OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Silent Journey" by Carl Watson.]

In Silent Journey, thirteen-year-old Scott Schroeder has to go live with his grandmother in Kansas. His father frequently travels out of the country for work. In Fort Worth, they stayed with his aunt, but she just got married so they had to move out. Seven years ago, the car accident that killed his mother resulted in him going deaf, even though the doctors couldn’t find anything physically wrong. In Texas, he had friends and was on the gymnastics team; in his grandmother’s small town, he’ll have nothing. Scott’s father keeps saying that one day they will have their own home and he won’t travel for work anymore, but it hasn’t happened yet and it doesn’t look like it will.

Things improve when Scott makes two friends, a dog and a girl named Rustie. He feels less lonely, but after they set off some fireworks in the park, his grandmother sends him to live in California with his Uncle Todd, who Scott doesn’t know. Scott is apprehensive about going, but there he discovers a new interest: piloting gliders.

Told from Scott’s point of view, this book grabs the reader right away. The beginning scene shows some of the difficulties Scott faces being deaf. I cared about Scott right away. Scott uses sign language and lip reading, and I really liked the way the descriptions of both were worked into the text. This adds a unique element to the story. All of the characters are well developed and feel like real people, with both positive and difficult parts of their personalities.

This book is easy to read with plenty of action. There is a good mix of dialogue and description. Carl Watson does a great job of describing Scott’s feelings and weaving the backstory into the action. There are no sections of long exposition and the book never gets boring or dry. I found the writing particularly masterful.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. I really wanted to give it 4 stars, that’s how much I enjoyed reading it, but there were a number of typos and some spots where small details needed to be added or explained. Professional proofreading could make this book perfect.

Silent Journey is appropriate for older middle grade kids, and I think it will also appeal to young teens looking for a shorter book to read. Some of the scenes may be difficult for younger or more sensitive children. Plenty happens; in terms of story, this book has a lot going on and is hard to put down. Adults will enjoy it as well. I’m looking forward to reading more books from this author!

******
Silent Journey
View: on Bookshelves

Thanks for the detailed review.Scott is really a strong character despite the unfortunate incident that made him deaf.He was able to adapt well to his ever changing environment.I would love to read this book.

Sounds like a nice book to read, thanks for your review.

I love a good middle-grade book, and I think it’s fantastic that the author was able to give representation to the deaf community. While I can imagine it might be a challenge to incorporate descriptions of sign language and lip-reading into the text, I’m glad that the author took it on and that he did a good job with it. Thanks for a great review!

This sounds like a great book for my granddaughter who is majoring in sign language. Since it is narrated by a hearing-impaired child, it should give her some great insights.