Silence By: Natasha Preston

The book Silence by Natasha Preston is a 3 part book series. It’s about 2 people narrating the book Oakley and Cole. Both of them narrate in this book but Cole doesn’t tell his side till about halfway through and switch back and forth. They are best friends but Cole is two years older and they have been friends since Oakley was born. They live next door to each other and their moms are best friends. They are normal teenagers besides Oakley doesn’t talk and hasn’t since she was five and nobody knows why. Besides one person. Oakley and Cole both like each other but they don’t want to tell each other in fear that the other doesn’t feel the same way. They also have their own little language since Oakley doesn’t talk.  They end up going on holiday (vacation) to Italy for two weeks with both of their families. Oakley always hints that something happened to her. When she thinks about it she always brings up her dad but doesn’t say what actually happened.

Oakley and Cole get even closer when they are in Italy and their siblings are kind of suspecting something is happening with them. But neither of them say anything cause they don’t really know themselves. While in Italy they go scuba diving because Cole wanted to and have a spa day because Oakley wanted to. They spend all their time with each other and hid their relationship from their parents. When the two weeks are up both are dreading going back to England because they know that what happened can’t stay that way. Because they can’t let their parents know about their relationship cause of the way they treat Oakley.

They end up dating but don’t tell their family till after Italy when Oakley turns 16. When they finally do tell their family, Oakley’s dad is really mad and everyone else is fine with it. Oakley and Cole get mad that there moms and sibling wanted them together but, they treat Oakley like she’s broken just cause she doesn’t talk. Oakley is 16 and they feel like they should stop treating her like she is a kid when she’s 16 and nothing really wrong with her. They end up leaving the house and stay at a hotel for the night without telling anyone. They end up telling Jasper Oakleys brother where they are at. He brings pizza and they talk about what happened. The next day they go back to the house and everything changes. Like them not staying at each others houses like they used to and having the doors open.

As the days go on they still feel the same about each other and continue to go on as before just things are different because they are dating now. There parents support them and are finally happy for them both. Oakley’s dad ends up coming up to her and saying he wants their relationship back like before what happened and says they should do something together again. They end up setting up a camping trip and Cole is kind of mad that he cant go with but, its with just Oakley and her dad. When they leave Cole then narrates this part and gets a call from Oakley and Oakley never calls him. He gets super worried and Oakley is saying she needs help and is crying and Cole runs to find her. As he gets to her she ends up telling him what happened and why she didn’t talk. It was because she was raped while her dad watched and  told her to keep quiet or it would “kill her mother” Cole is very mad and wants to kill her dad and Frank. They end up going to the police station and tell them what has happened and they arrest her dad. When they get home everyone is at the Oakley’s house and they can’t believe what happened and they don’t want to believe it until Oakley tells them it’s true.

After a few days Oakley, Jasper and there mom decide that it’s better if they leave England. This means that Oakley and Cole have to break up and she tells him that he shouldn’t throw his life away for someone broken like her. This then leads into the next book Broken Silence. I overall like this book because it talks about how someone kept a secret about something that would hurt other people. It talks about how a family think somethings wrong but someone else sees something totally different and didn’t want to change someone just because they wanted to.

““Most people have heard the phrase, ‘Silence is golden’; many would agree with it: people with screaming children running wild around the house or working in a noisy office. For me, however, it meant something entirely different. Silence consumed my whole life; it suppressed things I could never express. My silence was responsible for my family’s happiness. Silence was my prison.” 

Natasha Preston

This is one of my favorite quotes because, it shows the harsh reality Oakley had to go through everyday. She never got to act like a real kid and grow up talking and making friends. She got bullied because she didn’t talk and had to put up with it because of what her dad did and she’ll never get to re-do the childhood that she missed out on.

Book Review: You Will Be Mine By: Natasha Preston

The book You Will Be Mine is about a group of 6 friends that live together and they slowly start dying but nobody knows why… The main characters are Lylah, Chace, Sienna, Charlotte, Riley, Jake, Issac, and Sonny. The settings is over the course of 15 days starting February 1st to the 15th. It all starts by all of the all the roommates are about to go out to a party and someone rings the doorbell but nobody’s their.. But, there’s a note on the doormat with letters cut out from a magazine. This note is to Sonny and says “Your Heart Will Be Mine” they all think its a sick joke besides Lylah. And while their out they get another note saying “Tick Tock Sonny” Until, Sonny doesn’t come home that night. On the 3rd of February he’s found dead by Lylah and Chace.

They get another note on the 4th but this time it’s for Isaac.. Saying “Your Turn”. But he wasn’t next. There neighbor Nora was and, the roommates don’t understand why she was next when the note said Isaac. But that’s not the end of it. They all think it’s Jake their old roommate that got rejected by Lylah the year before. But then Lylah get attacked by “Jake” and gets a note that says “I Can Get You Any Time I Want”. On the 8th of February Isaac goes missing and, is found the next day in the same spot Sonny was found. While all the roommates are working with the police they try and find “Jake” but decided to just go out with all the girls. While out they get handed an envelope full of pictures of everyone in the past few months and a note that says “Your Heart Will Be Mine”..

