The Weight of Silence Heather Gudenkauf

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I am giving this book three stars, however, i don't know if I really liked. Confused, me too. I liked the book in the moment, it was an enjoyable read that held my interest, but it won't stand the test of time. Ask me how I feel about it in a week and I will probably be indifferent or won't even remember it.
My biggest criticism of this book is that nothing about it stands out as being memorable, the characters are blah, the story line should be exciting, but its blah, the writing is blah.... You get the point.
Set in North East Iowa, The Weight of Silence tells the story of Callie and Petra, 7 year old best friends, who are discovered missing in the early morning hours of a hot August day. Callie, a selective mute, and Petra are gone with no signs of a struggle and no evidence of foul play, they could have just wondered off into the woods to play together. The investigation is led by Loras Louis, the deputy sheriff, who use to be Callie's mother's (Antonia)boyfriend. Told through the perspectives of various characters in alternating chapters, Callie, Griff (Callie's alcoholic father) Antonia, Deputy Louis, Ben (Callie's teenage brother) and Martin (Petra's father), the story can become a bit repetitive and full of back story that does not add much to the story other than to illustrate Deputy Louis's conflict of interest and introduce a suspect of or two.
I don't think that the author had a plan for this novel, as the ending was really far fetched and we lack motive for many of the characters. And the police work - ewwwww.
Living in Iowa and traveling through the location of the novel frequently I will have to say that the author captured the area well, her descriptions of the bluffs and forests rang true.
This is an enjoyable light read that you will probably quickly forget.



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The One & Only Emily Giffin

The One and Only by Emily Giffin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Shea Rigsby needs therapy. I usually enjoy Emily Giffin's flawed but relate able characters, but Shea Rigsby is just plain yucky. Obsessed with Walker football her entire life, Shea spent her childhood volunteering to help Coach Clive Carr, father of her best friend & good family friend, attends college at Walker while working for the football team and eventually lands a full job in the athletic department. Shea's constant hero worship of Coach Carr, her propensity to only date Walker football players and her constant need to spew football facts, make Shea and very unlikable character and to top it all off is her somewhat incestuous relationship.
Giffin seems to be all over the place in this book, tackling a number of issues - which distracted from the main storyline and made most of the book seem like needless filler. Giffin's treatment of the NCAA investigation against Walker was the most off putting, mainly because we see it through the naive, hero worshiping eyes of Shea Rigsby.
While this novel is a quick summer read,it left me with a dirty feeling. After finishing, even the title seems a bit creepy! This isn't Giffin's best effort by a long shot!



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