Author: Michelle Sagara West
Expected publication: May 1st 2012 by DAW (goodreads/amazon)
Source: Finished copy received by the publisher for an honest review.
Summary: “It began in the graveyard. Ever since her boyfriend Nathan died in a tragic accident Emma had been coming to the graveyard at night. During the day she went through the motions at her prep school, in class, with her friends, but that’s all it was. But tonight was different. Tonight Emma and her dog were not alone in the cemetery. There were two others there—Eric, who had just started at her school, and an ancient woman who looked as though she were made of rags. And when they saw Emma there, the old woman reached out to her with a grip as chilling as death….”
First line: "Everything happens at night."
Thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Silence. Prior to receiving the book, I had not heard of it, therefore, did not have any expectations whatsoever. My intial thought was "Oh, a book about necromancers? Could be fun!". Boy, was it fun! Silence is a fast-paced, exciting read that anyone can easily breeze through in a couple of days. The character are likable (though some were a bit strange, to say the least), and come on...she has a rottweiler named Petal. Any book that features a dog as a main character has to be made of win, right? I thought so.
The story revolves around Emma, a girl who enjoys the night and spends most of her free time in the graveyard. Why? It's a great place to think, no one to disturb her. It's also a chance for her to be with Nathan, someone Emma was close too and is no longer here. One night, Emma runs into Eric in the cemetary. He's the new kid at school, and she can't help but wonder why he's there, holding such a strange lantern. After all, the cemetary is hardly a hangout location for teenagers. It's only when she encounters a zombie-ghost like woman that Emma's world is completely turned around
First off, I have to mention how much I enjoyed the level of creepiness in this book. It's the perfect amount, not overwhelming but also not understated. I wouldn't necessarily say this book contained a lot of twists, but there were a few great surprises. Plus, since the author decided to write this book in third person, that means alternating points of views! If you know me, you know how much I love alternating points of view.
I do have a couple grievances, though. First is the consistent use of page breaks. There seemed to be at least 3 in each chapter which, to me, is a bit excessive. You can transition to another scene without the use of page breaks. Each time this happened, I pictured a curtain on stage going down and rising again to a new scene. And if each chapter was an act in a play, that poor curtain boy/gal should get a raise because he/she is working overtime!
Also, while not all books need to revolve around romance, I would have enjoyed more in this book. There wasn't really any chemistry between the characters, and I think adding a touch more romance would've added that wow factor this book needed.
All in all, I would recommend this book to fans of Kelley Armstrong's The Darkest Powers series. Since Silence is about necromancers, ghosts, and all things that go bump in the night, I would highly recommend reading this book at night, by a fireplace or where ever. There's just something about reading a book like this at night that gives it that little extra kick.
