This was a highly anticipated read, and did not quite live up to expectations. Much like the last book I read (All That's Left to Say by Emery Lord) this book was about a high school student whose best friend dies, and she transfers to the elite private school her best friend attended to avenge her death. This book was written from the adult perspective with a look back to their teenage years.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Fiona McPhillips, and Macmillan Audio for the pre-release of When We Were Silent narrated by India Mullen. The narrator does have an accent. The writing for this book is done well. The story follows Lou with the storyline moving back and forth from past to present. It’s a touching and heartbreaking story of a young girl trying to not only expose wrongs but becoming a victim of circumstances as well. The ending was a good closure for all parties. There are definitely triggers so please research if this will affect you before reading.

Very in depth portrayal of times past. While Ireland is beautiful and proud, it has a dark history in terms of not believing the victim, church is law, shame is heavy.

Great audio. Easy to follow between past and present.

4.5 stars rounding up!

This book switches back and forth in timelines, telling the story of Louise Manson in her years at Highfield Manor School in Dublin and then in the present day when Lou is married, has a daughter, and is swept back into the past events and all the trauma that occurred.

The themes of grooming and sexual abuse, suicide, emotional trauma, and mental
Illness are explored in depth, and the writing is exquisite.

One quote: Lolita doesn’t have a voice, only the lie given to her by him.

Another: this was in the years before the internet, when people wanted to connect, not to broadcast.

The tale moves from all the terrible acts of the swim coach at Highfield and the ensuing cover-up and the life-altering ramifications on Lou and her fellow teammates. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator, India Mullen, was beyond excellent with her great Irish accent! She definitely brought the story to life!

This story will linger in my thoughts. We hear of similar occurrences frequently, but this one fleshed out the gruesome details. What a debut novel!

My thanks to NetGalley, @fionamcp, and Flatiron Books for the for the gifted digital ARC. My review is voluntary.

A gut punch of a story with some very heavy topics to deal with! Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy to review.
This was an amazing debut, wonderfully written, and wholly transported me back to the 80s in the plunges into the past. I do love a dual timeline book.
Lou, our main character, has dealt with a lot of trauma and she is still dealing with it so many years later. She is asked to testify in a sexual abuse case which dredges up the past and so many memories while she was on scholarship at an elite private school. Her best friend used to attend the school had taken her own life and Lou could never really quite grasp why.
There were several parts of this audiobook where I just gasped or covered my mouth while listening. It really does grab you and shake you up. Fiona McPhillips thank you for this stunning book.

Dear When We Were Silent,
Oof. But a good oof? You were so hard to read. There was so much pain and trauma in your pages. But you were written in such a compelling way that I wanted to listen to you, even through the toughest parts of your story. I occasionally had trouble following where you were in time, because time jumps would happen without a change in narrator or chapter heading. But that aside, you did the difficult work of telling a painful story in a way that made you approachable and easier to read.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced audio copy of “When We Were Silent” by Fiona McPhillips in exchange for a review.

I loved ‘My Dark Vanessa’ and when I saw this being in the same conversation, I was intrigued. It started off slow with a lot of characters to keep track of, and I wasn’t vibing with it. The back 1/3 is where I really started to get invested, which I realize is a big commitment. The narrator with her Irish accent really helped immerse me into the story and atmosphere. Overall, I’m glad I finished it, but think I really would have struggled if I was engaging with the print version.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for gifting me an audio ARC of the debut novel by Fiona McPhillips and wonderfully narrated by India Mullen. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

In the 1980s, Louise was the new student at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Lou’s working-class status makes her the outsider, until she is befriended by some of her beautiful and wealthy classmates. However, Lou has a secret agenda and when she tries to bring the secret to light, her time at Highfield ends with a dead body. Thirty years later, Lou gets a phone call that a lawyer needs her to testify against the school. Married and with a troubled teenager of her own, Lou is torn between keeping her secret and confronting the past.

