The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Daisy has always been the good daughter. She helps take care of her profoundly autistic brother without complaining. She gets great grades and is in accelerated classes at school. She practices her trumpet in the basement so as not to disturb the family. She forgoes social opportunities with friends so that she can assist her parents. She is lonely and isolated but she does what she needs to do to make things work for her family. So imagine how Daisy feels when her parents make a decision about her brother's care without consulting her. It makes her feel like giving up on everything.

The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe is a promising YA novel written in poetic prose on a timely topic. It is a reminder to me as an educator to spend some time getting to know my students because one never knows what huge burdens some students have to bear. Daisy does everything right yet her parents barely pay attention to her because they are so focused on her difficult brother who is getting more and more difficult as the years pass.

I like reading books written in poetic prose, once my brain makes the switch and this book started off very promising with lovely, figurative language. It did bog down a bit in the mid part with the storyline dragging, but the ending was lovely and redemptive. Just the kind of ending that readers deserve.

Our Mock Printz team is considering this book for our Fall list. I will be curious to hear what the other readers think of this book. I liked the beginning and the end of the book but is the slow part in the middle a deal breaker? It will remain to be seen.

30 books this Summer Reading Challenge

7 / 30 books. 23% done!