Review: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf is an absorbing novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page. It is the story of Calli, a 7 year old girl with selective mutism and her best friend Petra who both are found missing in the middle of the night. The story that ensues is not one that I usually like to read as a mother as it can be heartwrenching to read stories related to abduction. I found that Ms. Gudenkauf focused on so much more than an "abduction" so please don't let that sway you from reading this book as it is truly about so much more. It focuses on family dynamics, the unconditional love and acceptance of childhoold friends and the power that holds in our relationships and secrets that are often left unspoken.

The Weight of Silence focuses on three families, Calli who is dragged into the woods behind her house by her drunken and abusive father in the early hours of the morning. Her mother Antonia, searches for her and gets support from the sheriff which was her childhood sweetheart. Calli's older brother Ben is determined to find Calli as he knows the woods that they have explored as children. Petra is an only child and has a special connection to Calli and she accepts Calli and often speaks for her. She goes missing after seeing someone familiar from her window in the middle of the night and follows them. We don't know as a reader if it is Calli and her father or someone else until the story unwinds. Petra's father Martin is determined to find his daughter and is driven by his emotion and almost destroys his own family. Sheriff Louis still has a fondness for Toni who married another man instead of waiting for him to finish college. Louis' own marriage unravels as this story unfolds.

The story is told in alternating viewpoints of the girls, Antonia, Ben, Martin and the Sheriff. This style of storytelling worked well as they shared their thoughts in second and third person views. It flowed smoothly as each viewpoint was a relatively short chapter and then you quickly moved on to the next persons point of view. It kept my focus intent and involved as a reader and I couldn't wait to read what happened next. The author has a wonderful style of writing that skillfully weaves a story that makes you not want to put the book down. Ms. Gudenkauf writes with sensitivity and discretion related to the abduction scenes. It is not overly graphic, in my opinion, but it may be a sensitive subject for some to read about. I highly recommend it, and make sure that you block off some time to read it as you will most likely need to read straight through to the bittersweet ending.

This would be an excellent book for a book club discussion as there are many themes to discuss related to selective mutism, childhood friendships, family dynamics, marriage, motherhood, parenting, alcoholism, abuse etc. There is a list of Discussion questions at the back of the trade paperback edition. You can find more information at Heather Gudenkauf's website here . This is her debut novel and I was so happy to read that she is working on her second novel. This is an author to watch and I look forward to her next novel.

Thanks to Mothertalk for sending me this wonderful book as part of the The Weight of Silence blog tour.