Wow - I thought this was a wonderful debut. It's dark and the subject matter of abuse is never easy, but McPhillips didn't exploit the situations. Instead, she crafted such a realistic, sinister environment and put you in the mindset of high school girls in the 1990s, before #MeToo. Then she contrasted that with a mother's instinct to hide the dark parts and protect her child, this was a very compelling read. There are themes of classism, toxic environments, social media impact. Great debut - can't wait to read more from this author!

Thai audiobook felt a little long. Although I did like the narrator at the beginning I found it hard to follow all the characters with her accent. Overall I liked the storyline It had some aspect that I just didn't love.

Short synopsis: Lou is a new student at a private school, when trying to uncover a dark secret Lou is threatened. 30 years later, she’s asked to testify.

My thoughts: This was a good exploration of the me too movement, with lots of triggers. I had to keep taking breaks and ultimately decided it was a bit too heavy for me.

I was hoping for more twists, and just couldn’t get Into the story.

In When We Were Silent, Fiona McPhillips takes on a journey of privilege, exploitation, and retribution. While the subject matter is important, we felt the story fell a little flat for us.

The story follows Louise Manson, a new student at Highfield Manor, who befriends the wealthy Shauna Power. As Lou gets further into her school year, she is exposed to the school's dark secrets.

McPhillips uses a dual timeline structure, using both past and present timelines, to add depth to the narrative. This allows the reader to explore the past events to see how their repercussions are felt in present day. However, we found ourselves only wanting to stay in the dark atmosphere of the past timeline but were forced into the present.

While the book initially had us hooked with its dark academia vibes and compelling premise, we lost interest as the story progressed. The pacing was slow at times, and certain plot points felt predictable. Additionally, the ending left us underwhelmed. Despite these drawbacks, When We Were Silent raises important themes of exploitation and privilege that could potentially spark meaningful conversations in the future.

When We Were Silent is thought-provoking and sheds light on some important social issues, but overall we felt like the story was just not for us. For those looking for a store with a tough subject matter this might be worth grabbing and taking a chance.

When We Were Silent combined a lot of my favorite reads including Notes On A Silencing and I Have Some Questions For You. While it took me a second to get used to the alternating timelines, I ended up really enjoying this story. India Mullen's narration captured the MC through a wide range of ages and emotions really well. I think it managed to be a good thriller but also a good discussion starter at the same time.
Thank you SO much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one!

I received an advanced audiobook from NetGalley & knew ahead of time there would be triggers. It has 2 timelines with the FMC sharing her time at a prestigious all girls school & then present day as she is forced to revisit the past in a lawsuit with the school. It deals with sexual assault with minors, & while I could handle the mentions in the first half of the book, I couldn’t stomach the details around 60%. The narrator was the only reason I continued & trudged through this book.

Things I loved: narrator, the cover and wanted a good mystery/thriller

What didn’t work for me: the story. I think this book could have been told just from the past perspective and did not at all need the dual timelines. The “present” was so hard to get through and the idea that a private s hook happened to hire multiple swim coaches/athletics teachers who were abusing kids (and ignored it both times) is a stretch. I also hated all of the characters, no one was likable to me and you don’t connect with really any of them as the reader. Hard for me to get through and the ending didn’t save it.

What a heavy and emotional dark academia thriller.

Imagine a prestigious and elite school in Ireland. The amount of scandal is endless and unbelievable. Adults/teachers grooming students, secrets, lies, manipulation, eating disorders, bullying even murder and suicide. Insert Louise outcast from the working class. Desperately trying to discover the many secrets while keeping her cover. Some of the girls at the school befriend her, but the moment she raises concerns they turn their backs.

This story is read in dual timeline so there is some back and forth that could be confusing at times. The dual timeline was important however to emphasize the trauma from the past. There are so many characters most of which are unlikable, but Lu is a treat.

I received the Audiobook of this and felt the narrator did a fantastic job narrating such a deep and emotional thriller.

