#BookBeginnings The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Today we’re looking forward to starting the next book in The Bestseller Code 100 challenge, The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf for Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Book Beginnings is a fun meme hosted by Rose City Reader blog. To participate, share the first sentence or so of a novel you are reading and your thoughts about it. When you are finished, add your URL to the Book Beginnings page linked above. Hope to see you there!

 

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The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

(*Amazon Affiliate link)

Summary:   Two young girls, Calli and her friend Petra, go missing in the night. Now their families struggle to find out what happened to them.

This is Heather Gudenkauf’s debut novel.

First Sentence of the Prologue:

Louis and I see you nearly at the same time.

The first person narrator here is Antonia, Calli’s mother. Louis is a deputy sheriff who plays a key role.

First Sentence of Chapter One, Calli:

Calli stirred in her bed. The heat of a steamy, Iowa August morning lay thick in her room, hanging sodden and heavy about her.

Discussion:

So far the suspense is palpable. I definitely want to know what is going on.

Throughout the book, each chapter is named for the person who narrates it. Calli’s chapters are told in the third person, perhaps because she doesn’t speak. Calli is what is called selectively mute.

The video trailer is pretty intense, too.

What do you think?

12 Comments

  1. Laurel-Rain Snow

    I loved this book! It was the first I read from Gudenkauf, and now I never miss one of her books. Thanks for sharing…and for visiting my blog.

    • Roberta

      Now that I’m into it further, I think she is going to be one of my favorite authors.

  2. Catherine @ Book Club Librarian

    Definitely off to a good start!

    • Literary Feline

      I read another of Heather Gudenkauf’s books a while back and enjoyed it quite a bit. I have this one on my shelf to read. It sounds so good. Thank you for sharing the trailer with us as well as the opening passages!

      • Roberta

        This one is her debut effort. It will be interesting to see how she’s matured.

    • Roberta

      It continues to be good.

  3. sherry fundin

    Oh yeah, sounds like my kind of book.
    sherry @ fundinmental Friday Memes

    • Roberta

      Yours sounds good, too. Thanks for visiting.

  4. Ashley S.

    This sounds like something I’d like. Thanks for sharing! Have a great weekend! 🙂

  5. Yvonne@FictionBooks

    Hi Roberta,

    I already have one of Heather’s books (‘Missing Pieces’), on my ‘Want To Read’ list, following a recommendation from another of my blogging friends.

    It seems as though Heather incorporates complicated personal and family issues in her writing and judging by the excellent ratings and reviews, she executes her storytelling with consummate ease.

    I hope that you enjoy the book and I look forward to your review 🙂

    Yvonne

    • Roberta

      Yes, I would say the author’s storytelling is indeed one of her strengths.

  6. Bev

    The beginning and the comments have me so curious. Sounds like my kind of book. Thanks for sharing and for the visit yesterday.

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