Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published May 2016
352 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
A brilliant study of identity, betrayal, and complex family dynamics, exploring the importance of communication, even when we're faced with unspeakable truths.
My name is Tess Turner - at least, that's what I've always been told.
I have a voice but it isn't mine. It used to say things so I'd fit in, to please my parents, to please my teachers. It used to tell the universe I was something I wasn't. It lied.
It never occurred to me that everyone else was lying too.
Fifteen-year-old Tess doesn't mean to become mute. At first, she's just too shocked to speak. And who wouldn't be? Discovering your whole life has been a lie because your dad isn't your real father is a pretty big deal. Terrified of the truth, Tess retreats into silence.
Reeling from her family's betrayal, Tess sets out to discover the identity of her real father. He could be anyone - even the familiar-looking teacher at her school. Tess continues to investigate, uncovering a secret that could ruin multiple lives. It all may be too much for Tess to handle, but how can she ask for help when she's forgotten how to use her voice?
In a brilliant study of identity, betrayal, and complex family dynamics, award-winning author Annabel Pitcher explores the importance of communication, even when we're faced with unspeakable truths.
"Starred Review. [A] memorably offbeat novel narrated by 15-year-old Tess, who decides to stop speaking...It's a painful but rewarding story of an insecure teen finding her voice." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Pitcher delivers a story of betrayal and miscues among family and friends with a realistic blend of humor and gravity as Tess slides toward mental instability. An unflinchingly honest portrayal of anguish." - Kirkus
"[T]his refreshing story is firmly focused at home on questions of identity and family. Though many readers will predict the ending, they will nevertheless enjoy the journey." - Booklist
"Tess's struggle as she discovers her parents and teachers are flawed human beings will ring true with teens coming to their own similar realizations." - School Library Journal
"Her narrative voice speaks loudly - Tess is a witty, energetic, and appealing protagonist." - The Horn Book
"Silence is Goldfish is a rare gem of a book: it features the kind of protagonist we need more of. Not the feisty, popular heroines we wish we could be, but the grounded, empowered heroines we are." - The Guardian (UK)
This information about Silence Is Goldfish was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Annabel Pitcher is the award-winning author of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and Ketchup Clouds. She graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Yorkshire with her husband.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
