Words

The death of a child is a terrible thing. It is possibly worse when the mother is the cause.
This is a story of unspeakable abuse of a child. Or perhaps of two children.
Drug abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and physical abuse, abandonment and every
terrible thing you can imagine a child having to endure

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is in this story.

Annie died long ago. Kaylee is alive and suffering and alone. Can Sierra, a mother whose infant
daughter died because of her drug abuse be the one to save her? Can Kaylee learn
to trust anyone? For that matter, Can Sierra trust even herself?

This is a story of loneliness and grief and redemption. This is also Christian fiction so be prepared for
biblical quotes and prayer. The story is strong enough that the randomly inserted quotes have no
negative effect, but they add nothing to the story either. If you feel that you would be uncomfortable with
the Christian aspect, then I would say to let this one go. If you are a Christian fiction reader, I think you
will appreciate this one.

It is a good strong read.

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This is a powerful book that brings together Kaylee Wren and Sierra Dawn. Kaylee is a young girl suffering horrific abuse and neglect. Sierra is a torn woman, battling her own demons - the death of her baby due to drug abuse.

Finding solace on the anniversary of Annie's death, Sierra drives up into

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a redwood forest and catches a glimpse of a scared, tiny girl. Feeling drawn to the girl, Sierra continues to go back to the redwood where she forms a bond with the silent Kaylee. Determined to help Kaylee escape the traumatic life, Sierra lets go of her guilt and lets faith take over.

I didn't realize when I got the ER book, how much of a Christian novel it is. God and verse play a big part in the book, especially with Sierra. For me, this was a bit of a turn off in an otherwise powerful book.

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This book is intense. At times it is hard to read but you just keep going because you want to know what is going to happen. Words is so well written and the characters stay with you for a long time. I don't think I will ever forget this book and will probably re-read it at some point. I definitely

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recommend this one.

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For the life of me, I could not get into this book. I may have been held up by the fact that I never really enjoy Christian books - and wasn't expecting this to be one - but I just couldn't enjoy it.

This is the story of a young girl who was abused and as a result became mute and a women who is

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struggling to overcome the saddness of losing her daughter in the past.

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I stayed up to the early hours engrossed with this book and found it a very moving account of the 2 lead characters: a young girl muted by the abuse she suffers and a young woman still struggling to move on after her daughter died 12 years before. The 'words' of the title are evident in the

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internal dialogue of the minds of both, particularly Kaylee who has spent a large amount of time reading the dictionary and investigating words related to her own experiences, but was also tied in with the Biblical/Christian element of the story with ideas of redemption ever present.
I do feel that this story may have elements that non-christians struggle with but I do believe that the gradual growth of the relationship with Sierra and Kaylee is beautifully told and thus I would recommend all to give it a go. For those who have a faith the added dimension may make the difference between it being a 3/4 star and 5 star book.

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This book was a surprise. It's not the usual subject I like to read but the further I read the more interested I got. Although it is ostensibly an account of an abused young girl this was not the impression the book left me with. This was about the regaining of faith in Jesus and using his strength

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to overcome adversity and the power of words even though not spoken.

It is the story of a young woman (Sierra) who has lost a child of her own through her addiction to drugs and the healing process of finding a young girl in the woods who needs her help to escape from her abuser. A very moving story which also illustrates a love powerful enough to be selfless.

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The premise of this book had potential, but I just could not get into the plot or the characters. Almost every chapter is told from one of the two main characters' (Kaylee and Sierra) point of view. Based on this style (hearing the story simultaneously from two very different perspectives) I

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expected pretty strong character development, but was disappointed. I didn't really feel like I "knew" either of them. The chapters were very short and not very descriptive. The other main factor that detracted from the book for me was the Christian aspect. I quickly tired of the biblical references and the reliance on God and/or Jesus to provide guidance and strength. You have to be a person of pretty strong faith to believe that prayer will get you through some of the deep emotional and physical trauma portrayed in this novel. It was a quick read and I was interested enough in the story to want to finish the book and get closure on the plot. However, I expected deeper development and more description to help me feel a stronger connection to Kaylee and Sierra.

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I got this as one of November's ER books. I didn't realize that it would have religious content, and even though I'm not very religious, the content didn't bother me, or even really take away from the story in anyway.

The story follows Kaylee, an abused and abandoned child, and the women who

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discovers and rescues her Sierra. Both character work through their issues together, and in the end find a peace. This book is best for those who enjoy Christian fiction, but if your open minded enough to read book despite that also, this one is a good one. I enjoyed it and I won't rate it according to whether or not I realized it was religious. Good story...makes you feel like if that little girl could push on after all that, that perhaps there is a higher power at work.

