The Season of Silence was written by Mary Francis Shura. It was published in 1976 in hardcover with dust jacket by Atheneum Press. The cover and internal illustrations were drawn by Ruth Sanderson.
Susie Spinner was so sick that spring that she was shut away in her room for several weeks. When she finally got well, she was startled to find that a great many things had changed in her private world.
It seemed as if some immense force had taken hold on the layers of her life and twisted them so that what had been high had become low and what had been firm and solid under her feet was suddenly spongy and terrifying.
A strange tension had developed between her parents and her sister Carrie; and Carrie seemed to have totally broken off with Martin, who had also been Susie's special friend. If that wasn't enough, Susie's best friend, Lindy, was all involved with Trevor Howard, who had always seemed to be the worst bully around.
On a forced, wandering, lonely walk Susie chanced on a grove in the Clary meadow, a place so magical that she felt it must have a spirit of its own. It was in the grove that Susie later encountered the strange, sullen boy named Derek Born, who trapped her in a silence and a lie she couldn't escape.
By the time it was all over, so many things were woven in together—the scent of wild flowers, the pain of death, and a deep sense of betrayal—that Susie found herself more changed than anyone else around her.
I read The Riddle of Raven Gulch by Mary Francis Shura and decided to sample a few of her other books. I chose books where the title and summary made the book sound like one I would like. The Season of Silence was one of the books I decided to purchase.
I found one immediately on eBay. It was the first printing in hardcover with dust jacket, and it was signed by Mary Francis Shura. I liked the book's appearance, and the price was reasonable for a signed copy. I purchased the book and read it as soon as it arrived.
As I began writing this post, I checked to see how common this book is. I found eight copies for sale online. I have access to eBay sales from the last three years. Only one copy of this book has sold on eBay in the last three years, and it is the book that I purchased. This book is a bit scarce, which is a shame since it's an extremely good book.
The protagonist, Susie, is in the 7th grade. This is an upper middle-grade book. The subject content and tone bears some similarity to young adult books, but the age of the protagonist makes it a middle-grade book. Some minor changes easily could have aged the book up into young adult.
It's interesting that the story in The Season of Silence bears some similarity to Don't Hurt Laurie! by Willo Davis Roberts. Both books were published by Atheneum Press and were illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. They are very similar in appearance, so it's interesting that the stories are similar in content and tone. Both of my books are first printings and are signed by the author. Click on images in order to see them more clearly.
The Season of Silence is an excellent book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment