I enjoyed this novel, I was really engaged and I liked the characters. Will be looking out for more by this author.

An easy four and a bit stars from me.

Oh. My. God. What a book. Incredibly written, well-paced, so so shocking. I saw other reviews mention that the twist was obvious, but it was so far from what I'd even begun to anticipate, and I absolutely loved the way it was handled... and made you realise how many clues you'd missed.

There are so many things I loved about this book. I really enjoyed the characters and how detailed and complex they were, especially Grace and Maddy, who had the kind of realistic, up and down relationship you'd expect from sisters so close in age. I loved the way they interacted and Maddy's complexity as a protagonist, and I really enjoyed seeing their relationships with the other characters, and how they differed. I think Maddy is someone a lot of girls could relate to.

I think the mystery was built really well, and I loved the two timelines working against each other. It's weird, because my debut novel, 'Guided', is told in a similar way - a before and an after, interspersed with one another, all building up to the same reveal. I loved the setting, too - as a Brit, it felt so vivid, and I loved that it felt so real. A qualm I have with so many American YA books is that the state or even location in the country is never mentioned, alongside the weather and landscape, so the book never comes to life. This book definitely surprised me.

The only reason I couldn't mark it a full five stars is because I don't think I massively connected with the side characters, who felt more one dimensional, especially the parents, and some of the school friends - Erica and Nicole in particular. I also would have kind of liked there to have been more to the actual reveal of what happened to the girls, as it seemed silly that they wouldn't have automatically come to that assumption! But those are very minor details, and didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. I couldn't put the book down!

I now have a physical copy pre-ordered, and can't wait to tell more people about it.

I'll pick up most thrillers that feature sisters and this one did NOT disappoint. Told from two POVs of one sister, Maggie, who is missing and presumed dead after a school retreat and another sister, Grace, who is left behind with not only her grief but no memory of what happened on the retreat--even though she was the last one to see her sister alive. The writing is fabulous. The characters will suck you into each of their worlds and make you second guess everything. An emotional rollercoaster that I didn't want to get off. A stellar debut by Megan Davidhizar and an author who will be an auto-buy from me.

Grace and Maddy are sisters who look nearly identical, but couldn't be more different. Maddy, an introverted poet, has lived in the shadows of her far more outgoing, popular, volleyball player sister, Grace for as long as she can remember. Grace gets into a prestigious college while Maddy is rejected from her dream poetry scholarship. Grace has all the friends. Grace gets all the attention from boys. And it's this constant stream of rejection that motivates Maddy to try and reinvent herself on their senior Sabbatical trip. But then everything goes horribly wrong.

Grace wakes up in the hospital, injured and with no memory of what happened to her on the senior class trip. And Maddy is missing. Suspicion turns to Grace, leaving her desperate to both find her sister and clear her own name. But how can she figure out what happened to her sister when she can't even remember that night?

Told in dual perspective: one chapter with Grace in the present day and one chapter with Maddy during senior sabbatical, and interspersed with Maddy's poetry, SILENT SISTER is a propulsive, twisty, and suspenseful YA thriller. I had a brilliant time with this novel. I was fully immersed in both timelines and both characters' perspectives and loved trying to piece together what really happened.

A real strength of SILENT SISTER is the characterisation. Maddy's struggles as the sister living in the shadows was deeply relatable and emotional. All of us who have ever compared ourselves to others will find something of themselves in Maddy's character. There's a great cast of supporting characters whose various motives and secrets further complicate Grace's investigation into what happened to her sister and on the senior class trip.

Oh, and the twists! The twists??? Brilliant. The way the story unfolded helped bring me along to a natural conclusion just before the characters realised but imo, that's perfect. It felt organic and natural rather than being blindsided by a twist right out of the blue.

Overall, I loved this book. I cannot wait to see more from this author!

Grace and Maddy are sisters, born less than a year apart. Maddy is quiet and finds it difficult to make friends whilst Grace is much more outgoing with a wide social circle and a basketball scholarship for college. Maddy constantly compares herself with Grace and feels that she lives in her older sister’s shadow.
Silent Sister is an engaging read. The story is told from the dual perspectives of the sisters as the mystery unfolds of how on the final day of a school residential, Grace is found with serious head injuries and Maddy is missing. With themes of sibling rivalry, sisterhood, self-image, secrets and mental health this is story of family dynamics and a mystery to be solved rather than a thriller.

