Not A Sound

Available now

Quite a few years ago, I was wandering around Barnes & Nobel and I picked up my first book by Heather Gudenkauf – I think it was about an Iowa female police officer and a shooting at her child’s school. I was hooked – I sat down and read that entire book that night in one sitting. I then scoured Amazon for past book and made sure I always pre-ordered her newest.

This was one of my favorite books from her yet – and it was even more touching after I read the Author’s Note at the end (I must be getting old if I look forward to that and the Acknowledgements these days) how this novel was so immensely personal from two angles.

What I loved: Like every other review, I am a sucker for a dog named Stitch who melted my heart, but I also loved knowing so much more about the hearing-impaired community. Sure the TDY phones were around when we were kids (probably not as advanced as they are now), but texting, using emojis for context, and lip reading The Real Housewives for cursing – all are as important as ASL. Have you seen the video of the ASL Interpreter at the Snoop Dog concert? She’s better at rapping than him..

What I didn’t love: Can’t do it without giving the ending away but the fight scene at the end? I always root for the animal.

What I learned: Living by yourself in the woods – not the best thing.

Overall Grade: B+