Earth Day aka "Green Love" 2008

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary: It happens one August morning. As dawn's light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing.


Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy as a toddler. Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to do the best she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay has cost more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend and voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual demeanor. Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of family secrets.


Favorite Quote: Having a little girl has been like following an old treasure map with the important paths torn away.


My Thoughts: The one thing that struck me most about 'The Weight of Silence' was how strong Callie's voice comes across even when she wasn't present. Gudenkauf has a wonderful way of playing with narrative voice, the subtle shift in tense, characters speaking for others, instead of themselves, in spite of themselves.

Looking back on the book I was shocked to realize that Petra had narrated a section toward the beginning. Despite so much of the book being about Petra, she's surprisingly absent. It's this absence that most capitvated me as the piece of the mystery came together. It's what drew me forward through to the end.  Ouside of this, the book is predictable in a good way, a solid read. The epilogue, while somewhat necessary, was depressing. The hope that had built in the last several sections of the books where left tainted with a bitter aftertaste once I finished the epilogue.