Thank you, Net Galley, MacMillan Audio and India Mullen, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The story on this one revolves around HS in the 80’s. Not just ANY HS, but a very prestigious, costly, Catholic HS in Dublin…

Our FMC, Lu (Louise) has just started school there. She believes she is there on scholarship…which puts her in the minority, as this is a very “snubby” school where the girls all come from families with money…so, Lu is having a bit of a hard time fitting in…

The main reason she has come to this school is to try to find out why her BFF committed suicide…so she decides to go in, headstrong, with a plan…but plans don’t always pan out the way you think they will…

There are many characters in this one, and most of them are not nice (or likable…) And the mindset back then was VERY DIFFERENT than it is now. The adults were always right, and the kids were always lying… So when you have a bad coach, and some mean nuns…well, it is what it is.

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me.

I found it hard to keep up with the time changes in this one as it bounced from present day to the 1980’s without warning. But, other than that it was a good read. (In my opinion though, this was more of a young adult read with a sprinkling of adult literature…)

I believe this was a debut novel, so looking forward to what’s in store from this author.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review. It releases on 5/21/24.

#WhenWeWereSilent by #FionaMcPhillips and narrated nicely by #IndiaMullen.

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The narrator of the audio book does a great job keeping you engaged in this book even when there’s a lull in the story. Set in Ireland at a private high school and told in two timelines, this book could be a trigger with grooming and sexual abuse being swept under the rug only to reappear many years later. While it is not related at all, reading this story made me think of the gymnastic Olympic scandals of recent years and the trauma experienced. The author, Fiona McPhillips does an amazing job getting the emotion expressed. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron books for an advanced copy of this audiobook. It comes out on May 21!

The stars were aligned for this book.
Fiona McPhillips has turned out a compelling, complex, devastating, and powerful story in When We Were Silent.
I found the plot of this book instantly intriguing and the solidity of McPhillips' writing builds on that to form a strong foundation for this story. The use of multiple timelines works so well, giving just enough information to keep the reader engaged, but withholding important pieces of the puzzle to be revealed when they will have the most impact. There's a balance that comes from the way the timelines are weaved throughout this story that elevates material.
The characterization of our protagonist is well developed in both timelines, exploring what drives the teenage version of our main character and also analyzing how the decisions she made as a teenager have had long lasting implications that affect her in adulthood. We are treated to several other intriguing characters throughout this book, many of which are described with wonderfully gray subtlety. They demonstrate the positives and negatives that equally exist in so many of us. There's judgement and compassion from our main character towards others in this story lending itself to the unfortunate believability of the subject matter.
The subject matter itself is difficult and incredibly challenging to read about. McPhillips' skill is what makes this a story that must be continued until its conclusion is reached. She makes the reader care so deeply while navigating through the complexity of the topic of sexual assault. Part of what makes this subject matter so difficult is its true prevalence in our society - Not just the heinous act, but the treatment of women who come forward after having experienced something truly horrific. McPhillips' does not sensationalize, she uses words to assist with understanding.
I highly recommend the audiobook for this story. The narration is absolutely fantastic and adds to the immersive quality of this book.

Set in both present-day and 1980s Dublin, readers follow Lou, a stubbornly resilient woman who has worked hard for her current life. Present-day Lou is a professor and busy mother of a teenage daughter. Lou has put a lot of effort into shielding her family from her past by keeping secrets from her partner, her child, and everyone else. When past bursts into the present day, Lou will do anything to avoid dealing with what she’s buried for so long.
In the 1980s, Lou is a teenage girl herself in a world of strict moral codes that only apply to some. Lou attends Highfield, a pompous school full of wealthy girls, where her accent and class set her apart. She tries to make ends meet at home and cares for her mother, who struggles with alcoholism. Lou has just lost her best friend, Tina, to suicide. She embarks on an ill-conceived plan to take revenge on the man she believes drove Tina to her death. She and her friends soon realize how little power they really have over the events in their lives.

Weaving between two timelines, When We Were Silent tells the tale of abuse and its consequences at an elite Irish school.

I appreciated that the author was tackling a very difficult topic, but I felt that the story didn't really add much to stories that are unfortunately too familiar.

The narrator has a beautiful, clear voice, but there were points where I wasn't sure which character was meant to be speaking or if dialogue was internal.

Fans of The Lying Game by Ruth Ware should check this one out.