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This is one amazing book! It is about a girl who is abused by her mother's ex boyfriend and a woman who had a history of drug abuse and how they turn each others lives around. The story could so easily have been overly sentimental and schmaltzy, but it wasn't at all. It was fantastically written,

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it made me cry, laugh and a whole heap of emotions. I can say it easily, but it's the best (and only - so far!) book I've read this year. I have a feeling it will remain as such for a good while yet.

By the way, I'm not particularly religious, and I found that part of the story no more distracting than any other 'spiritual' books I have read.

Very highly recommended.

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I received this book as part of the Early Reviewers on Library Thing. I found the book very easy to read, even though it deals with heavy and emotional subjects. The author uses the point of view of two primary characters to tell the story. One of the views used is Kaylee's, an abused child who was

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abandoned by her mother. The other view is from the woman who discovers and rescues Kaylee. The two point of views gives the story something different for the reader and at times is like reading two stories. The author effectively expresses the abuse suffered by Kaylee without being overly graphic and descriptive.
This book is a Christian book with many references to Jesus and the power of healing through His love. The Christian aspects to the story line enhance the book and helps the reader see the journey the characters are on and the peace they find in the end.
I really enjoyed reading this book and will be recommending it to others!

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I was captivated by this story from the very first sentence. Kaylee and Sierra are both such broken characters that you can't help but wonder how (or if) they'll be able to heal. For anyone who has ever experienced feelings of emotional pain, guilt, anguish, Ms. Yttrup's descriptions will speak to

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you. I'm not an overly religious person so books of that theme aren't usually something I go for but this one fully kept my attention until the very end.

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I really enjoyed this book and found it a real page turner. The two main characters are both flawed for very different reasons, yet there are comparisons within their stories and their coming together is very moving. Ten year old Kaylee has been abandoned by her addicted mother. She lives in the

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most appalling of circumstances, where she is physically and sexually abused. Sierra lost her only child twelve years ago because of her own drug addiction. Now clean, she still grieves for her loss and blames herself for what happened. They meet by chance and their lives change forever.

This is Christian fiction at it's best. It deals with difficult subjects and tries to find sense in our human frailties. I found myself totally absorbed by these two characters and Sierra's (and subsequently Kaylee's) reawakening to the peace and truth that belief brings. Highly recommended.

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When I first received this book and saw that it contained religious content, I shook my head and thought to myself, "What in the world have I gotten myself into". Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-religion whatsoever, but Christian fiction isn't the genre that I typically read and I dislike books

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that are very "preachy". Surprisingly I did enjoyed this book and I was grateful to discover that while the religious aspect was definitely there, it wasn't as "preachy" as I thought it would be.

It is easy to be caught up with both Kaylee and Sierra's stories (though more so Kaylee's, I had a bit more of a difficult time connecting to Sierra) and it is an extremely moving story. I am quite surprised at the emotion I felt while reading this book, I haven't felt such emotion since reading "The Lovely Bones" and "The Time Traveler's Wife".

If the slightest bit of Christian references bothers you, then I would not recommend this book to you, however if that really isn't a concern, then I would say that this is a book that you must check out!

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Well, not at all what I thought it was going to be. I had quite a wait for the book to arrive,(probably due to Christmas, snow and UK postage!) so in the meantime I have been reading reviews by others and when I found out it was Christian lit I have to admit I thought 'oh no', but was I ever wrong.

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Yttrup can write! I was absolutely hooked by Kaylee's story. She was the star of the book for me and Ytrupp has given her such an authentic voice.

There are religious references throughout the book, and just ocassionally, especially towards the end, they verged on the intrusive - although there are only a handful of characters in the book, the quotes from the bible came from nearly all of them which I found unrealistic. However, do not let this put you off if you don't usually read books with a religious bent. The main characters are flawed and they are so much the better for this. Sierra in particular, even when she re-baptises herself finds herself struggling with choices that are clearly the wrong path.

More than anything this is 10-year-old Kaylee's tale. Abandoned and abused she stops speaking, The reader though is privy to her thoughts, and they are heart-rending. The little girl with the giant vocabuary will steal your heart away. I could not put this book down, her story is abosultely harrowing. I could see this book easily making it on any general fiction bestseller list and would definitely recommend it to others. I love words almost as much as Kaylee does and this aspect of the book will appeal to everyone who enjoys a wonderful read and collecting words.

