Book list Like all things in this cunningly stylized novel, the setting is left undefined; a rough guess is mid-1800s America. The characters and plot, too, are mysteries in need of unfolding, and Berry's greatest accomplishment is jumbling the time line with confidence, thereby sprinkling every page with minor (or major) revelations. These trappings gild a not-that-unusual melodrama: 18-year-old Judith pines for Lucas, who has chosen another girl. Perhaps this is because Judith is mute, her tongue having been cut off by a madman who just happened to be Lucas' father. A few frustrating misunderstandings aside, the story gracefully incorporates everything from the right to education to the horrors of war to the freedom that comes along with acquiring language. What will stick in most readers' minds, though, is the first-person prose, which ranges from the unusually insightful (We were four people: the children we'd been, and grown strangers now) to the just plain pretty (Will her china face turn bronze beside you as you labor in your fields?). A strange but satisfying and relatively singular mix.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publishers Weekly Two years after her kidnapping, 18-year-old Judith returns to her small hometown of Roswell Station, maimed and incapable of speaking due to her mutilated tongue. She spends the ensuing years shunned by the townspeople, but when invaders threaten Roswell Station, she must decide if her secrets can be revealed to save her neighbors. Narrator McInerney delivers a solid performance in this audio edition. The story is not told chronologically and therefore McInerney must move back and forth through time, alternating her tone appropriately for scenes set before, during, and after Judith's kidnapping. The narrator also provides distinct character voices that are varied and appropriate. However, McInerney is at her best when rendering Judith's thoughts and vocalizing the character's inner frustration. Ages 12-up. A Viking hardcover. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Eighteen-year-old Judith Finch gradually reveals the horror of her two-year disappearance in a stunning historical murder mystery and romance. One summer four years ago, Judith Finch and her friend Lottie Pratt disappeared. After two years, only Judith returned. Lottie's naked body was found in the river, and Judith stumbled back on her own, her appearance shocking the town--not just because she had returned, but that her tongue had been cut out, and she can't tell anyone what happened to her. Illiterate, maimed, cursed, doomed to be an outsider but always and forever in love with Lucas Whiting, Judith finds a way to tell her story, saying, "I don't believe in miracles, but if the need is great, a girl might make her own miracle," and as her story unfolds, all the truth that's in her is revealed. Set in what seems to be early-18th-century North America, the story is told through the voice inside Judith's head--simple and poetic, full of hurt and yearning, and almost always directed toward Lucas in a haunting, mute second person. 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. A tale of uncommon elegance, power and originality. (Historical thriller. 12 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Publishers Weekly This melancholy tale of a village outcast unfolds through the thoughts of Judith, who was kidnapped, held prisoner, and maimed by her captor. Two years later, she has returned home at age 18, but because of her severed tongue, she cannot explain her misfortunes or the crime she witnessed the night she was taken. Most of the townspeople shun her, and even her own mother acts ashamed. In some ways, Judith's silence protects her, but hiding the truth puts her and others at risk. Encouraged by an old friend, Judith is inspired to try to regain some speech. If she can find the means and courage to communicate what she knows, she and other innocent victims might find a form of salvation. Written as Judith's internal monologue directed toward Lucas, the boy she loves, Berry's (The Amaranth Enchantment) novel is suspenseful and haunting. Her poetic narrative ("There's nothing so bright as the stream by day, nothing so black on a moonless night") will draw readers in, and the gradual unveiling of secrets will keep them absorbed. Ages 12-up. Agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Berry's novel is set in a claustrophobic village that seems to resemble an early American colonial settlement. Readers gradually learn "all the truth" from eighteen-year-old narrator Judith, who speaks directly (though only in her head) to her love, Lucas. Berry keeps readers on edge, tantalizing us with pieces of the puzzle right up until the gripping conclusion. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
School Library Journal Gr 8 Up-Some things are better left unsaid-or so Judith thinks. Four years ago Judith and her best friend Lottie disappeared. Judith came back two years later but altered, part of her tongue had been cut off. Now, two years after her return, she still isn't at peace; her mother holds onto resentment, her childhood love is getting married, and others in her Puritan town shun her. Trouble is on the horizon as Homelanders, a vengeful group that tried to take over the town years ago, are set to arrive and Judith must make hard choices. Can she protect the ones she loves? This story is haunting, romantic, mysterious, and well written. As the story progresses, Judith shares bits of the past, allowing the reader to slowly gather information about what happened to Judith during those two years and eventually learn who killed Lottie. Kathleen McInferney reads the story using different tones for each character. Her voice for Judith is spot-on in the way she addresses both her internal voice and her speech impediment. Reluctant readers and avid ones will be clamoring for this title with enticing cover art and an original story (Viking, 2013). This is a definite purchase for audiobook collections.-Katie Llera, Bound Brook High School, NJ (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Library Journal Berry's (The Trouble with Squids) first YA novel is both a dark mystery and a romance. Two years after Judith and her best friend Lottie were kidnapped, Judith suddenly returns alone. She is rejected by her remaining family members-her father died while she was gone-and most of the citizens of Roswell Station. Mutilated and unable to speak clearly, Judith still manages to help her childhood friend Lucas save the town from an attack, but that only initiates the true tension of the story. The author never identifies when the story takes place, but the setting is clearly a more distant past than the jacket copy reveals. Reader Kathleen McInerney masters the dual challenges of moving between Judith's damaged speaking voice and her highly developed inner thoughts and narrating a story that's written partly in fragments. The style is an often poetic rendering of young love and angst that transcends the vague time period. Verdict Highly recommended for readers age 12 and up.-Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
