THE SEASON OF SILENCE

by Mary Francis Shura ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 16, 1976

Susie is just recovering from a long bout of strep throat and the transfer of her best friend's affection to the class roughneck, all of which nicely accounts for the mood of light-headed awe which infuses her visits to the ""secret"" grove where she meets a fox, an owl, and, finally, the boy Derek. Scared speechless at first by Derek's anger, Susie hasn't the nerve to contradict his assumption that she is mute, and when the lie prompts Derek to pour out his troubles and give Susie his grandmother's wildflower book and journal, Susie is both pleased by the specialness of their relationship and troubled by worry--""pale, shivery things (that) stirred on the edge of her dreaming."" Of course the fiction can't last forever, but Shura has the sense not to overplay the moment of revelation and Derek and Susie's ability to forgive each other without betraying the illusion is true to the mood of proportionate but fragile sweetness.

Pub Date: April 16, 1976

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 144

Publisher: Atheneum

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1976

Categories: FICTION