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I should point out that I find it very difficult to give this book a fair and unbiased review. This is American Christian fiction, and had I known this earlier I wouldn't have requested a copy of the book.

This is a story of the coming together of an abused young girl and an ex-drug addict, and the

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relationship which grows between them (under God). The plot is quite simple and, after the first few chapters of preaching, it's rather easy to see where this story is heading. Personally, I felt that Yttrup's conclusion (aside from being a bit too happy ever after for my tastes) didn't do justice to the weighty themes of abuse and recovery (redemtion) that she's attempting to tackle.

That said, if it were possible to remove the incessant Christianity from this book, I think I would have perfectly enjoyed the story. Aside from a bit of clunky dialogue, Yttrup's writing isn't half bad for a first novel and the story moves along at a reasonable pace. Her main characters were decently fleshed out too. As it is though, I finished the book with a sigh of relief, feeling like I'd just been beaten over the head with a big Jesus-stick.

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My Review: When I started this book, I knew that it is considered Christan fiction / contemporary, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The first thing I thought of was, oh I hope this book isn't anything like The Shack. I've read that book, and did not enjoy it whatsoever, so I was really hoping that

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this would be different. And let me tell you that Words is NOTHING like The Shack. Yes, Words is about about finding God and understanding how He works and finding the truth and therefore freedom through Jesus, but it was done differently.
Words is about Kaylee, a 10 year old whose mother left her in the hands of a dangerous man. Kaylee doesnt speak, she just collects words. Also, Sierra, a 34 year old who is grieving the death of her daughter 12 years ago. The two complete strangers who have lived very different lives are brought together on the anniversary of a death, and together they will learn some of their life long secrets.
Honestly, I could not put this book down, though at times I wanted to because my emotoions were all over the place. Reading the story and seeing the pain and hurt Kaylee has been through, though never really grapich was difficult.
Everything about Words, the story and the characters is believable and honest and because of that you will feel so much toward the characters. You will feel sorry for Kaylee and you'll want to save her from the nightmare that is her life. You will feel strong for Sierra and will her to do the right things and choose the right path.
Yttrup is writing at it's best, she is phenomenal, and this heart-wrenching book will pull at all of your emotions.

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First and foremost, this is straight up Christian fiction. It should not be listed as general fiction. The religion aspect gets very heavy-handed, especially in the last third of the book, and quite repetitive. The occasional quote or reference might have slipped by in general popular fiction,

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keeping a trust in God theme without it being overpowering, but the same lesson is hammered over and over to the point where it detracts from the story. Which happens to be a really good one. The characters are well-written. You feel that you know them, and mostly care about them in the way I think the author was striving for. Though occasionally the voice of the little girl (Kaylee) becomes too identical to that of the woman (Sierra) - even using the same phrases and inflection, which didn't feel quite right. I especially liked the character of Kaylee, and her obsession with words. Reading the dictionary and Emily Post as an escape from an untenable situation made her an incredibly likable and sympathetic character. Sierra was a little harder to like, she was a bit scattered, but I think that was the point. Maybe we were supposed to find her just as she was finding herself. I did question the machinations of the Child Welfare System - things seemed to move quickly and easily in a way I wouldn't expect to be true. Overall, it is a good story, a touching and moving plot, characters you want to root for, but if you aren't Christian or aren't interested in overtly religious themes, then you need to pass on this one.

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This book was AMAZING! Very, very good development of characters. I really felt connected to them. I loved little Kaylee and my heart just wept for her. I kept hoping she would just knock "him" over the head with a frying pan and run. In the beginning I didn't think I would like or connect with

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Sierra, but I did! I actually fell in love with her too. I thought this was a very well written book, very well put together, nicely organized if you know what I mean. It wasn't too long or short in places. Nothing was lacking. It seemed like everything was just right. I read the first 4/5 in one sitting (I couldn't put it down!) I read the rest the next day. This is a very heavily religious book. Lots of quotes from the bible, Sierra's faith in Jesus is what took her to the end and gave her the strength to help Kaylee. I read another review that said she didn't like it because she didn't know it was a "Christian book". That's one of the things I do like about it. Even though it is very strongly about faith in Jesus and "The Truth will set you free" it still does not feel "preachy" to me, it just seems like a part of the story. It feels like Sierra's strong faith belongs. And I can identify with that because that is the first thing I do when I am doubtful - Pray!

