The novel is made up of letters written by Zoe (not her real name, and from a fake address) to a murderer, Stuart Harris, awaiting execution in Texas.

Dot is an endearing and fully-rounded character, and whilst the subject of deafness is generally dealt with naturally and casually, the book also makes a powerful comment about one of the possible causes of infant deafness and the impact on her family. The GIANT AWFUL SECRET that she's not telling us is all we have for suspense or driving the plot, and the suspicion that it's not worth telling starts creeping in extraordinarily quickly. As she tells her story, Zoe discovers the power of words to heal and the strength of human connection. Pitcher perfectly captures the emotion and guilt that teenager Zoe is experiencing as she attempts to come to terms with a devastating secret that she has been hiding.Her first novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, which reaped a harvest of plaudits and the Branford Boase award for a first novel, was narrated by a boy guilty of feeling less than the requisite grief for a dead sister. It was James Mease, a Philadelphia scientist, who invented tomato ketchup based on his own recipe in 1812. Full of heartache yet humour, Zoe tells her story in the only way she can—in letters to the man in prison in America. From the author of the award-winning My Sister Lives on a Mantelpiece this is a novel that will really make you think.

If you are looking for a happy summer read which leaves you in the same way as you were before you started the book then maybe this is not for you. This novel protrays a D/deaf character in a way which is a positive example of disability in fiction. In each, emotional rawness is modified by ironical humour and dry-eyed directness, which make the voice both convincing and persuasive. The box of tiles is digging into my thighs, and a draft is blowing through a gap underneath the shed door.I was so fascinated by their interactions and I just wanted to get back to them when we were elsewhere in the story. The family in this book were so so well written and every single character was truly great and had their own story to tell. The sense of intrigue and the feeling of suspense builds up right up until the last few chapters when finally all is revealed to the reader.

You close your eyes and I'll close mine and let's dream the same dream across the Atlantic, lighting up the darkness between us. How can Zoe manage her own feelings without hurting the boys especially when she’s also coping with puzzling dramas at home?They plan to tell Max of their feelings, but since Max and Aaron’s father is about to marry a new woman, Aaron knows Max isn’t in the right mind frame. It all flows beautifully and even though I’m not usually a big fan of romance, I felt the strength and intensity of “Zoe”’s emotions with a conclusion which moved me to tears. Threat of immediate assault/force as justification of accidental manslaughter DOESN'T COUNT as justice. Aaron implores Alice to shred the letter and, as a way to move on from her guilt over Max, never contact him again. I've had this book for ages and literally knew very little about it but recently I felt an urge to just finally get round to reading it and WOW this book took me by surprise!

However, as the book progressed and I got to know our protagonist, I could see her personality shine through on the paper and she even managed to made me laugh quite a few times! Dot falls down the stairs and breaks her wrist, and an ambulance arrives to find Zoe lying on the ground. Her only hope for revealing her secrets is to speak with Stuart Harris, a prisoner on Texas’ Death Row. I wish my review could do this book justice – it's my own fault for waiting over a month since I finished the book to review it. All of the characters are fully fleshed and extremely credible from the bickering parents feeling the stress of financial worry and the pressure of caring for elderly parents to the precocious middle child who feels ever so slightly neglected.Una mitad se quedó en el muro y la otra mitad balanceándose de una rama, y esa es la única prueba que hay en el mundo de que sentí que algo se me rompía por dentro. We had the subtle dropping of hints and weaving in clues from the start, but while that gave me a hint of what was coming, I really had no idea how it was all going to go and the ending still gave me a shock. This is the second novel I have read of the author and she has a talent in creating such wonderful (although in this case not particularly likeable), believable characters.