Review Detail

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.