Rating: 
Summary: Struck Dumb
Review: Silent to the Bone was a fairly easy read book, but yet you can really get into it. The characters feelings were portrayed very well. If they were happy you felt it, sad you felt it, if they were planning something evil, you felt like one of their accomplices. The beginning of the book was fairly slow though. It was just explanations of the people and their individuality. Those explanations though, helped later in the book when the action starts happening.
The very start of the book begins with a call to the police, made by Branwell Zambroska, about his babysister. The only problem was he couldn't speak. The babysitter was ranting and raving in the beckround and finally took the phone. Nikki, the baby, was injured and put into a coma. Bran was struck struck dumb and it took his best friend Conner to figure out what happened. Connor and Bran had been best friends almost their whole lives and it even took a great friend like Connor a while to figure out what happened that day. Bran couldn't stand up for himself so Connor used his spare time, even when he was frustrated to interview people, like the nanny, and others or just snoop around.
Connor did eventually get tired of helping out Bran but he stuck with it. He wasn't about to let his best friend sentenced to time in juvi when he didn't do anything wrong. He also didn't want the real criminal behind Nikki's injuries to go unpunished.
This book shows how much friends will do for one another. It also has great twists of who did it.
Rating: 
Summary: Silent to the Bone
Review: Silent to the Bone written by E.L. Konigsburg is an awesome book. The author did a great job of showing character growth through the main characters, Branwell and Connor. Branwell Zamborska witnessed a horrible accident to his baby sister, and was blamed for it. Now it's Connor's job, Branwell's best friend, to defend him. This is a hard thing to do since no one knows what's happened except Branwell, Nikki(an infant, now in critical condition, and the deceitful au pair. Connor's task is made even harder when Branwell won't talk. He is silent, and doesn't say a single word for three weeks. Connor and Branwell develop a way of communication which leads Connor to clues about who else knew clues about the accident.
A good book for teens wanting to read a mystery. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Silence speaks louder than words
Review: This book is great because it shows how a good friendship can overcome many obstacles. For example, in this book, Conner Kane helps his temporarily mute friend Branwell Zamborska by helping him solve a mystery pertaining to Branwell's little sister. It's also a good novel because the plot develops very well. Even though Branwell can't talk, he is still incredibly smart. He guides Conner by giving him certain clues. Conner is also an intelligent kid; he figures out many different things with only the information that Branwell gives him, and by talking to some eye-witnesses. I definately recommend this book because it is a great story, and it prvokes a lot of thought.
Rating:
Summary: Utopia??? I think not...
Review: This book is a great teacher of how people in the extremes of society live. First it depicts a utopian society where everything is smoothly run, but on the other hand, there is the Jewish community in a strongly anti-Semitic environment. However, it shows that the kid living in the utopia is not nearly as content as the Jew living in Germany because he is not allowed to have any emotions or beliefs of his own. If anything at all, you should read this book to show you that you should pursue what you believe in without conforming to the ideas of others just because they tell you so.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: First of all, I should state that it was not any of the sexual innuendo that bothered me. Judy Blume was writing about "Viagra moments" decades before this writer. Do we still have to be such Puritans nowadays? Given the extent the writer went to avoid objectionable language (even though any TV watching kid hears the "b-word" word frequently) I don't think a single mention is going to damage young readers for life. Would you rather have your 10-year-old read an eloquent, well-written and thoughtful book by a Newbury-award winning writer or watch a sitcom loaded with sexual innuendo whose primary purpose is to score cheap laughs? The choice is yours. Anyway, what bugged me was that even though the friendship between these two boys was convincing, they still didn't come across quite as real-life kids. ELK's characters are not just smart, they're smarter than everybody else, including the adults around them. If you make your characters smarter than everyone, the reader will probably have less patience and sympathy when they fail to solve their problems. My feeling is, if they have that much brainpower, they are probably going to solve their problems eventually, and thus the tale loses a lot of its suspense. Finally, although this might come from too much "Law and Order" I was disappointed that (SPOILER) the family chose not to bring the nanny to trial. After all, their daughter almost wound up dead or brain damaged! How selfish of Branwell to forgo justice simply because he was embarrassed about his sexual attraction. I felt sorry for him, but given what his sister went through, I couldn't like him.
Rating:
Summary: No Bones to Pick With This One
Review: This was a very good book, and the author does a great job of keeping you guessing constantly, until the very end of the book. The characerization is good as well, and this is a completely original plot, I suggest you go and pick this one up.
Rating:
Summary: Silent to the Bone
Review: Very good book. Well written. Keeps you turning the pages. The author has a way of relating the actions in the book to you, no matter how different you appear from the characters in the book. Helps everyone become a little more understanding of the differences between them and the people around them, such as their peers. Highly recommend reading.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps you thinking to the last page
Review: This book about a boy named Branwell and his friend Connor. Branwell is accused of shaking his sister to the degree of being in a coma. But, he can't defend himself because he has gone mute. Connor helps him out by making flash cards with aspects of their friendship on them - with everything from SIAS (a game the two play) to Vivian (Branwell's au pair). I agree with the people that said that this book was not appropriate for the age group it is intended for. Besides that aspect, though, I really enjoyed this book. It kept you thinking until the last page, and then some.
Rating:
Summary: such a good book
Review: "Silent to the Bone" was a very good book. It is a book that is scary, and you don't know who is to blame in the book. Branwell gets blamed for dropping his little sister, who ends up in a coma. After getting blamed, Branwell stops talking. His friend Conner knows that Branwell is not supposed to be in jail. Conner tries to get all the information about the crime that he can get. Will Conner get Branwell out of jail or will Branwell stay in jail. Also will Branwell start talking? Who will be the person who did this crime? Will the little sister wake up from her deep sleep? Take a ride with this book. You will never put your little head out this book till the very last page. I recommend this book to every boy and girl. So go ahead and read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Appropriate
Review: My son brought this book home the school library and the title caught my interest. When I picked it up and started to read I got interested in the story line but by 1/4 though the book I could tell it was not appopriate for my 9 year old. This has sexual content between a 13 year old boy and an older au pair. It also discusses the allegation that the 13 year old was sexually interested in his baby sister. I looked this book up on amazon to read reviews and was surprised to see so many positive ones. I want to give a warning to parents that while it might be okay for older children it should not be read by children younger than middle school and might need some explanations or open discussion if your older child chooses to read this book.
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