Silence is Goldfish: Review

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You all know how much I enjoy writing this blog, and if you're following my instagram or know me in the 'real' world, you'll know just how much I enjoy reading. I read most days, and feel practically naked without a good book in my hands, and so after giving this a LOT of thought (and trust me when I say I think too much as it is) I have decided to use this blog for regular book reviews. I hope you'll all stay and perhaps even enjoy reading a few of them now and then, but it is of course entirely up to you - this is appearing on your feeds, after all!

So, without further chatter, I'm going to dive straight in (note my 'unintentional' pun) with a review of Annabel Pitcher's 'Silence is Goldfish'.

Centred around Tess, who vows to become mute after learning that the dad she loved so dearly isn't her biological father, this novel explores some of the most interesting aspects of silence from Tess' own mind, where she converses with a semi-imaginary friend 'Mr Goldfish' to make sense of the world surrounding her.

After reading a book about selective mutism several years ago, I was hesitant to get into this one, finding the last a little too descriptive (should have worked out that it wouldn't be dialogue heavy first, right?) but I really enjoyed the use of 'Mr Goldfish' in this book - although I initially found him odd and a little juvenile for the teenage protagonist, I soon accepted his existence and he acted not only to ask questions I, as the reader, had myself, but also to make the book a more light-hearted, fifteen year old's view of a serious topic.

Plot-wise, this moved quickly at a pace I enjoyed as a reader. I found the many twists and turns intriguing, and struggled to put the book down once I'd started.

I'd definitely recommend this book, but particularly so if you have any form of interest in mental health and mutism as topics. There is also an element of mystery running throughout, as Tess seeks her 'real', biological father despite the challenges presented by her mutism and overbearing family, and the classic struggles of teenage life remain strong through broken friendships and aspects of bullying.

8/10 from me!