8 May 2016

Review #424: What I Couldn't Tell You by Faye Bird



My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.”

----Margaret Atwood



Faye Bird, an English author, pens her intriguing young adult thriller story in her new book, What I Couldn't Tell You that narrates the story of a young teenage girl suffering from Selective Mutism, whose elder sister is under coma after an attack on her head when she was with her boyfriend, and following her attack, the boyfriend goes missing but it is only the selectively mute sister who listens to those who are spilling their secrets about her sister's attack.





Synopsis:

When love turns to jealousy, when jealousy turns to rage, when rage turns to destruction...

Laura was head over heels in love with Joe. But now Laura lies in a coma and Joe has gone missing. Was he the one who attacked her?

Laura's sister Tessie is selectively mute. She can't talk but she can listen. And as people tell her their secrets, she thinks she's getting close to understanding what happened on that fateful night.



Tessie suffers from selective mutism since her childhood. Its not that she is too shy, but she cannot form the words in the crowd, and she can only talk to the people she knows when the front door is "PROPERLY SHUT". Tessie's elder sister, Laura, is under coma for a very long time, due to an attack that she suffered on her head and the prime suspect is Laura's boyfriend, Joe, who is missing since the day of the attack. Taking the advantage of Tessie's selectively mutism condition, there are people who are willing to spilling their darkest secrets about Laura's missing boyfriend, Joe and about the day of the attack. And soon Tessie finds herself entangled in a web of lies that becomes life threatening for her as she trusts the only person who is believed to understand her. And will finally Tessie open her mouth to put justice to her sister's attack?

I haven't read anything by this author before and after reading this book, I must certainly say that she is a really talented writer who has penned a gripping and mystifying story about love and jealousy. The author's writing style is excellent and articulate and is layered with deep emotions and suspense. The story is appealing from the very first page itself and is bound to pull the readers into the core of this twisting story. The narrative is charming and free-flowing and has power to keep the readers glued till the very end. The pacing is really fast as the story moves swiftly in Tessie's pov after her sister's attack.

The mystery is certainly unraveling and is depicted under layers of suspense that will keep the readers anticipating and looking for the identity of the attacker. The mystery is not only gripping but also quite emotional as the story line captures the young love and the rage and hate among youngsters. The love between Joe and Laura is sweet, passionate will definitely move the readers for these two young lovers. The author captures the feelings of first love diligently with her words into this story that will make the readers nostalgic about their first time love story.

The author has captured the voice of a selectively mute teenage so vividly into her book. Before reading this book, I had no idea that there is a condition like Selective Mutism. The author has done her research well as the author makes her readers contemplate with her central character, Tessie, so easily. Tessie is a brave, intelligent and a good listener who loves her sister dearly and would go at any lengths to put her attackers behind the bars. She might me shy and meek, but she is an epitome for all those who are subjected to bullying as Tessie shows how to handle bullies and insults among her peers. There is a bit of love triangle between Tessie and two boys and it is depicted sweetly yet there is something dangerous about it.

The supporting characters are equally well-developed from Tessie's elder brother, Jake to Laura's best friend, Ella, to Tessie's parents to her friends to Laura's boyfriend. The character are highly inspired from reality and their honest and authentic demeanor will make the readers fall for them. In a nutshell, this book is highly compelling and there is an underlying message in the story that demands to be read by all the young readers out there.

Verdict: An engrossing young adult thriller that deals with quite a lot of social issues.

Courtesy: Thanks to the author, Faye Bird's publicist for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. 
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Author Info:
Faye writes fiction for young adults. Before becoming a writer she worked as a literary agent representing screenwriters in film and TV. She studied Philosophy and Literature at Warwick University, but has otherwise always lived in London, and still does now. Her second novel, What I Couldn’t Tell You, will be published on 1 May 2016. 
Visit her here


Book Purchase Links:

1 comment:

  1. I’ve never heard of this book before, but that cover is amazing, and the story sounds pretty intense, too. I’m glad you liked it.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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