This is a very clean (although it is about child abuse, sexual and physical, and may be upsetting to some people) Christian, faith based book. Thank you so much "LibraryThing Early Reviewers" for sending me this book to review! This is the best one I have received from them yet!

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Like some other reviewers - I wasnt expecting a Christian themed book in the mail - but was interested in reading it because of the plot outline. I must say i enjoyed the book but will admit to skimming through the sections that i felt to be too preachy.
However, it was all most too upbeat of a

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story considering the subjects that are adressed. The two main characters are quite believable but i feel that the plot was not. Everything was wrapped up much too nicely. I think the author wanted to tell a story showing that a person can overcome any obsticle - this can and does happen - but the plot would have been stronger if Yttrup had her characters struggle more with their problems

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About the Book: Kaylee has been left with Jack, an abusive boyfriend of her mothers. She is only 10 years old and believes Jack when he tells her she can't leave as her mother will be back to get her sometime. She is repeatedly molested by him and has stopped speaking because of the trauma.

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Instead, she collects words in her head - words that she finds in a dictionary that she and her mother used to look at together.

Jack leaves Kaylee alone for long portions of the day, and she is pretty good at remembering his work schedule - so even though she wanders in the nearby redwood forest she is always home before he is. She has found a safe haven in a burnt out redwood tree. In this tree, inside a circle of pinecones, no one can hurt her. It is here that she first sees Sierra.

Sierra is an artist who has lived alone since the death of her baby daughter 12 years before. She had been a drug addict and her newborn baby, Annie, died because of it. She had been raised in a Christian home, but had wandered far off that path. She was still close to her parents, but refused to let go of the guilt and remorse of her daughter's death. It is on the anniversary of Annie's death that she thinks she sees the ghost of a little girl peering out of a redwood tree, when it is in fact Kaylee.

Although she leaves that day without investigating further, with the encouragement of her best friend Ruby, she ventures back to the spot to see if it was really a little girl. She can't help but wonder what a little girl would be doing out in the woods by herself. Kaylee feels pulled back to the spot to see if Sierra will return as she had been crying and Kaylee is curious as to why. What neither one of them realize is that they are both being nudged by God towards each other.

My thoughts: I really liked this book alot. Being a mom, I totally understood Sierra's need to find Kaylee and see why she was in the forest alone - and once she did, to follow up and try to learn more. You could feel Kaylee's struggle to speak, but also realize her reluctance is because she may have to answer some tough questions about things she doesn't want to talk about. It contains a great lesson in forgiveness and how God loves us, for us, regardless of what we might have done, and the importance of allowing God to do it His way, even when we don't think it is the right way.

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Received thru early reviewers. I was torn with this book. Parts of this book captured me and held me in an emotional tornado. the other parts, while I wouldn't say "preachy", they just left me flat and wanting to get back inside the tornado. It was a really good book just fell short in some places

I loved this book. The characters, the setting. And the author speaks in a language that makes you feel like you are there. Sierra is so kind and becomes so open, and Kaylee although she has been through so much at such a young age, is so strong, and the type of girl you want to hang out with.

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Despite not speaking, she really draws the reader, and everyone around her in. Also, I wish I could SEE Sierra's art. Pete is a giant teddy bear you just want to cuddle up with, and have him take care of you. It is set on the coast, so there is a lot of oceans, mountains and everything in between. And the author paints it with such vivid colors that I would like to go visit one day.

Now I have thrown many a book across the room, when I found they came on too heavy too fast with Jesus. I felt was it forced on me. If you are a Christian, you don't need that, and if you aren't, it's just going to turn you off. This book did NOT do that, and it made it a pleasure to read, as it just built up slowly throughout. There was a little bit of a heavy moral at the end, but it came on slowly, and you could see it coming. Over all, I liked this book, and was sorry to see it end. Will definitely read more by this author in the future. =D

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I wasn't expecting the emphasis of this book to be Christianity. That for me just made it difficult to read and for the life of me I was pleased when it was over. Unless you have some understanding of the religious aspects of the novel - which are overpowering - you'll be lost in this novel. I was

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very interested in reading the story of the characters but that became a smaller aspect of the narrative than Christianity.

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This book kept me pretty interested throughout and ended up being quite a nice story. I almost didn't continue reading it due to the amount of religion, especially at the beginning (God is mentioned a lot in the beginning which can turn you off if that is not your thing). During the middle religion

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isn't in the story too much which kept me reading, but it does creep back in quite a lot at the end. The book has a good story and characters, and had potential to be very good if it took out some parts.

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