Common Sense Media Review
By Michael Berry
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Paranormal adventure bogs down in details.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In SILENCE, a strange encounter in a cemetery leaves high school student Emma with the ability to communicate with the dead. Soon she's able to see her departed father, but she also receives frantic messages regarding a ghostly child trapped within a perpetually burning building. As she learns to use magic, Emma grows ever closer to becoming a Necromancer, a state of affairs that might require one of her presumed allies to kill her.
Is It Any Good?
Silence has an interesting, suspenseful premise and an engaging cast of characters. Unfortunately, the narrative is a little talky, with characters frequently engaging in long, vague conversations about how Emma's powers are supposed to work. When it shows action and character development, Silence is effective, but it occasionally breaks its own spell with too much telling.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what it might be like to be able to communicate with a loved one who has died. What would you say/ask?
Which other ghost stories have you read or seen in movies? What makes a good one good?
How do people with Asperger's or autism perceive the world differently from most other people?
Book Details
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