Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Louder Than Words by Laurie Plissner


Louder Than Words. Laurie Plissner. Merit Press. YA Fiction. December 2012. 272 pp. pbk.  ISBN # 9781440556652.

Sasha’s world came to a screeching halt on the night when a devastating accident killed her parents and younger sister.  Sasha can’t remember a thing that happened that night. All she knows is that she’s been unable to speak since that awful night!

A famous psychiatrist who has practiced around the world seems unable to make any progress with Sasha. But now her attention is distracted by a young fellow student she meets.  Ben has the uncanny ability to read the minds of people he is close to in physical space.  It’s unnerving to say the least and yet Ben’s gentle revelations of Sasha’s thoughts begin to make her face what a private hell she’s created for herself by constantly focusing on her inability to communicate. 

The challenge Ben springs on Sasha is quite startling, especially considering that she has totally fallen for him and wants to be treated like a girlfriend.  To Ben, however, Sasha needs to overcome her disability, to totally heal as much as one can in her experience.  Her anger over this ultimatum and the help of Ben’s mother, a woman with her own unique alternative therapy skills, pushes Sasha to a new level.

The clues and memories that return are gradual and then absolutely stunning when it all comes together.  While the end might be considered too neatly tied up, it is very, very real to Sasha and is worth reading to see what finally frees her from her own self-imprisonment and a very real danger!

Louder Than Words is a fast-paced, young adult novel that will rivet readers’ attention to the very last page.  Nicely done, Laurie Plissner!




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