April 2014 Book of the Month - Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2014 A deeply romantic story set against a background of terrible prejudice and astonishing violence. Snatched from her home by a violent predator who cuts out her tongue to silence her, Judith becomes an outcast to her community. In silence she must observe both the injustice of the judgements against her and, almost worse, the loss of the man she has always loved. Judith writes the story of her life with a quiet dignity recording the bravery of one girl and the courage it takes to stand up for the truth.
Judith can’t speak. Ever since the horrifying trauma that left her best friend dead and Judith without her tongue, she’s been a pariah in her close-knit community of Roswell Station; even her own mother won’t look her in the eye. All Judith can do is silently pour out her thoughts and feelings to the love of her life, the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember – even if he doesn’t know it – her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked by enemies, longburied secrets come to light…the cruel become kind…and Judith’s world starts to shift on its axis. Before she knows it, Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if what she has to say might change her world and the lives around her, forever.
“Haunting and unforgettable.” Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Gray
“Lyrical language, a good mystery, and a compelling heroine-this is a page-turner with substance.” Booklist
“ Every now and then, a novel comes along with such an original voice that readers slow down to savor the poetic prose. This is such a story.” Kirkus Reviews
“suspenseful and haunting. Her poetic narrative will draw readers in…” Publishers Weekly
Author
About Julie Berry
Julie Berry grew up as the youngest of seven children on a fifty-acre farm in America complete with pigs, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and oodles of cats and dogs. She has written four novels for children and lives with her husband and four sons in Massachusetts.
