Silence Is Goldfish

Starred review from March 7, 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.

Starred review from February 1, 2016
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)

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February 1, 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 naivete 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

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2016
Grades 8-11 The acclaimed British author's latest quirky YA contemporary requires some suspension of disbelief. When 15-year-old Manchester high-schooler Tess discovers that her dad, Jack, is not her biological father, she stops speaking. Not just to Mom and Jack, who have lied to her face her whole lifebut to everyone . . . even the new substitute math teacher, Mr. Richardson, whom she latches onto as a possible biological father. Tess' new constant companion, Mr. Goldfish, an imaginary friend of sortsin truth, a goldfish on a children's flashlightaccompanies her as she spies on Mr. Richardson to disastrous results. In Tess, Pitcher crafts an engaging and honest, if sometimes naive, narrator. A subplot about Mr. Richardson's family, including his dreamy son Henry, and infidelity does not derail this story from its primary focus. 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)