Promise

by Sarah Armstrong

How far would you go to protect a child in danger?

When a new family moves in next door, it takes Anna just two days to realise something is very wrong. She can hear their five-year-old daughter Charlie crying, then sees injuries on the little girl which cannot be ignored. Anna reports the family to the police and social services but when no one comes to Charlie's aid, Anna understands that she is alone with her fears for the child's life.

So when Charlie comes to her door asking for help, the only thing Anna can think to do is take the girl and run.

Raising delicate but deeply felt questions about our individual responsibility for the children around us, Promise is a novel that obliges the reader to ask: if Charlie were my neighbour, what would I do?

PRAISE FOR HIS OTHER HOUSE

"Extraordinarily compelling...To elaborate on Sarah Armstrong's seemingly simple plot would be to betray the book's deep, intertwining roots...A tour de force." Australian Women's Weekly

"You can feel the weather, the damp of northern NSW, seep through the story just as a secret creates rot in a relationship." Herald Sun

"Armstrong's prose is striking and clear; there is a tenderness to how her characters are portrayed...Instead of pitting one character against another, she undertakes the task of asking us to understand them...Instead of giving us someone to blame, it shows us how easy it is to inadvertently cause harm." Weekend Australian

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Drama

400 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2016

About the author

Sarah was a journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation before writing three novels, Salt Rain , which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award, 'His Other House' and 'Promise'. Her first novel for kids is 'Big Magic.' http://www.sarah-armstrong

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another piece of tremendous Australian women’s authors writing! Set around Sydney, western NSW and the areas of northern NSW, this suspense was a joy to read. The lush description of Mullumbimby and surrounding areas made for interesting reading, and the contemporary story line was riveting.

Child abuse always makes for riveting reading, especially when the concerned party is childless and inexperienced with children. Anna quickly (very quickly in my opinion) decided to take the law into her own hands when Child and Family services don’t act on her vigilant and repeated phone calls of the abuse of her little neighbour, Charlie.

Charlie is a lovable character, I sense that not many of the characters here aren’t, even the ones on the good side. I didn’t feel drawn to them in any noticeable way. We see the worst of the worst though, as the ride takes us on the journey a young woman takes to save the little girl she barely knew.

I do recommend this book, especially to those that love to read about the beautiful surrounds of Byron Bay and Mullumbimby. The township of Orange even gets a mention. I love Aussie fiction you can sink into, and not want to put down. Oh, and did I mention this author is a former ABC journo? Even better!

[Melissa (Mel’s Bookshelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Promise is a new novel by journalist Sarah Armstrong. I must admit I was excited to read this book, but also apprehensive. Almost every day we hear terrible stories of children being treated badly, neglected, abused and even murdered. Every story upsets me, brings tears to my eyes for a short time, brings up anger, sadness and frustration. But then the news story changes. These children are soon forgotten, replaced with other stories.

I knew some of the emotions this book was going to bring up in me. I am a mother and a nurse. My first instinct is to care. I was apprehensive to get out of my comfort zone and voluntarily read about this subject matter, knowing that it will upset me.

But we NEED to be upset if anything is ever going to be done about this problem. Sarah has written an insightful, and at times disturbing portrayal of a child in danger and one woman’s frustration with the system as she takes matters into her own hands. While obviously kidnapping a child in danger is probably not the best idea to help the problem, Armstrong has brought us a good reminder that these things happen EVERY DAY! Perhaps even next door to YOU!

I must admit I was expecting Promise to be a heavy read from the start. I was bracing myself for the emotion, and there indeed were a few disturbing gut-wrenching moments. However instead of being heavy and depressing like I was somewhat expecting, I found the book to be extremely readable. The emotive scenes were powerful, but also done with a respectful tactfulness that I found quite refreshing.

I found the characters to be quite well developed and well written. Anna had quite a lot of baggage that she didn’t realise was there, and it was satisfying to watch her move through some of her issues as everything was unfolding. I did have a bit of a problem relating to Anna though, as I found some of her decisions were just so far from my reality. I think I felt this way because thankfully I have never been in that sort of situation myself. I have no idea how I would react if I was witnessing what she did and the system wasn’t doing anything. Perhaps its not so far from reality after all.

