Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Behind The Silence

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Behind The Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

9 reviews

ashleysilver7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I like stories by Heather Gudenkauf, and I especially love that most of her novels take place in Iowa (where I currently live). However, this story was really hard for me, mainly because the adult characters were so unlikable. Antonia (Toni), the mother of Ben and Calli, has stayed with an abusive husband for years...I realize I should have empathy for her struggles, but it doesn't take the reader long to figure out he is BAD news. The children were likable and intriguing, but they couldn't make up for the adults who should have done better...not to mention the police officers were not good at their jobs (I am a music teacher, and I can see they didn't follow protocol). All in all, it was not a bad book but not one of my favorites by this author.

Content Warnings

brilliantsilver's review against another edition

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The writing in this book was bad. The characters were extreme stereotypes, the father is an angry, abusive drunk, the small town cop, the old farm boy who wanted a different life. They have no personality to speak of outside of their stereotypes. The multiple perspectives don't count for much because every person is written with the exact same voice. Everything about the characters and their backstory is told right away at the beginning of their first chapter.

The dialogue is so tedious and boring to read, it's like reading legal documents.
There are also big chunks of story where it reads like the author just copy pasted a research article onto the page.

The story is super predictable and before the first 100pgs you learn why the main character is mute, who took her, why they took her, that she will be found at the end of the book, and that she will speak by the end of the book. There is no suspense! A poorly crafted book all around.

Content Warnings