Silent Sister
Megan Davidhizar
3.5⭐️

Pub Date: 8/6/2024

This is a YA book with unreliable Narrator. I really like these kinds of plot. This revolves around Maddy and Grace, sisters. One sister suddenly disappears during their senior camp/retreat. One got home safely but with a huge gap in her memory. Now I think this book has multiple layers. There's the mystery on what actually happened to the missing sister, who did what and why. There's also another part where the characters are learning about and making peace with themselves during this sabbatical. Those were actually pretty profound and I thought that was a nice touch. The family and high-school drama were good. But I just thought that there were some things in the plot that felt unstable, not plausible or just not hitting hard. The main twist in this story was actually good but I called it early on. I didn't think that there were a lot of obvious indicators right away but there were a few that made me suspect it quickly.

Overall, I thought this was a decent read. I enjoyed it but nothing nailbiting. The book kept me interested enough to be curious about what actually happened.

Thank you Random House Delacorte Press for a gifted e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Silent Sister by Davidhizar was an interesting read on how school trips can go sideways and how trauma can effect an entire family and one's mental state.

The "missing person plus a person found covered in blood with amnesia" is actually a big trope in YA. Surprising but true.

During a class trip, two sisters go missing. Grace is found, but her sister Maddy is still missing. What happened?

Grace, who is suffering from amnesia, wonders if she could somehow be responsible for what happened to Maddy.. Grace is a popular student athlete. Maddy is more sensitive and artistic.

Of course, both sisters have secrets. While this book takes some time to get going, it actually gets really good by the end!

Can I send my therapy bill to this author? WHY DID I CRY SO HARD 😭😭😭 will be recommending this books as a heart wrenching, stare at the wall after finishing type read.

4.5 Stars

Silent Sister absolutely lived up to the hype! Megan Davidhizar has crafted a gripping, edge-of-your-seat thriller that dives deep into family drama, secrets, and betrayal. The story revolves around the mysterious disappearance of two sisters—Grace, the popular athlete, and Maddy, the quiet, introverted girl with secrets tucked away in her journal.

The plot pulled me in immediately. When Grace returned from the trip, or rather was found, injured and unable to remember what happened to her sister, suspicion falls heavily on her, especially when Maddy’s blood is found on her clothes. Davidhizar does an excellent job of building tension and creating an atmosphere where everyone seems to have something to hide.

What made this book truly unforgettable was the twist at the end—I didn’t see it coming at all! But once I figured it out, it was like everything fell into place; the clues had been there all along, woven so perfectly into the story. It made for a satisfying and perfectly crafted conclusion that left me reeling.

Highly recommend Silent Sister. It’s the perfect YA Mystery Thriller novel!

Silent Sister wasn't my cup of tea. I came into this book eagerly after reading The Reappearance of Rachel Price. Holly Jackson is my all-time favorite young adult mystery author, and no one does it quite like her. I've read plenty of other young adult mysteries and I always run into a few qualms: the book is either predictable, presents teenagers overdramatically and stereotypically, or has a cool storyline but very flat characters. (Characters are the most valuable thing to me when it comes to books; I'll love a "bad" book as long as I love the characters.) Seeing that this book was advertised as "for fans of Holly Jackson" and even having a similar cover style to her books, I thought I would give it a try. Unfortunately, though, I didn't love it. As a twin myself, I love when books revolve around sisters, but Silent Sister missed the marked. I found the main character to be a bit unlikable and I was left craving more from both the characters and the plot.

DNF: 10%

*Sigh*

After DNFing a previous book, I IMMEDIATELY jumped into this one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to continue after finished the second chapter. See, I don’t do well with YA novels that tackle one-sided friendships and troubling sister relationships. There is just something about these two topics/themes that bother me, especially when they are written in YA novels. And yes, I am aware that these topics/themes are importance for YA readers but sometimes it is good to read a novel where sisters actually like each other and friendships are actually real.

Again, *sigh*

I know someone, or multiple people, will read this review and probably say that “I didn’t even give this a try.” And a few might be right but, as a heavy reader this late in my life, I know what I like/enjoy to read and what I don’t. While this book is by no means is a bad one, I am just the wrong audience for it.

