Book Review: What I couldn't Tell You by Faye Bird

There's a lot a couldn't you. Most of it isn't important.

When Love turns to jealousy, when jealousy turns to rage, when rage turns to destruction...

Laura was head over heels in love with Joe. But Laura lies in a coma and Joe has gone missing. Was he the one who attacked her?

Laura's sister Tessie is Selectively Mute. She can't talk but she can listen. And as people tell her their secrets, she thinks she's getting close to understanding what happened that fateful night.

I read this book because mystery and Selective Mutism. I am Selectively Mute and have been during a video series of reviews on novel with Silent Protagionist, so I found this book looking for books to review for it. This intrigued me as it was Mystery which seems to be the second favourite to straight up contemporary.

The Selective Mutism is done okay. Sometimes it felt a bit more telling but Bird also does a good job of showing Tessie stress from the threat of speaking. Tessie is bullied by two people, they seem to have no lifes. Maybe we should feel sorry for Kat and Holly. Remember Kids, bullies have no lifes and feel free to argue why do they spend so much time annoying you (unless they punch you, then go to the cops). 

My least favourite part is the romance side of this novel. It's a cringey. I just never got that side at all, I guess completely lust based and that's just not the romance for me. Tessie is a bit of bad friend and it can't be excused by the hard time and her SM. It's realistic be a bad friend sometimes because of a boy but it bit extreme. Tessie also runs on juvenile side for a 15 year old, but it could be argue because of how extreme her SM is, she delay in her relationship understanding.

Another big part of the book is the bond Tessie has with her family and their dynamic with in it. Tessie's mother has symtoms of depression before Laura's accident and her part was helping her mother cope. So without her Tessie and her older brother have to keep going mostly. The family being in limbo is explored a lot and the half grief they feel.

This story is mostly told in first person by Tessie with different parts. An odd choice is to just list exactly what happens to everyone after the story ends like in a film. I've never seen that in a book before but I guess it get the point across. 

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for missed words. This was decent portrayal of selective mutism, probably the best I've seen in book form yet. The crime/thriller aspect was decent but the romance for me really lets this book now for me, especially with ending up being such a major part of the novel. I don't know if the book would have worked without it either, I guess that part just wasn't for me.

Book Review: Eden Summer by Liz Flanagan

Eden is not a Paradise to spend time with.

IT STARTS like any other day for Jess – get up, draw on eyeliner, cover up tattoos and head to school. But soon it’s clear this is no ordinary day, because Jess’s best friend, Eden, isn’t at school . . . she’s gone missing.

Jess knows she must do everything in her power to find Eden before the unthinkable happens.

So Jess decides to retrace the summer she and Eden have just spent together. But looking back means digging up all their buried secrets, and she starts to question everything she thought Eden’s summer had been about ...

This book takes places over a day, with flash backs to the events leading to Eden's disappearance, in first person, with a flash forward about as well.

 Even with everything Eden is dealing with she still comes across as unlikable, especially with the flash back before the event. She has this perfect life, till the terrible thing happens and just come across as spoiled. I only cared about her being missing because the effect it was having on Jess and other characters. Jess is likable protagonist and I felt for the other characters.

This book deals with a lot of complex things including Hate crimes on sub-cultures and grief. It does a decent job of dealing with the topics.

Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Graveyard Snow. It was a quick read with some punch. I would recommend it for a readathon.