Silent to the Bone

Reader reviewed by Brandi

This book is about a boy named Branwell, is sister Nikki, and Branwells friend Connor. Branwells baby sister slips into a coma. Branwell calls 911 but wont speak when they answer. Branwells best friend Connor trys to get him to speak but he wont. Branwell is told its all his fault his sister is in a coma. Branwell is sent to a rehab place where he wont speak either. Connor has tried and tried but Branwell wont speak anywhere. Is it his fault his babysister is in a coma or is it not?

I loved this book it was great. This book is my kind of books because I like to see people change. Another book I read kind of like this was A Child Called It. It just like this one. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mysteries but then, turnes out confusing, then understanding. I would love to read a series of these kind of books just like this book.

Reader reviewed by MRose52

This is a page-turning mystery about a young boy accused of putting his sister into a coma. Told throught the eyes of his best friend, you'll know something one minute and be confounded the next. Laugh-out-loud yet deadly serious, this slightly childish yet highly dincere and entertaining book you won't want to put down.

Reader reviewed by Lulu

When I found this book at my local library, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I certainly didn't expect that it would be as good as it was. At best I thought it would be slighty interesting. But I don't blame whoever wrote the blurb for doing it a disservice because Silent to the Bone is a difficult book to describe in a few paragraphs.

Connor's friend Bradwell's baby sister (see, I said it was complicated and it gets even moreso) is in a coma. Bradwell's family au pair Vivian blames Branwell and as a result of both this and the fact he can no longer speak (or just chooses not to) he is a juvenile detention centre. Connor refuses to believe that Branwell is to blame, and he does some serious detective work to find out.

In this book E.L.Konigsburg ties in the themes of family, lies, trauma, shame, divorce, silence and most importantly friendship. Which makes it sound like your average teenage book, but it isn't. This is one of the deepest books I have read in a long while, and I recommend it to anyone who is fed up of boring teenage books.

Reader reviewed by Alexandra

Branwell Zamborska's baby sister Nikki is in a coma. No one knows what happened except Vivian, the English au pair, and Branwell. Vivian got on the line that day and said that Branwell dropped the baby, so he's in a juvenile detention center. Branwell hasn't said anything since the Nikki stopped breathing. Connor, his best friend, doesn't believe that Branwell is really guilty, so he starts visiting and trying to communicate with him. Piece by piece Connor finds out what really happened that day, but he has to find enough evidence to get Branwell out of there. EL Konigsburg writes a moving and compelling story you won't want to put down.

Reader reviewed by LJK

Silent to the Bone opens with a 911 call; baby Nikki has slipped into a coma, and her nanny tries to revive her while her older half-brother makes the phone call. Branwell, the brother, has been struck mute, however, and so he is taken away to a Juvenile facilty after his sister, now in a coma, is taken to the hospital. But what really happened? Branwell's best friend, Connor, is left to unravel the mystery of Nikki's accident, and why his friend can't, or won't, speak of it.

As I sat to write this summary, I realized how completely inadequate just a paragraph would be. There is so much going on in this novel, so many interlacings of relationships, that a summary cannot do it justice. E.L. Konigsburg has lost none of her skill since From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, and I believe this may be her best work yet. Readers of all ages will be engrossed by the mystery of Nikki's accident, yet the true beauty lies in the story of her family, and how small events can have large consequences. This book is definitely not to be missed!