A Sudden Silence

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

"What If" Bry and Jesse had taken the proper way home after the party? "What If" they'd only have stayed on the correct side of the road until they reached the underpass? Instead, Bry sees a clearing in the traffic near their development and runs across the road. Shortly after that, a speeding car comes from behind, catching them unawares. Jesse yells out to Bry to get out the way. But Bry is deaf and never heard the warning, nor probably ever knew the car hit him. Until it was too late.

Jesse is full of regrets from the moment he darted out of the way without grabbing his brother and pulling him to safety. But no one has blamed Jesse that it was his fault. Instead, Jesse is determined to do everything he can to find the driver who so carelessly hit Bry and then drove off into the night without helping.

A SUDDEN SILENCE has been reissued after twenty years. The story is still as relevant today as it was in 1988 when it was first published. Ms. Bunting writes a sad story of one brother's quest to find justice for his younger brother who was killed too soon. Jesse is a normal teenager who has to deal with survivor's guilt, as well as the not-knowing of who killed his brother. With the help of Bry's friend, Chloe, Jesse puts the pieces together to help the police solve the crime. In the end, though, Ms. Bunting makes the reader realize that the conclusions we come to may not make it any easier for everyone involved.

This story is a must-read for teens thinking about drinking and driving. Many fail to realize that the dangers may not always be to the drunk driver, but instead to the innocent people who had nothing to do with the alcohol. ( )

Jesse Harmon knows he will never forget the night his brother, Bry, was killed by a hit-and-run driver. Striving to ease his grief, Jesse and Bry's girlfriend, Chloe, begin a search for the driver--and uncover other truths just as difficult and disturbing

Jesse's brother, Bry, is killed in a hit-and-run accident. Jesse, who was with him, tries to remember the car in order to find the driver. Jesse feels guilty because he didn't save Bry by pushing him out of the way, he had yelled at Bry but Bry was deaf. Even when Jesse discovers the identity of the driver he doesn't feel any better, the pain is still there.