Thursday, August 27, 2009

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf



Calli has not spoken since she was four years old. Watching her mother lose her baby was enough but someone whispered words in her ear. Now her best friend Petra talks for her. But when both girls disappear, questions arise if something more sinister has happened in this small Iowa town. Now it's a race for time to find them and hope that they can catch whomever is behind it all.

Ms. Gudenkauf has a fantastic emotional roller coaster on her hands. Between the emotions and old ties between two of the characters and the desperation felt by the parents, you just cannot put the book down. Ms. Gudenkauf captured small town life so well. I was enthralled with not only the process that they had to follow to do a search but how it was broken. Emotions were running high and all the points of view presented in the book flowed so well.

Between Ben (Calli's brother), Antonia (Calli's mom), Sheriff Louis, Martin (Petra's dad), as well as Calli herself, you got a good glimpse into what was going on. There is a lot of drama going on in this small town. Calli gets swept up into it.

This is one book that captured my attention from the beginning. For being a debut, it was amazing! There were twists and turns that just kept me turning pages. The idea behind it all made me curious to see how it would play out. I was never quite sure who the suspect was from the beginning. Something didn't add up but I wasn't able to figure things out till the end. Definitely cannot wait to see what this author does next!

***

Okay so I am a little behind in posting. I just finished a book this morning so not sure when I'll post the review.