However, if you enjoy:
✨Murder Mysteries/Thrillers…
✨Secrets between friends/sisters…
✨Teenage angsts…
And
✨Poetry…

Then this is MOST DEFINITELY for you!!!

Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for granting me an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!

This is a really solid thriller mystery. The twist was good and I liked the writing style. If you enjoy thrillers I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Megan Davidhizar, Random House Children's and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Silent Sister is a great YA read. Although there is some predictability from my perspective, young adults will surely enjoy the story. It's hard to find a good mystery for YA readers and I think this will hook them. I also don't think it will prevent them from taking their own senior trip so just enough to intrigue and keep guessing. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I called the ending of this book from the very first sentence. I thought it was incredibly obvious and not that well thought out. However, I was entertained by the book and it kept me wanting to finish it. It's definitely an entertaining and suspenseful young adult novel.

Two sisters go on a senior trip, but only one comes back.
👯‍♀️
Grace is the outgoing, fun-loving, popular sister whereas Maddy is the quieter of the two, seemingly invisible to others sometimes, always writing poetry. Grace is found bloodied, injured and unconscious by a lake after their senior trip and Maddy is missing. Grace has no memory of what happened on the trip at all, but lots of evidence is piling up against her. In order to clear her name and find her sister, Grace must do some investigating and soul-searching work to find out the truth.
👯‍♀️
This was a strong YA thriller debut by @megandavidhizar The timeline and POV changes were easy to follow and had me seeing both girls for who they truly were. I figured out the twist before the end, but I don’t think most readers will. It was a great twist that doesn’t happen often in young adult books. Can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

CW: death, blood, student/teacher relationship, amnesia, bullying

Grace and Maddy are sisters but they are polar opposites. Grace is very outgoing and lives up to the American Girl persona. Everyone loves her and she's a star athlete with all her friends. Maddy is more reserved, the wallflower who has always felt like she has been in Grace's shadow sho would rather get lost in writing in her notebook than to go out. The girls go on a senior trip with their class, and while all the other students that have gone on that trip have raved the trip changed them for life. That trip did just that for Grace, she was found on the side of the road injured without any memory of what happened to take everything to a new level Maddy is missing and Grace was probably the last person with Maddy. With the Detective hovering over Maddy with suspicions because she cannot remember anything she decides to take care of this herself. Maddy starts trying to find out what really happened that night and she then starts asking people who were also on the trip to find out what happened!
Wow, this one was a wild ride, and while watching as all the different pieces of the puzzle started to come together. Everyone had some kind of secret involving the senior trip it was an interesting ride to see it all come together. Grace is trying to figure out if it was an accident or something more sinister with everyone having a secret. This should be your next read! Thank you Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this one! It was a treat!

Title: Silent Sister by Megan Davidhizar
Genre: YA Thriller
Pub Date: August 6, 2024
📖 352 pages

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌿 Missing Sister
🌿 Retrograde Amnesia
🌿 Senior Trip Gone Awry
🌿 Dual POV + Timelines
🌿 Twisty Thriller
🌿 Unreliable Narrator

My Review:

Silent Sister is a twisty YA thriller about a teenage girl struggling to come to terms with her sister's death while also overcoming retrograde amnesia. The events of the senior trip are lost to her after a hard bash on her head, and she is the only one who has the answers to what transpired the night she disappeared. The only thing she knows is that she and her sister fought the last night, and she would do anything to find out who took her sister from her.

I loved it! The author utilized dual POV (Grace + Maddy) and timelines (present day and during the trip) which made for an easy, fast paced read. Grace is the outgoing sister, good at sports and loved by everyone, and Maddy is the silent sister, an introverted girl who always seems to be an afterthought.
I had an inkling of what the twist would be, but pleasantly, I was wrong. I loved the "whodunit" aspect and enjoyed how everything was tied up. Silent Sister is a must-read for thriller lovers of all ages.

