Silence Is Goldfish

by Annabel Pitcher

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316370745
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/17/2016
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Annabel Pitcher is the award-winning author of My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and Yours Truly. She graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English Literature. She lives in Yorkshire, England, with her husband, son, and dog.

Editorial Reviews

★ 03/07/2016
Pitcher (My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece) returns with a memorably offbeat novel narrated by 15-year-old Tess, who decides to stop speaking. The reason: discovering a blog post written by her struggling actor father, Jack, which reveals that he isn’t her biological father, and that he was repulsed by her birth. Tess’s silence presents myriad challenges, including the loss of a best friend and some intense bullying, but it also brings new confidence. “I am quite certain that I have never in my life appeared more powerful,” she thinks. Tess also becomes obsessed with her charming but shady substitute teacher (imagining that he might be her real father), befriends his handsome son, and engages in imaginary conversations with her goldfish-shaped flashlight, whose sidekicklike musings and advice offer a window into Tess’s inner reality. Moreover, her silence intensifies her awareness of how the family infantilizes her beloved Gran, how Jack exaggerates his work prospects, and how he belittles Tess for being chubby and introverted. It’s a painful but rewarding story of an insecure teen finding her voice. Ages 12–up. Agent: Catherine Clarke, Felicity Bryan Associates. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Silence is Goldfish:
* "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 Reviews (starred review)

* "Pitcher (My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece) returns with 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)

"Captivating...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. A recommended purchase where contemporary coming-of-age stories are in demand."—School Library Journal

"Her narrative voice speaks loudly—Tess is a witty, energetic, and appealing protagonist."—The Horn Book

"Pitcher's smooth writing offers clear insight into all of Tess's heartfelt emotions, and she constructs a complex plot around Tess, her family, Mr. Richardson, and all the intertwined relationships at school. The characters are layered and flawed...Readers who like quirky, angsty characters who triumph over both themselves and their oppressors will enjoy this tale."—VOYA















"In Tess, Pitcher crafts an engaging and honest...narrator. While so many YA contemporaries put teenage romantic relationships front and center, this 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

"The strength of this emotionally wrought, introspective novel lies in the character of Tess, the clarity of her voice, and the odd but wonderful relationship she has with the Jiminy Cricket-like Mr. Goldfish...An engrossing character study of a girl in crisis, this novel is perfect for readers who appreciate realistic heroines who solve their own problems."—BCCB

From the Publisher

02/01/2016
Gr 7 Up—Tess becomes mute after accidentally discovering that her dad isn't her biological father in this captivating UK import. Having spent the past several years telling white lies about her social life to her father so he'd be proud of her, Tess hits her breaking point when she reads a blog post draft on his computer about the baby he couldn't love because she was the product of a sperm donor. She decides to stop pretending to be whom he expects, which leads to her becoming mute when she realizes it's easiest to not say anything at all. Tess becomes determined to find her biological father, and the new substitute math teacher, Mr. Richardson, seems the perfect candidate. However, with her silence come more problems. She loses her best friend, bullies start taunting her even more, and her perfect image of Mr. Richardson slowly begins to erode. With the help of her goldfish flashlight, who talks to her in her head, Tess must find the courage to reclaim her voice and face the truth. Although the story takes a while to find its footing, the plot is intriguing enough to push readers through until the latter half picks up. While Tess's naïveté can be frustrating, it is nicely balanced with the realist voice of "Mr. Goldfish." 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. VERDICT A recommended purchase where contemporary coming-of-age stories are in demand.—Jenna Friebel, Deerfield Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

Fifteen-year-old Tess Turner saw something on her dad’s computer that sent her unhappy life into a tailspin. Although she’s lived her own life being less than honest with her parents, teachers, and classmates, she’s devastated and angry when she discovers a lie at the heart of her family. Jayne Entwistle has the snarky voice needed for Tess’s thoughts as she begins a journey to find her authentic voice while living mute in her world. However, her snarky voice would soon become tiresome were it not for the wise “voice” of the flashlight shaped like a goldfish that becomes her confidant. His patience balances Tess’s self-absorption while he guides her to acceptance of herself and the world she lives in. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

Fifteen-year-old Tess Turner saw something on her dad’s computer that sent her unhappy life into a tailspin. Although she’s lived her own life being less than honest with her parents, teachers, and classmates, she’s devastated and angry when she discovers a lie at the heart of her family. Jayne Entwistle has the snarky voice needed for Tess’s thoughts as she begins a journey to find her authentic voice while living mute in her world. However, her snarky voice would soon become tiresome were it not for the wise “voice” of the flashlight shaped like a goldfish that becomes her confidant. His patience balances Tess’s self-absorption while he guides her to acceptance of herself and the world she lives in. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

★ 2016-01-20
Unable to face a devastating secret, 15-year-old Tess tries unsuccessfully to run away to London. Her ordinary family life in Manchester with two loving parents is upended when she sees a blog entry on her actor father's computer that reveals not only that she was conceived by a sperm donor, but that Jack never wanted her. She tries to tell her only real friend, Isabel, but can't. Nor can she admit to her parents that she knows they've been lying to her all of her life. After a disastrous attempt to deliver her single line in a local theatrical production of Peter Pan to Jack, who's playing Capt. Hook, Tess falls into an unbreakable silence, unable to release the "noiseless thunder" of her conflicting emotions. Stream-of-consciousness narration revealing Tess' internal struggle gives way to silent dialogue with a goldfish-shaped flashlight in her pocket. "Mr. Goldfish" becomes her confidant and anchor as she tries to pinpoint signs of Jack's unfatherly behavior, "swimming" through the air in her imagination and providing enthusiastic commentary. Tess, a big—some might say fat—white girl, invites readers into her alienation with a sort of savage intimacy. 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. (Fiction. 12-17)

Kirkus Reviews