Silent to the Bone

A truly excellent YA novel. A well-written, compassionate, heartbreaking novel about child abuse, guilt and friendship.

Conner's best friend Branwell stands accused of harming his baby half-sister, who is now in a coma. Everybody has theories about what happened, but Branwell isn't able to help the investigation...because he cannot speak. For some reason he is locked into a kind of self-imposed silence. Conner visits Branwell every day at the Juvenile Behavioral Center, and they figure out a method of non-verbal communication which slowly, step by step, leads to the truth.

The depth of friendship between the two boys and the understanding and compassion of Conner's half-sister Margaret contribute to Conner's mission in positive ways. The show more other adults in the story are sometimes clueless, but nearly all of them do their best to help. (Branwell's grandparents drove me crazy. Him too.)

A good read, with the right sort of ending. Loved it. Recommended. show less

This story succeeds on several levels. It first struck me as an anthem to friendship -- young male friendship, at that, which is not given as wide a treatment in literature, for children or adults, as its female counterpart. It developed into a good detective story (as an adult, the whodunit and the why became clear relatively early on, but I think the target audience might be in a bit more suspense than that), and touched on themes of psychology, family issues, sexual manipulation (!), and divorce as well. All in all, a strong, worthwhile read. Honestly, I'd never read any Konigsburg except for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, which I have read numerous times since the age of eight or so; I was glad to see that show more over thirty years after winning the Newbery for Mixed-Up Files, she's still writing very well indeed. show less

I enjoyed Silent to The Bone. It was a nonfiction mystery for young adults that involved a boy who becomes a voiceless character halfway through an emergency phone call to the authorities. He ends up in a juvenile detention center and his friend Connor spent the book trying to figure out his mystery. This is a very well written book that captivates the reader. This book does not have any illustrations, so the writing puts the images in the readers head. There are less words on each page compared to adult chapter books and it seems like the font is larger.

Silent to the bone is a compelling chapter book. You really into the book and want Connor to figure out the truth. It’s very suspenseful and keeps you on ur seat which is amazing. I love these kind of book I feel like kids would love reading about these characters. I think this is perfect middle school book and possibly as low as 5th grade. I personally couldn’t stop reading how the author went about telling the story.

Konigsburg always gets it right. Her delineation of embarassment and shame is well done here, in context of adolescent boys. Big sister Margaret Rose is a treasure too.

13 year old Connor's best friend Branwell has been sent to a juvenile detention center after supposedly dropping his baby sister and causing her to slip into a coma. To make matters worse, Branwell has been so shocked by what has happened that he cannot speak, and therefore cannot defend himself or proclaim his innocence. There is talk that he did it because he was jealous of his new baby half-sister but Connor knows that Branwell loved and adored her. It is up to Connor to try and unlock the mystery behind what really happened to baby Nikki - who hurt her and why? A fascinating, well-written mystery about infatuation ( with the British au pair), family (both Connor & Branwell have complicated blended families) and the power of show more friendship ( when you know a person so well, they don't need to speak for you to understand them)
P.9-12. show less

Silent to the Bone is about a child named Branwell Zamborska who stops talking after his baby sister is hurt. Nikki, Branwell's sister, is not breathing and Branwell calls emergency services, but he stops talking. His English au pair Vivian comes on the line and screams that Branwell has shaken the baby. Nikki ends up in a coma and Branwell is taken into custody. Branwell goes to a juvenile behavioral center because he refuses to talk, which does not help him if Nikki dies and criminal charges will be brought against him. Branwell's best friend Connor comes to visit him while he is detained and devises a plan that allows Branwell to communicate with Connor without speaking. Through this code, Branwell sends Connor out to discover the show more truth of what happened on the day that Nikki stopped breathing. The mystery of what really happened on that day unravels as Connor finds himself saving Branwell.

This was surprisingly darker than what I am used to by Konigsburg. The manipulation of the culprit is intense. I loved going through the mystery with Connor. It was always interesting to find out where Branwell was going to lead us. It also gave a very empowering feeling to younger readers because they ultimately are the only ones that can communicate and save the day. All of the adults are missing too many clues. On the negative side, I never felt compelled to read this book. There were quite a few times that I put it down in order to read something else. It is not exciting and gripping. For the most part, it is a slow moving novel that has a lot of entertaining parts that don't need to be read right away. As a teacher, this makes me nervous because I feel like a child would not be as patient as I am. They will probably put the book down and forget about it rather than pick it back up a few days later and continue. There is a lot more thinking and talking about thinking than actual action within the whole story. I guess that is what happens when one of the main characters does not speak.

All in all, I gave this a 3/5 stars. I liked it, but I will probably not push it towards my students or read it again. show less