There were a few parts of the book that moved a bit slower than others, but I enjoyed the overall pace. I liked the atmosphere of the novel and the city to rural backdrop. There was lots of tension with the threat of being discovered vs the pressure to turn herself in.

I enjoyed the ending, I don’t know why, but I was expecting something different.

Would I recommend Promise?

Absolutely! It was a great read that will no doubt bring some much needed attention to the problem of family violence in Australia.

Many thanks to author Sarah Armstrong via Pan Macmillan for a copy of Promise in exchange for my honest review, and for joining me for the Q&A!

Click HERE to see my Q&A with Sarah Armstrong about Promise and this important subject.

For more reviews visit my BLOG
TWITTERor
FACEBOOK

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

When new neighbours move in next door there can often be a sense of expectation, wondering what they will be like, wondering if you will be friends. But it doesn’t take long for Anna to realise there is something seriously wrong happening with her new neighbours. She hears cries and screaming and sees signs of abuse on the five year old girl, Charlie. Calling the police only makes matters worse and social services seem to take no action. So Anna does the only thing she can think to do to keep the child safe. She takes Charlie and goes on the run. While the reader may think her actions extreme, the author does a good job of making Anna’s motivations and actions believable. Will she find anywhere safe? Will anyone help her? How can she keep Charlie safe? What will be the consequences for her and for Charlie of her actions? Will her actions only endanger others? Who can she trust? This book raises these questions and others. Did Anna do the right thing, even though it is really kidnapping? How would you respond if you knew a neighbour’s child was being abused?
I really liked Anna and Charlie was what you might expect in a situation like this, not always sweetness and light. Both these characters come across as real. Even though this is a difficult topic and scenes of abuse can be hard to read, they are not overdone thankfully. This story kept me turning the pages. The Australian setting was also well conveyed. An engrossing read about a subject that needs to be dealt with. Some may query whether the ending was realistic given the situation and I had a few quibbles about this, but overall I was happy enough to accept it in what was an involving read. This is my first read by this author. It will be interesting to read another.

[Mary Monks · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing story.
Anna has new neighbours arrive and they are abusing their young daughter Charlie. What is Anna to do when her calls to the police and children's services result in no changes in this poor child's life? She sees that her only solution is to abduct the child... so she does.
The rest of the book deals with the consequences of this enormous decision.
The author has woven an intense story where, as the reader, we can feel the power of the emotions involved. The characters are powerful and tension runs high all the way through - I had trouble putting the book down.
Anna's maternal instincts rise to the surface. Her relationship with her own mother who died when she was 8 years old, begin to unfold and play on her mind. As the reader, it was not hard for me to decide whether she had done the right thing or not, even if it was illegal! I was on Anna's side all the way.
I highly recommend this book.

[Lizzy Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was loaned Promise by someone who couldn't put it down and recommended it to me highly, and I started without having read the back cover blurb or knowing anything about the story. I have to admit, I find the subject matter pretty distressing. Moreover I couldn't get my head around the main character Anna's choices (avoiding spoilers here), even with the author's creation of a strong back story/motivation. My judgement of Anna's behaviour rarely let up throughout the novel and made for an uncomfortable - if compelling - reading experience. It also meant the ending was less satisfying than it might otherwise have been. (I've been told it brought other readers to tears.) I'd be very interested to seek out Armstrong's first two novels, though, as she writes well and her debut was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin.

[Bianca Coppens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aangrijpend verhaal

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha, first audiobook I’ve listened to where I did not lose concentration, not even for a few seconds which for one should tell the reader how awesome it is to listen to this tale on audio book and two that the story is absorbing and positively entertaining.

Anna kidnaps five year old Charlie to save her from the abusive adults in her life.

One minor niggle: When a person rings the police twice and family services twice about a child being abused I can’t for the life of me believe they wouldn’t turn up and remove the child or at the minimum look over and talk to that child or at least complete a full assessment of the adults. From my understanding family services usually don’t hesitate to remove a child from an abusive household.

