Saving Silence

By Gina Blaxill, published by Macmillan.

Goodreads Synopsis: A high-octane, intricately plotted teen thriller, by an exciting voice in YA fiction.
Sam is the new kid at school – he keeps himself to himself and people don’t take much notice of him. Imogen is little miss perfect – she’s popular, clever, good at sports and has the dream boyfriend – and yet for some reason, she’s drawn to Sam. One day Imogen is with her friends and Sam rushes up – he needs to tell her something urgently. Before he can, a car drives towards him and tries to knock him down – Imogen pushes him out of the way and saves his life. After that, Sam avoids Imogen, but she can’t stop thinking about him. What was it he wanted to tell her? Why would someone want to kill him? Why won’t he speak to her now?

As Imogen and Sam get pulled deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld of East London, they have to rely on each other. Suddenly there’s nothing perfect about Imogen’s life, and people will never ignore Sam again…

My Review: Saving Silence was, quite simply, a brilliant crime book. I was so excited to start it, as not only did it arrive in the post as a surprise, but I’ve also read and absolutely loved Gina Blaxill’s other two teen thrillers! I had really high hopes for this… and it definitely delivered. While I still prefer Gina’s debut, Pretty Twisted, Saving Silence was a very close contender to that, for me.

I dived into this, knowing only what the pretty short and very mysterious blurb told me. I was hooked, straight from the start, with that gripping first line! I was really interested to see how the author used switching narratives in a plot where if too much was told, the story would be spoiled. However, it was done brilliantly! The story’s chapters alternated from Sam’s perspective to Imogen’s, and I really enjoyed seeing what they thought of each other, both their perspectives on the crime, as well as seeing both of them develop really well throughout the book. Gina Blaxill kept her writing detailed, and suspenseful- I loved it!

The idea for this story was brilliant. It was very original, and with its gang culture references and setting of a London crime hot spot, it was frighteningly realistic (and, of course, possible).  I guess this story carries an important moral about getting involved in gangs, and committing crimes. That’s one of the reasons that I’d strongly recommend it to all people, teens and up, regardless of gender or age. Most of it was really unpredictable, and when I though everything had been resolved, a new dilemma would shock both me and the characters!

I liked the main character, Imogen, for a lot of reasons. One being that she was described to look exactly like me. That was awesome. Also, because she was a really great lead role; inquisitive, a good detective, determined, and I loved her relationship with Sam… she just ticked all the boxes for me! She was also tackling problems more common in lives of sixth formers like her; like managing studying and her relationship. A very relatable character for some teens, I think! I also really loved Sam, as the other main character. He was the kind of character that you couldn’t not like. I found his involvement in the crime, and the reason why he was being hunted down, really interesting- it’s a thing that could easily happen to anyone. He had a really great back-story, too, that I enjoyed reading about!

Overall, Saving Silence was a great crime book that I’d recommend to anyone looking for a thrilling read, or who wants a book that captures the lives of London teenagers, especially those caught up in gang crime, perfectly. It was a really unpredictable, exhilarating read from start to finish! The main characters were unforgettable, and very realistic teenagers. I think that the plot was pulled off so well, too! There were loads of twists and turns in the book that kept me reading- if you’re planning on grabbing a copy of this (which I highly recommend doing ASAP), I’m very sure you’ll get hooked like I did.

Also, I have interviewed the amazing Gina! Hopefully, unless I’m bombarded with homework tomorrow at school, Gina Blaxill’s brilliant answers will be up tomorrow. Be sure to stop be here tomorrow! 🙂

 

My Rating:

 

I received a copy of Saving Silence from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.