains from overhearing a private conversation between her father and his friends in their cellar and what might happen if she finds the right words to let the world know what she has heard.

Throughout, I particularly loved all of the clever metaphors for the life the words took on for Lucy within her family home. For example how her Dad’s anger lingered in the walls and soaked through the floors. How words sometimes needed to be ducked away from or left to dissolve in the breeze for fear that they may cling on to the objects around them. The effect words had for Lucy and her friends in the online world was also very cleverly explored.

I have also found Lucy’s story to have a really important take home message about just how powerful words can be. Whether they are said aloud, written down or even not said at all. Also, about the impact on family relationships and friendships when secrets are kept and what happens to those involved when they are under threat of being uncovered. I think this book is an empowering reminder that we can always search inside of ourselves to find the words and the strength to face our fears.