I know, I know, this is fiction and there’d be no story if the child was removed instantly.

An emotional and thought-provoking read.

[Rinske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna krijgt nieuwe buren. Algauw hoort en ziet ze dat het buurmeisje thuis mishandeld wordt. De kinderbescherming en politie laten het afweten, dus slaat Anna op de vlucht met haar buurmeisje.

Mooi geschreven verhaal. Las makkelijk weg. Je leert tijdens het verhaal ook steeds meer over het verleden van Anna en hoe ze haar eigen moeder mist.
Haar eigen verleden heeft misschien wel een rol gespeeld in de beslissing om haar buurmeisje mee te nemen.

[Iris Overstyns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knap verhaal!

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erg, erg mooi boek - niet altijd even goed geschreven, maar wel ontzettend aangrijpend en hartverscheurend: het vloog me soms echt naar de keel, zeker omdat er maar weinig verhalen hierover zijn. Mooi ook hoe de auteur het steeds meer weet te verweven met wat de hoofdpersoon zelf heeft meegemaakt. Erg mooi.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wat zou jij doen als je nieuwe buren krijgt en je je enorme zorgen maakt om de veiligheid van je 5 jarige buurmeisje. Ik zou de keuze die Anna maakt niet snel durven maken iig!

[Lisa Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping and emotional read. Couldn't put it down!

[Anoeska Nossol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dit boek heeft zeer veel kanten. Ik heb getwijfeld tussen drie en vier sterren. Het is zeker geen slecht verhaal, in tegendeel zelfs, maar soms vroeg ik me af in hoeverre dit wel kon. De hoofdpersoon, een volwassen vrouw, leek soms zeer kinderlijk. Terwijl het kind in het verhaal veel ouder leek dan ze daadwerkelijk was. Ook het einde is mij een raadsel. Vrijgesproken worden van een misdaad en dan nog krijgen wat je wil? Daar stelde ik mezelf wat vragen bij.
Overigens vind ik de plot zeer mooi. Het is een verhaal dat verschillende boodschappen voor de lezer bevat. De ene boodschap is al wat serieuzer dan de andere.
Ook de setting van dit verhaal is prachtig. Ik schrok ervan hoe goed dit boek aangekleed werd. Die bossen, dat meertje,... Ik kon het allemaal levendig voor me zien. Dankzij de setting werd de sfeer van bepaalde scenes ook beter benadrukt en kon het boek mij als lezer echt raken. Het is zeker een emotioneel verhaal met een hartbrekende kern.
De personages (buiten de twee hoofdpersonages om) vond ik ook zeer interessant en goed gevormd. Je merkt dat de auteur verschillende typetjes heeft willen neerzetten. Van verraders tot mensen in hetzelfde schuitje en meer. Zeer interessant om te zien hoe de auteur daarmee aan de slag ging. Maar de hoofdpersonen waren voor mij soms wat zwakker tegenover de nevenfiguren.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laat me niet alleen is een boek dat gaat over Anna. Anna krijgt nieuwe buren, waaronder een 5 jarig meisje. Op een gegeven moment ziet ze blauwe plekken bij het kind, hoort ze het kind schreeuwen en huilen. Ondanks het inschakelen van overheidsinstanties voor de veiligheid van het kind, luistert niemand en Anna onderneemt zelf actie.

Laat me niet alleen gaat eigenlijk over een zwaar onderwerp. Het heeft me vanaf het begin meegesleurd in het verhaal met een zwaar gevoel op de maag. Ik zat er met mijn gedachten en gevoel in en dat zijn niet veel boeken die dat hebben. Waarom ik het dan maar vier sterren heb gegeven in plaats van vier, komt omdat ik het einde toch wat snel vond gaan. Het ging ineens als een trein. Ik vond dat sommige stukken net wat meer aandacht mogen hadden.

