Hannah and Ariela

An author acquaintance recommended Hannah and Ariela because he figured it was one I would like, and was right. I haven't read this author before, and now I want to go through the backlist and read it all.

The writing is haunting and beautiful for the situations and scenarios involved in this book. From the very first chapter my heartstrings were already being pulled and it continued on throughout.

I absolutely love when a book can be short but also powerful. This is but a glimpse into a world most know nothing about and probably don't even give the time of day to. This was both terrifying and uplifting at the same time. Highly recommend this one.

I sincerely appreciate TCU Press for providing me with a review copy. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.

Hannah and Ariela by Johnnie Bernhard is a novel of suspense about two women living very different lives that are brought together by tragedy. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “When Hannah, a seventy-three-year-old widow, finds the semiconscious body of a fourteen-year-old Mexican national in a ditch along a remote central Texas road, she has no idea someone is watching. Not until the girl's brutal attacker arrives at Hannah's door in the middle of the night, threatening not just the girl's but Hannah's very survival. Ultimately the question of justice for a victim of human trafficking and the woman who helps her lies in the hands of a biracial border patrol officer and an unconventional small-town sheriff. The I-10 corridor of Texas connects saints, demons, and victims as the ultimate question of life and death is decided by two strangers fate has bound together. They must make a hard choice in order to survive: either follow the law or follow their consciences.”

Johnny Bernhard returns with her fourth novel, a book of suspense and a family drama about two women living very different lives, one in Texas and one in Mexico, brought together by tragedy. Bernhard's strength is showing the lives of both women, the relationships with their family members, and their lives in their communities. Hannah is a recent widow who desperately misses her husband and struggles to keep their ranch in order. Ariela dreams of going to the US and living a new, very different life. When Ariela is kidnapped by a sadistic trafficker, she finds herself living a nightmare and eventually ends up in a ditch on the side of the road where Hannah finds her. Bernhardt effectively shows the lives of both women and their relationship which grows through their common painful experiences, although the suspenseful elements of the novel could have been ratcheted up a little more. Ultimately, this is an affecting literary novel revealing a modern tragedy that is all too common in the southern border states of America.

I enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. I would give this novel 4 and 1/2 stars.