The Silent Boy

Author: Lois Lowry
Published: 2003
Letter Grade: A+

Y'all know by now that every book worth reading in my opinion has a story behind it.

So, about seven years ago now, Steve told me about this book that I just had to read, called The Giver. It should be pointed out that, back then, if Steve had told me that spinach tasted like candy I would've believed him and ate it. (My mother's been overlooking a great method of persuasion for YEARS.)

But yeah. I read The Giver, loved it, still count it as one of my favorite books. Didn't touch Lowry again. I have the tendency to do that when the first book I read by an author is an instant hit with me. Though, there is a method to this madness, if I was late in finding it.

Anyway. I'd contemplated a few of Lowry's books over the years, never buying them. For some reason I decided to pick up this one, though. Found it at Borders recently, and decided, why not?

It's been years since I read anything by Lowry at all. My memory of The Giver has become limited to the basic plot, and Gabe waving "bye bye" which, if memory serves, was my preferred method of saying goodbye to Steve when one of us logged off for awhile afterward. That, and general fond memories of stuff happening around that time put it in a better light.

So I get to The Silent Boy, not all too sure of what to expect.

The basic synopsis: It's about Katy Thatcher, a little girl living during those last few years
before the first World War. A girl named Peggy Stoltz comes to work for Katy's family so that she (Peggy) can send money back to her own family, back on the farm. Her sister, Nell, works next door for the Bishop family. The "Silent Boy" in the title is Peggy's younger brother, Jacob, who, as the title suggests, never talks or really respond to anything anyone says to him, but has a wonderful gift with animals, and Katy forms a friendship of sorts with him when comes to their barn during his "roamings" to visit the Thatchers' horses.

It's a sweet story in a lot of ways. Just the interactions between the characters, and the everyday extraordinary events. There are bits and pieces that seem like they would be unimportant, but turn out incredibly important to the ending. Lowry manages to weave it all together expertly, even for such a short book. I've read enough short books that were too rushed, with storylines better suited for a longer book, but Lowry actually knows what she's doing.

It doesn't take much guess as to why this book got the grade it got. There wasn't a thing to dislike. Though, is it bad that I wasn't unhappy to read what became of Paul Bishop at the end?

Since he's a fictional character, I'll just assume yes.