Ondanks dat het om een heftig onderwerp gaat neemt Sarah de lezer mee in het verhaal. Het is vlot en makkelijk leesbaar. Dit uit zich door niet te veel details over gebeurtenissen te gebruiken maar ook weer niet te weinig. Er gebeurt precies genoeg om door te willen lezen.

Al met al vond ik het een aangrijpend boek, eentje die me zeker bij blijft.

[Patricia De Boer · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the young woman Anna suspects that her 5-year-old girl next door Charlie is being abused by her mother and stepfather, Anna reports to the authorities.
But that choice doesn't have the desired result, and only makes things more difficult for little Charlie.
Anna's decision then has far-reaching consequences.

A beautiful, but also sad story about the love for a child and the relationship between mother and daughter.
Very beautifully and aptly written.

[Susanne Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lot of questions this book leaves you with. What would YOU do in Anna’s situation? Having being faced with many scenarios over the years of being an SEN teaching assistant, I completely understand where Anna was coming from. I don’t agree that kidnap is the way to go but certainly understand the feelings and emotions she had in trying to save Charlie. Excellent story, and one well worth reading. Makes me appreciate my children and also made me mindful of the way I spoke and acted within my family. Well done Sarah Armstrong.

[Nienke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi verhaal, heel aangrijpend. Maar het middenstuk had wat korter mogen zijn.

[Sabine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schon das erste Buch „nachts schwimmen“ von der Autorin hat mir sehr gut gefallen, so dass ich neugierig war auf ihren neuen Roman – und auch wenn dieser ganz anders ist als der Vorgänger, konnte auch er mich in ihren Bann ziehen.

Die Autorin greift ein interessantes Thema auf, denn man kommt nicht umhin, sich zu fragen, wie man selber gehandelt und reagiert hätte. Neben Anna zieht eine neue Familie ein – es dauert aber nicht lange, da fällt ihr auf, dass mit der kleinen Charly nicht gut umgegangen wird. Sie informiert die Polizei und das Jugendamt, doch nichts passiert. Als Charly zu ihr kommt und sie um Hilfe bittet, nimmt sie kurzerhand das Kind und verschwindet – und erst im Nachhinein wird ihr klar, dass sie nun eine Kindesentführerin ist.

Es braucht nur wenige Seiten, um in der Geschichte anzukommen – und damit auch in dem Konflikt, in dem Anna sich befindet. Ich habe sie gleich ins Herz geschlossen und mit ihr gefühlt und gelitten – erst, als sie sich so hilflos fühlt, weil sie Charly nicht helfen konnte, obwohl sie öffentliche Stellen eingeschaltet hat, dann bei ihrer Flucht mit dem kleinen Mädchen, die sie immer mehr in Gewissenskonflikte bringt. Anna ist ein sehr differenzierter Charakter: Eigentlich ist sie kein Mensch, der impulsiv und unüberlegt handelt, doch als ihre Hilfeschreie nicht gehört werden, ist sie verzweifelt und weiß sich und Charly nicht anders zu helfen, als einfach mit ihr wegzulaufen. Auf der Flucht wird sie sich dann der Konsequenzen klar – und trotzdem setzt sie Charlys Wohl weiter immer an erste Stelle. Ich habe Anna Zerrissenheit gut spüren können, ihre Verzweiflung und Hilflosigkeit – und natürlich habe ich mich gefragt, wie ich wohl selber reagiert hätte.

Von Anfang an konnte mich die Geschichte fesseln, und die Autorin hat es geschafft, den Spannungsbogen stetig steigen zu lassen, bis er sich dann beim überraschenden Ende auflöst. Es gibt immer wieder unerwartete Wendungen, die es nie langweilig werden lassen und auch wenn man meint zu wissen, wie die Geschichte ausgeht, wird man doch eines besseren belehrt. Vor allem aber haben mir die vielen unterschiedlichen zwischenmenschlichen Aspekte der Geschichte gefallen – die verschiedenen Beziehungsgeflechte, die sich durch die Entführung ergeben. Dabei spielen Freundschaft, Vertrauen und Loyalität eine große Rolle, aber auch Verlust und Enttäuschung in öffentliche Stellen und Behörden.

