List Price: $13.95Amazon.com's Price: $10.04 You Save: $3.91 (28%)as of 11/23/2009 15:42 EST
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780778327400
Edition: First Print
ISBN: 077832740X
Label: Mira
Manufacturer: Mira
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: July 28, 2009
Publisher: Mira
Release Date: July 28, 2009
Studio: Mira
Features:
Related Items:
Alternate Versions: Click to Display
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn's shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.
Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy that pulled her deep into silence as a toddler.
Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to be the best mother she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Now, though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay in her marriage has cost her more than her daughter's voice.
Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend, her soul mate and her voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual, professorial demeanor.
Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
This was Heather Gudenkauf's debut book and I would describe it as a beautiful music piece, just like a musical conductor directing his orchestra, she creatively put this lyrical suspense story together.
Calli is a selective mute, hasn't spoke in three years and she gives her side of the story in past tense and all others in present day, great style for the way this story was told.
Calli and her best friend Petra have a magical friendship, one you don't question you just accept as is. This story captures what happens in the past, is not forgotten and how it affects everyone, children and adults, and the terrible circumstances when choices are made, sometimes not the right one for everyone involved. The title weight of silence fully comes together at the end.
There are numerous suspense twists, where are the girls, are they together, did someone abduct them, are they alive then you have who, what, where, omg it just keeps going. And the biggest suspense `elephant in the room' answer you want is why doesn't Calli speak?
And at the end, it was the best Epilogue I have ever read, this was when I wanted to cry.
Rating: -
Heather made this story an incredible read with the woods as a character. She had to have lived in a rural area and traipsed through many a wooded area. Her characters lived in your mind and your heart as you read about a little girl who experienced something no little girl should. This made the difference in her life and helped you as the reader define your opinions about Heather's characters. Without telling those who haven't read this anything....you MUST read this, know that your time will be well spent and your knowledge about silence in this context will grow immensely.
Rating: -
I was a bit apprehensive reading this book because I was afraid to learn the reason why Calli had become selectively mute as a child. The reader soon learns her father is an abusive alcoholic, and as a parent, your mind starts making up all possible horrible scenarios for why she no longer speaks. Once I got past the awful thought that it might have been a result of some sort of sexual molestation I was fine.
The story essentially starts out with 7 year old Calli and her best friend both missing from their beds one night. Right from the beginning we know how Calli disappears, but we are left to find out how her best friend, Petra, disappears as well, because the two disappearances do not seem to be related, although the characters in the story do not know this. Each chapter is told from the point of view of different characters in the story: Calli, her brother Ben, her mother, Petra, Petra's parents Martin and Antoinette, and Deputy Sheriff Louis. All characters tell the story from the first person, except for Calli whose point of view is told in the third person. I imagine this is to reinforce the point that she does not speak for herself.
You will experience all sorts of emotions while reading this book: fear and hope for Calli, sympathy for the girls' parents, disdain for Calli's father, and uncertainty for what lies ahead. The book is not too "heavy" in that it overloads the emotional senses, but it definitely intrigues and compels you to read on. The first few chapters I read in short bursts the first two nights, but then the third day I was so engrossed I couldn't put it down for three hours until I finished it!
Rating: -
I was very pleased with this book. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. I was worried that the plot about missing little girls might have been to emotional for this parent. However, the twist of the main character not speaking hooked me and I had to find out why. The story takes place in one day and is told by different characters, so you get a little bit more of the plot from different points of view. The resolution was pretty much a mystery to me until the end, both of what happened to the other girl and why the main character didn't speak.
Rating: -
I really enjoyed the story. The characters are mostly realistic. The ending was not exactly a surprise, but then I read a lot of mysteries and detective stories. I would recommend the book. It is light reading and the story moves quickly.
But, please what happened to editing? There is a line in the book that reads - "My mother killed the bat that came down the chimney with an umbrella". I have seen many bats over the years and even had a few in my house. Perhaps I have just not seen the right bat, but I have never seen one with an umbrella.
|
