Silent to the Bone

Rating:
Summary: Reeled in Like a Fish on a Hook!
Review: As a teacher, every year I receive information about new books from Scholastic Publishing, Co. Last year, they sent an anthology of first chapters from some of the new books. This is an old teacher trick- read 'em the first chapter and they'll want to know more. Well, it certainly worked in this case. The first chapter of this engaging book was included, and it hooked me so badly that I had to go out and buy the novel that day to find out what would happen next.

For the most part, the rest of the book lives up to the expectations created by such a well-written and intriguing beginning. The main character, Connor, takes on the responsibility of solving the mystery of his friend Branwell's silence. After Branwell's baby sister is hospitalized for injuries, the boy can no longer talk and everyone, except Connor, believes the nanny's statement that Branwell hurt the baby.

There are some interesting plot twists along the way, and young readers will enjoy figuring out the mystery. However, I did not give this book 5 stars because many adult readers, and more mature young readers, will find the ending a bit predictable.

Another problem with this book is the age group it is being marketed to. While the reading level might be ages 9-12, the content is more appropriate for the 12-16 age group. The sexual situations are intense and emotionally charged and may be too graphic for the younger readers. The positive side of this is that it is a good book for older readers who are not reading at grade level. The high interest content combined with an accessible reading level would make this a good book for the reluctanct reader.

Rating:
Summary: Konigsburg writes another winner
Review: Branwell and Connor have an admittedly unusual friendship. Branwell is not an ordinary teenager. He is smart, well read, and just different enough to keep things interesting. Connor admires Bran's unique personality, and their friendship thrives because they are two unique people.

It is this strong basis of a friendship that is the focal point of Konigsburg's novel. When Bran is accused of dropping and shaking his baby half-sister, Connor is convinced that Bran is innocent. However, Bran suddenly stops speaking after the baby is hurt, and it is up to Connor to piece together what actually happened. Figuring out what happened that afternoon of the 911 call is the only way for Bran to come out of the silent world he has retreated into.

Konigsburg has created a book that is equally a detective story, a tale of a strong friendship, and a commentary on the strength of families. Although this book is very different from her last book, the award-winning The View from Saturday, Konigsburg never fails to create characters with depth and personality. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a book with some good twists and turns, or who wants to read about the strength of the friendship between two young men.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing! by Sylvia Gindick
Review: Intense! Suspenseful! Amazing mystery! You will find all of this in E.L. Konigsburg's "Silent to the Bone". The story captivates you immediately, making it impossible to put the book down for an instant. When reading this book, you are taken on an extremely exciting mystery adventure with Connor. He is a young boy whose best friend, Branwell, has been put into a Behavior Center for supposedly hurting his baby sister, Nikki. Silence overcomes Branwell and he will speak to no one. Only Connor believes that he is innocent, and will do anything to prove it. So Connor picks up clues to who may have really hurt Nikki and every day he visits Branwell to try to get him to speak. This wonderful journey takes you through love, despair, and confusion, all so powerful that the memories from this book stay with you forever. "Silent to the Bone" is intense and it makes you think hard about real life and all of the possibilities. For children under 12, you should ask your parents before you read this book. If they say no, then try your hardest to persuade them because "Silent to the Bone" makes a difference in the way you chose to overcome obstacles and the way you come across life.

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Book!
Review: Once again, E.L. Koningsburg has pulled off a thoroughly astounding book. The whole book is about a task assigned to Connor involving his very best friend, Branwell Zamborska. In the end, this mission proves to be much more difficult than it first sounded. After being accused of dropping his baby half sister, Nikki, Bran suddenly stops talking. He is sent to a Behavioral Center where Connor visits him every single day in an effort to make his buddy speak. With the help of Connor's half sister, Margaret, as well as some hints dropped along the way, Connor tries to put the mystery together. He is constantly wondering what really happened that Wednesday afternoon. However, this didn't come without some hard work and major dedication. Piece by piece, he plugs along with very little complaining.
I have to admit that it took a chapter or two for me to fully get into the book. From there on out, I was reading a mile-a-minute. Koningsburg uses her remarkable talent in writing to suck us into the story and keep us glued. In an effort to solve the mystery, Conner thinks of ingenious ways to persuade Branwell to talk and to somehow communicate with him. This was just one of the qualities that I loved about the book.
All in all, Silent to the Bone was amazing. I highly recommend it to readers older than 11 or 12. This is due to some mature content in the story. As with all of E.L. Koningsburg's books, this one always left me hanging. I could not stop my fingers from creeping to the bottom of the page to flip it.

Rating:
Summary: My summary on Silent to the bone
Review: Silent to the Bone is a great story. The book is about a boy whose name is Branwell and one day when he comes home from school he sees his half-baby sister breathing weird and he starts to yell "Vivi, come here. It's Nikki." The babysitter, Vivian, came into the room and abuses. She tells him to call 911 and he did. When the operator comes on the phone he is silent.

Nikki lies in a coma while they send Branwell him to the Juvenile Behavioral Center where everyday his best friend Connor comes and see him. Branwell stayed in the Behavioral Center for 20 days. 10 days went by and on the 11th he was making progress, like, he was touching the letters of the alphabet and spelling out words so that Connor could talk to these people.

On the 19th and 20th day he was talking and didn't want anyone to know that, only Connor and Margaret (Connor's big sister). He finally came out of the Behavioral Center and stayed at Margaret's house.

On New Year's Eve, Branwell's dad came to pick up Branwell. He came along with Tina (Branwell's new mom) and Nikki. For the first time that Nikki was ever born Tina gave Branwell Nikki to hold.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: This story centers around a mystery in which newborn baby Nikki is left in a coma, and her half brother, Branwell, is put in a detention center, but not charged (yet) for the crime. He has not talked since that day.
Connor, Branwell's best friend, is trusted to go to the detention center, and try his best to get Branwell to talk about the accident...or, in that case, talk about anything.
The two develop a way of speaking, (blinking and using flashcards) and Connor pieces together the mystery, to find hte true culprit behind the tragedy.
E.L. Konigsburg spins a wonderful tale of love, detective work, and sadness. She backs up her already strong plot with even stronger characters, and keeps you on the edge of your seat, and your nails bitten, to the very last page.
The only flaw in this story is it's length; Konigsburg could have easily ended the story 10 or 15 pages before she did.
This is a great book; I reccomend it if you enjoy modern-day suspense and well detailed characters.