Der Schreibstil ist eingängig und lässt sich flott und flüssig lesen, so dass die Seiten rasch dahingeflogen sind. Mich hat das Buch von Anfang an gepackt und auch zum Nachdenken über das eigene Handeln und Tun angeregt. So hat es mich nicht nur unterhalten, sondern hallt immer noch nach – ich gebe 4,5 von 5 Sternen.

Mein Fazit
Eine interessante Geschichte, die den Leser zum Nachdenken über das eigene Handeln anregt, die aber auch gut unterhält und spannend bis zum Ende bleibt. Dabei gibt es immer wieder unerwartete Wendungen und ein Ende, das ich so nicht erwartet hätte – mich hat die Autorin auch mit diesem Buch wieder überzeugen können, so dass ich 4,5 von 5 Sternen vergebe.

[Samantha Kukuljan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This book would be great for a book club. It's controversial. Would you kidnap someone else's child? Anna pierce does in this book and it shows an interesting perspective.

Anna starts off as your Average Joe who uses legal channels to help Charlie but when the professionals fail to help, she takes the law into her own hands. It was a great story and a good piece of Australian Fiction. Although, the writing style was very basic and none of the characters were particularly interesting, except Charlie. My favourite character was Prue. She was a typically Grandma with her best interests being Charlie. The ending was tied up nicely and the story was not overrruled by romance

[Aimee Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Australia a story about a woman Anna, who in my opinion is loving quite a safe, dull (in my opinion) life finds herself in a situation where she is tempted to taken the law into her own hands.

Little Charlie is a loveable character who I just want to hug and love myself. She moves in next door to Anna and quickly Anna discovers this child is being neglected and abused.

Anna takes the law into her own hands to keep Charlie safe.

The story could have been heavy, and I was prepared for that. Child abuse is a serious and heavy topic but this story touched on the abuse just enough for you to fully grasp what’s going on without it being too heavy.
The storyline is light and hopeful.

I did find Anna’s actions escalate quite quickly. I don’t know if she explored her option enough before she did what she did. But I do totally get why she did what she did.

I found her lack of plan and direction for the future frustrating. I almost felt relieved when the authorities stepped in.

I liked that Anna clearly had her own issues and traumas that she had been living unaware of. But this bold move she took helped her start to unravel those for her. The book was not based on her story at all, but you could feel the coming home and understanding of herself as she took this risky path.

The question tho? What would you do for a child in danger?
It’s a great question that you can’t help but ask yourself and ponder on after.
Would I have been as brave and ruthless as Anna?
Or would I have lived with regret that I had been more bold?

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A vigilant heart, this is what drives the main character to take a risk that not only impacted on her but the others she bought along with her. The novel poses the question 'what would I do if faced with the same situation as Annie?'. The risk was high but balanced against the risk of not doing anything at all. A thought provoking novel that is sensitive and insightful. I loved the way Annie's own childhood was recalled and questioned right throughout, she tried to make sense of the perceived silence from her father after the loss of her mother when she was a young child. She was able to reconcile her sense of longing and bewilderment when faced with her own choices and decisions. She found out what it takes to truly love and care for a child - finding out nothing is simple and a child's eyes sees things very differently - especially when you have taken one that is not your own. Armstrong is particularly skilled at creating the tense, yet striking settings - whether it be the forest, by the creek or in the courtroom - it feels real, so real you can hear and smell exactly how they would be. Cleverly written, sometimes repetitive in thought but at the very core of the novel it was about a keeping a promise - to be safe and to be loved. Sounds like a good promise to me. A strong 3.5 stars.

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely one for book clubs - to discuss what everyone (or let's face it, women) would do in the same situation. The author handles a difficult subject sensitively, but almost seemed to be trying too hard to show she had done the research and was getting all the facts right - perhaps the journalism legacy.

