Elise grew up as the home-schooled daughter of a single mother and has recently transitioned to public school for her eighth grade year. Theirs is a solitary existence – her mother rarely leaves the house, working as a professor for online math classes, struggling with bouts of depression since the death of her husband on the day of Elise’s birth. Elise deals with the solitude, and these days it has actually been helpful: for quickly after starting the school year, Elise made it a goal to speak as little as possible, especially at school. See, the last time she tried talking at school, she ruined everything: her reputation, her friendship with Mel, any attempts at making new friends. So she tallies the words she speaks every day, aiming for that day she will keep the tally to zero.
This choice is not easy: she endures snipes at the hands of Mel’s new best friends, and frustration from Mel herself who doesn’t understand why Elise won’t at least talk to her. And now her home life has new complications. Elise has discovered why her mother retreats to the shed so often for bouts of melancholy upon finding boxes of baby goods and photos of two older brothers she never new existed. Frustrated and betrayed by her mother’s secrets, and spurned on by visions of her grandmother and a raven who seems to be guiding her, she sets out to find her grandmother and brothers. But she is only met with more mystery, as upon meeting her grandmother in the woods, she is instructed not to say a word until her 13th birthday – for that’s the only way she can be reunited with the siblings she never knew. New friendships, pressure from her teachers, bullying from her peers, and more will challenge Elise’s goal for zero words spoken. But she is intent on withstanding the test.
This book was very good but VERY challenging to read because it is relentlessly devastating. Selective mutism is something that I’ve seen popping up more as a topic and I’m glad that children’s books are representing it. The most frustrating part of this book is Elise’s mother, who I had intense sympathy for but also found very infuriating. Her neglect of Elise is tragic (Elise didn’t know what a birthday was, as her mother couldn’t handle celebrating — when Elise runs away for a week, her mother allows a family she doesn’t know to take her daughter in without ever connecting with them), and while it’s very clear this is due to her mental duress, it isn’t concluded in a satisfying way.
The book is heavily influenced by the fairy tale “The Seven Ravens” which I loved.
Glad to have read it, though I could use a real breath of fresh happy after it.