On the 12th of February, a cop that was sitting outside the house is found dead. They then get another note saying “Met Me Alone Or I Strike Again”. Lylah also gets a text from an unknown number saying to meet them alone and where to meet them. She decides to work with the police and ends up regretting it because, Charlotte goes missing and is found dead the next day. After this Lylah gets fed up with the killer and how they killed Charlotte so she text the number and meets him… She then finds out the killer is her brother Riley. He tells her that he killed Sonny, Isaac, and Charlotte because she didn’t want to go home on valentines day. Which just happened to be  the anniversary of their parents death. Also, because they stole his sisters heart. He also tries and set up Lylah so he can kill Chace but ends up stabbing Lylah instead.

How the book ended is they flash forward to a year later Lylah is dating Chace and they are happier. Riley went to a Psychiatric Hospital and, is getting transferred to a different on on valentines day but… Lylah gets a hand delivered note saying “You Will Be Mine Sis”. They end up getting a call from the police saying he has escaped and they are trying to find him.

I overall loved this book because of how real it was and how the author made it seem like you were actually there and, how the book had good visuals with the notes. Also, how at the end of each chapter you were always on the edge of your seat and wanted to read more to find out what happens. However, I didn’t like how over reading the book you thought the killer was “Jake” but it was really Riley but, loved how it was over the course of 15 days and at the beginning of each chapter she said what day it was. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves mystery because, that’s what it’s based on. Also, to people that love to be on the edge of their seats because, after every chapter you want to read on and find out what happens.

This is one of the notes that was shown in the book. It means so much saying that that’s what the book title is called. Also the reason why Natasha Preston named it that is because it tells the story of Lylah and getting closure after her parents died. She also talks about how much she hates the holiday.

Book Review: It’s Not Summer Without You. By: Jenny Han

The second book in the Summer I Turned Pretty series is called It’s not Summer Without You.  This book is a total whirlwind 100% there are many ups and downs. In this second book, the characters are still the same with Belly, Conrad, Jeremiah, Steven, Laurel, and Susan. Oh boy, where do I begin with this book? At the beginning of this book, Belly is finally dating the boy of her dreams Conrad. But it turns out their relationship wouldn’t work out the way she wanted it to.  Conrad goes off to college and Belly is stuck back at her home away from the summer house and, away from Conrad.

They try to have a long distance relationship with many phone calls and, many nights of Conrad surprising Belly and, Belly sneaking out to see Conrad. But soon after all of this happens, Belly’s junior prom comes rolling around. Conrad and Belly’s relationship is already on the rocks around this time with Conrad dealing with finals and Conrad dealing with his mother’s condition. But Conrad puts on a tux and drives a few hours to take Belly to her prom. To make his mother oh so very happy.

At prom, Conrad is just very much in his own head thinking about everything that’s going on, and anything but focusing on spending the night with Belly at her prom. Belly can notice that he isn’t okay and suggest they leave. When they leave something major ends up happening to push Conrad to leave. Days after this Belly gets a call from Conrad’s brother Jeremiah and he’s needing her help.

Conrad ran away and can’t be found anywhere. Jeremiah and Belly go on a road trip to look for Conrad. Things happen on this road trip which causes some drama. What happens at the end of this book is pretty big and major and is what leads to book number three. Be prepared for the waterworks with this big roller-coaster.

This is my favorite quote because at this part in the story Jeremiah and Belly can feel a connection between each other that is stronger then them just being best friends. They just look at each other in silence about to kiss. Until the tension is broken by Conrad walking in on them almost kissing in the car where the drama begins…
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Book Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty By: Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty is a three-part book series. It is an amazing love story with many ups and downs and twist and turns. The main characters are Belly (Isabel), Jeremiah, Conrad, Steven, Susan, and Laurel. This book is about love and lost but heartache. Susan and Laurel are lifelong best friends. Susan’s children are Jeremiah and Conrad and Laurels children are Belly and Steven. Susan and Laurel have brought their children to Susan’s beach house every since they had children even before then.

 Belly and Steven are siblings that have known Conrad and Jeremiah their whole lives. All four of the kids are very close almost like siblings. The summer this book starts is the summer Belly turns “pretty” and is when Jeremiah and Conrad stop seeing her as a little sister but more as someone they form a crush on and could potentially end up having a relationship and future with. But again there are many ups and downs with this leading to the other two books.

I absolutely love this book because of the love, loss, and heartache there are many ups and downs it is an absolute roller-coaster. But all of the ups and downs are worth it because of the ending. This book will make you laugh and cry have happiness and will make you so torn but is an absolutely amazing journey. There is also some major plot twist and cliff hangers once you read this book you won’t want to put it down. This book series is addicting and you will read through it within hours or a couple of days.

I have and would hands down recommend this book series. I would recommend this book to teenagers and young adults. The author of this book Jenny Han has written many other books just like this that many teens and young adults love. There was even a Netflix movie made about one of her books and will hopefully finger’s crossed be made about this book. This book is an absolute joy to read and is by far my favorite book I have ever read.

Image result for quotes from the summer i turned pretty
This is one of my favorite quotes in the book because they can’t just throw all the history away just because of crush because they were all best friends.

About Me

   My name is Hailey Socha. I’m a junior at Abraham Lincoln High School. I love to read, paint, do my makeup and play tennis. I love reading different books and authors. Some of my goals are to graduate and go to college to become a Pediatric Nurse. I want to work in the Pediatric Oncology Unit. I love reading to relieve stress, and to do something when I’m bored. I love talking to people about the same books and, recommending different books to people. I hope you enjoy my blog about books!