Anna's early actions were not very realistic, and that affected my reaction - she acts impulsively (when she doesn't seem otherwise to be an impulsive person), she commits a serious crime (although her dad is ex-police and boyfriend is a criminal lawyer), she doesn't seem worried about money, and sticks to keeping the child when there were plenty of opportunities to get out of the situation. And it gets tied up too neatly. Apart from the child's drug-affected mother and stepfather, everyone just seems very nice, supportive and helpful. I did enjoy the Australian settings of Sydney, Orange and north coast of NSW. 3.5 stars.

[Jacky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book really made me question things!
How far would you go to protect a child from danger? What would you do if you were in Anna’s situation

This book has you asking yourself how far would I go to protect a child? What would I do? What more can we do for children who are being abused?

Next door to Anna new neighbour’s move in, within a few days Anna realises something isn’t right. Charlie a five year old girl cries at night time and looks little for her age, she turns up to Anna’s house late one night and says she is home alone, while she is at Anna’s house Anna sees a big mark on Charlie’s leg and other injuries Anna realises it can’t be ignored so she rings the police and child protection but only the police come and Charlie is left in the house with her mum and boyfriend, Anna decides to help Charlie get away from the people abusing her.

Sarah is a great writer, I felt like I was living Anna and Charlie’s story- this book won’t be for everyone and everyone will react differently to this book but for me I found it interesting

[May · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jaffles, damper, pikelet - just a few new words I learned reading this book. The idea of the book really troubled me for awhile after reading. What would I do if Charlie was my neighbour? How many of us would do something real and practical when it comes to 'interfering' with another family's problem? Really food for thought and I hope I have the conviction and the courage to do what's right when the situation demand it one day.

[Judith Regeling · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Laat me niet alleen' van Sarah Armstrong is een boek dat heel erg op je gevoel speelt. Anna besluit namelijk om haar buurmeisje Charlie mee te nemen als blijkt dat ze bijna dagelijks wordt mishandeld. Doet ze hier goed aan ook al staat ze lijnrecht tegenover de wet? Het boek leest door de korte hoofdstukken lekker weg, maar ik miste soms wat actie, spanning en verrassing. Het had nog spannender kunnen worden als je ondertussen leest over de zoektocht naar Anna en Charlie, maar dat ontbrak nu.

[Danique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aangrijpend onderwerp om een boek over te schrijven. Wat mij betreft ging het allemaal wat te snel in het begin: Anna krijgt nieuwe buren, ontdekt direct een eventuele mishandeling en staat voor de vraag wat ze moet doen.. Dit gebeurt zo allemaal in de eerste 40 pagina's. Vervolgens gebeurt er eigenlijk heel weinig. Spanning was helemaal weg voor mij. Toch uitgelezen vanwege het onderwerp en sympathieke personen.

[Helene Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book totally consumed me. Everything around me just stopped while I was reading it.
I don't actually remember reading it. I more dived into it and swam to the end
I was with Anna every step of the way. I felt her fear and at times I swear I could hear her beating...or was that mine?
I know that there are thousands of Charlies that battle abuse everyday. I wish and hope that they find their Anna too

[Ingrid Snoeren · Rating 3 out of 5]

De discussie onder dit verhaal is natuurlijk duidelijk: Wat zou jij doen? Ik snap wat er gebeurt en waarom. Het is ook een prima verhaal. Maar het gaat mij allemaal net iets te gladjes, te gemakkelijk. Dochter van een politieman, vriendin van een Officier van Justitie, Anna weet precies wat ze moet doen. Net te eenvoudig allemaal.

[Collette Mcgaahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book with a difficult subject matter handled sympathetically. So many lovely characters you can’t help but be engaged.
I got this as an audiobook and have to comment on the beautiful way it was narrated by Leith McPherson who seemed effortlessly to convey different voices in a gentle way that added to the enjoyment of the book.

[Femke · Rating 2 out of 5]

In het begin van het boek had ik werkelijk kippenvel van alles wat er gebeurde, maar naarmate het boek vorderde klonk alles mij wat onwaar in de oren. Ik had door het begin echt meer diepgang verwacht maar uiteindelijk werd het een Matilda verhaal met weinig diepgang, super jammer!