Speechless

Submitted by dmacdonell on Sun, 2009-10-04 14:59

Speechless

By Valerie Sherrard

978-1-55002-701-3
June 2007
176pp, Paperback
$12.99 CAD

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“Readers will easily identify with the likeable, realistic characters of Griffin and Bryan in this enjoyable, light-hearted story.” – Sally Hengeveld, Stratford City Gazette (Stratford, ON) May 30

“… readers will … find a plot full of twists and turns, once that packs an emotional punch … Telling the story in the first person, Sherrard deftly mixes realistic family dynamics (Griffin is the third child of four and the only boy); the painful details of the child soldier horror; and just the right amount of humour to tell a gripping and important story.” – Gillian O'Reilly, Canadian Children's Book News Spring 2008

"No one pays much attention to you if you don't have much to say, so there was no way I could have predicted what would happen when I stopped talking altogether."

When his teacher announces that it's time for the yearly class speeches, Griffin Maxwell starts to sweat. His past experience with the dreaded speech was humiliating, to say the least, and he just knows there's no way he can go through that again. So Griffin's best friend, Bryan, comes up with a solution -- one that's so simple it just has to work. But neither boy can begin to predict the bizarre chain of events that will be set in place when Griffin goes along with the idea.

From squaring off with the school bully to reading a teacher's private letters, Griffin Maxwell wil have to face things he never imagined, and all without saying a word!