I saw this book in Asda in the 3 for £10 range and was initially drawn to it as the story contains a girl with selective mutism. Being a student speech therapist this particularly interested me so I decided to buy it and give it a go. Calli and Petra are best friends. They are both 7 years old, are neighbours and attend the same school. Calli hasn't spoken a single word since she was 4 years old, silenced by a tradegy at home. Petra and Calli are soul mates and she seems to know what Calli is thinking so she speaks on her behalf. One morning Petra's parent's wake up to find their daughter is not in her bed, and Calli has also gone missing. Both ...  Read the complete review

Seven year old Calli Clark has not talked since she was four and she witnessed her mother Antonia give birth to a stillborn daughter after she was thrown down the stairs by her violent husband Griff. Calli has only one friend, her school mate Petra who seems to know what Calli is thinking and speaks on her behalf. When Deputy Sheriff Louis receives a call saying that the two girls have vanished from their beds his mind is immediately focussed on another recent case when a young girl was found murdered and he knows that the killer is still on the loose. However, the families of the two girls come under investigation too. Calli comes from a family where her ...  Read the complete review

When two seven year old girls go missing from their houses on the same night, most of the town are frantically searching for them and all are under suspicion. One of the girls, Callie, suffers from selective mutism brought on by an event as a toddler that goes unexplained for most of the story. Petra is Callie's best friend and also her mouthpiece, the one person who understands Callie better than anyone else. She has also vanished in the night from her bed. Now both Petra and Callie's family are under suspicion and both are frantic with worry. Spread over a sixteen hour period, this book follows the pain of having to deal with two missing children, and ...  Read the complete review

This is a review of the 2009 book "The Weight of Silence" by Heather Gudenkauf, an author whose work I have just discovered I enjoy reading. The cover of this book reminds me of a few similar covers, two little girls holding hands with bare feet, this could mean anything but it drew me to read the back cover. The story is about two seven year old girls who go missing. The parents are the first suspects in the story as is often the case in real life. Their reactions and actions are all analysed from the minute everyone realises the girls are missing. But the search goes wider to question who else may be in the frame, meantime will the girls be found safe and ...  Read the complete review

'The Weight of Silence' is a book I picked up at my local library. The front cover of this book intrigued me as it shows the held hands of two young girls. Combined with the title, this seemed as though it would probably be a thriller of some sort, or else a very sad tale. Luckily for me, it was the former, perhaps with just a pinch of the latter thrown in. The book features a young girl of seven, Calli, with selective mutism. This means that she does not ever speak, but this is not because she cannot, rather it is because she chooses not to. At least this is the diagnosis given to Calli by everyone. For her family and those around her, it is actually ...  Read the complete review