Thank you so much, TBR and Beyond Book Tours for the gorgeous hardcover review copy! I loved the book so much and I'm so excited to have the shelf trophy!!

I wasn’t able to finish this before the publishing date which sucks because I was so excited to read this.

Silent Sister is a gripping family drama that keeps readers hooked with its layers of secrets and twists, but it doesn’t fully capitalize on its suspenseful premise. The story follows a woman uncovering shocking truths about her family after her father’s death, and while the central mystery is compelling, some of the plot revelations feel a bit predictable.

The characters are complex, particularly the protagonist, whose emotional journey is relatable. However, certain secondary characters lack the depth needed to make the story's twists fully resonate. The pacing is generally solid, though there are moments where the narrative drags, especially as the protagonist works through her discoveries.

For readers who enjoy suspenseful family sagas with plenty of intrigue, Silent Sister offers a satisfying, if slightly predictable, mystery. It’s an enjoyable read that delivers some solid surprises, but it may leave readers wanting a bit more depth and originality in its final execution. A good story, but not one that breaks new ground.

Grace and Maddy, two sisters, went missing on their class trip. When only Grace returns, there are a lot of questions. Where is Maddy? What happened to Grace? Where were they?

This book was just fine. The story was somewhat compelling but seemed to drag on. The twist was predictable, which is fine for a YA book where readers might have never seen it before but it's not exciting or believable.

Waking up with no memory and learning your sister is dead can be a lot to deal with. Especially when every attempt you make to try to remember leads to impossible head aches that drain your strength, your will.

Grace wakes up after the week away from school. The sabbatical week sponsored by the school is a senior tradition, a closely guarded secret students are encouraged to keep quiet about. Maddy is looking forward to it, if only for a chance to meet new friends. Especially after Erica, her best friend who went on sabbatical earlier in the year, has seemed to ditch her and since become inseparable with her sabbatical roommate, Zoey.

The week away from school encourages the students to look inside themselves, to journal and express their regrets, how they perceive themselves, and who they'd like to be in the future. Some thoughts are shared, some are allowed to remain hidden.

Present day, Grace is left to deal with the loss of Maddy. Her phone remains in police custody, along with her contacts and access to social media. She has no way to reach out to friends, to ask what happened the week they were gone, and who might have wanted to hurt both girls. But no one is saying anything or seems comfortable with even talking to Grace.

Great pace and build up, with delightful twists. A look at two sisters who had a tragedy in their past greatly impact their lives. One a wallflower, one a popular athlete, forced to accept that maybe they don't know each other as well as they think they do.

Thank you to the publishers through NetGalley for the ARC!

Grace and Maddy were not twins. they're 10 months apart but they looked so similar and are in he same class, so their friends always assumed that they're twins. their similarities end with their looks because personally they're the polar opposite: Grace was an outgoing athlete and had a lot of friends, meanwhile Maddy was an awkward introvert who liked to write.

on their class trip, they disappeared. only Grace was found alive with no recollection on what was happening before and when they're missing, and Maddy was found the next day, already dead.

i rarely read mystery, so i read the plot on face value, just go with the flow, didn't try to speculate anything. but the way the narrative kept circling around these sisters got me alert, because there's definitely something happened between them. the reveal dropped my jaw, blew my mind, made me backtrack some parts throughout the book to read them in new perspective. it's good and fast-paced, i read it in less than 1 day.

Grace and Maddy are sister and the two couldn't be anymore different. Maddy is an introvert hidden by her sisters shadow, she spends most of her time writing in her journal. Grace is an extrovert and athlete who has tons of friends. The two are off on a class trip that happens every year for kids of a certain age. What happens on the class trip stays on the class trip. When both sisters go missing on the trip then Grace is found alive everyone wants answers. Grace has amnesia though she doesn't have a clue to what happened but she wants too. Grace starts following the clues she finds in hopes of figuring out just what went wrong on that faithful night. Will Grace regain her memories and remember what transpired with her sister and herself?

This book is a great introduction to the thriller genre for young adults. It was twisty and surprising without being too scary. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read an early copy!