Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

First line: Louis and I see you nearly at the same time. In the woods, [...]

Initial thoughts:

I’ve seen this book a few times when out and about and every time, I pick it up. For some strange reason, however, I never end up buying it. There’s something haunting about the cover and description and ever since reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, I’ve been somewhat wary of books which can leave me too emotionally haunted after reading them. (Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy them…I just have to build up my will first.)

After hearing so many good things about this book, and in general, feeling as though I need another deeply emotional and moving read, this topped my list. I’ve steeled myself and am ready to take this ride.

Book description:

It happens quietly one August morning. As dawn’s shimmering light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing in the night.

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

Petra Gregory is Calli’s best friend, her soul mate and her 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, professorial demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of unspoken family secrets.

Book Details: 384 pages; Mira; Pub. July 28, 2009