I read The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf in one sitting. So it’s an easy read. A good read, though? Not exactly. It did hold my attention, as the author threw in little curveballs along the way to keep one reading the book. Overall, though, once I read the final page, I remained deeply unsatisfied.

The story revolves around two little girls who go missing one morning in a small Iowa town. Calli is a seven-year-old with selective mutism; she hasn’t spoken since she was a toddler. Petra is her best friend and “voice,” as she understands Calli and speaks for her. The story takes place over the course of this one day, the day the girls go missing, and it focuses on the search by the girls’ families, revealing secrets about many of the townspeople along the way.