I really enjoyed this book even though it was a little bit sad and it is a really good way of saying that when a loved passes away you need to let them go and that they are never really gone because they will always be in your hearts.
I think that this book was a really awesome book.

Loved this, and will happily recommend it to people, regardless of their age. It’s a great example of YA - appealing to teenagers but with the ability to engage all age groups. I did guess the twist halfway through but it was still very cleverly executed and made for a satisfying ending.

"Silent Sister" is a ya thriller novel written by Megan Davidhizar, here at her debut.

The story revolves around two sisters who disappear during a school trip: Grace, the outgoing athlete and friend to all, and Maddy, the introverted girl, eclipsed by her sister's shadow, who prefers to dedicate herself to her journal rather than to her classmates. When Grace is found injured, with no memory of what happened, everyone thinks she is lying. The blood on her clothes, belonging to Maddy, certainly does not help to make her look innocent.  Desperate to save her sister, and prove her innocence, Grace must reconstruct what happened on that school trip with the help of Maddy's notebook and classmates who may not be telling the police everything about that tragic night.

"Silent Sister is a book that moved me so much! Compelling, touching and involving, it captured me from the very first pages. It is a thriller yes, with its load of secrets, lies, deceptions, jealousies, envies, grudges and revenges, but it is also an intense and poignant story about a deep and complex bond between sisters. I didn't think I would cry, or at least the plot didn't convey that idea to me, but instead I ended up sobbing on several occasions. Seriously, I found it an intense story that completely won me over!

The story alternates between past and present, between before the disappearance of the two sisters and after Grace is found, following the unfolding of the events that led to the tragedy and Grace's attempts to recover her memories of the incident and find her sister. I enjoyed the interlock between the two timelines, the way they proceed, intersecting step by step, until reaching the final resolution. I admit that I guessed the various plot twists in advance, but I still enjoyed the construction of the mystery. As mentioned above, in my opinion, more than a true thriller, it is a story that focuses on feelings, on the bond between Grace and Maddy, on the analysis of their personalities. And I loved those aspects so much! Seriously, I was moved, also thanks to the author's evocative and passionate writing.

Grace and Maddy are the protagonists of the novel, each with her own first person pov. Grace recounts the events that occurred after she was found, Maddy those that led to their disappearance. Grace and Maddy are physically very similar, but they could not be more different. Grace is an outgoing, charismatic and confident athlete. Maddy is an introverted, insecure and shy girl who loves to write poetry. Grace is constantly at the center of attention, surrounded by people, full of friendships. Maddy lives in her sister's shadow, invisible to the eyes of others and with only one friend, who in recent times has gradually distanced herself from her. Grace is the brilliant sister, celebrated for her high grades and her awards. Maddy is the anonymous one, celebrating her achievements alone. Grace will go to Maddy's dream college, thanks to a scholarship for her athletic merit. Maddy did not get a scholarship to the same college, seeing her dreams shattered. They are two great characters, beautifully portrayed, who I became very fond of! Maddy then really struck me with her feeling lonely, inadequate, invisible, torn between her deep love for her sister and her desire to want to get away from her orbit. They are realistic characters, full of secrets and contradictions, with a complex and powerful relationship!

All in all, "Silent Sister"'is an intriguing and moving novel, with two wonderful protagonists, which I enjoyed very much!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book definitely did keep me guessing and had me wanting to keep finding out as much as I could, definitely recommended.

A fantastically written book about grief and memory and family ties. The ending was emotional and heart wrenching and I shall likely be staring at a wall for the next couple of hours as I try to process. The MC of this book is captivating and the twist within was expertly done and (very nearly) caught me by surprise

Maddy and Grace are sisters, but they could hardly be more different. Grace is outgoing and popular, while Maddy is more of an introvert. And while Grace is getting into a college of her choice, Maddy is unexpectedly rejected from hers. All of this leaves the latter determined to make some radical changes.

But the personality differences between the two sisters fade into insignificance after disaster strikes on a school trip. Grace is inexplicably found in a strange situation by the roadside, where she does not remember the events that have led to her being discovered there, with Maddy's blood on her. Meanwhile Maddy has disappeared.

And with this development, almost instantly, Grace goes from being the popular, sporty girl to an object of suspicion to everyone around her.

But is she really the one people should be suspicious about? Or are her classmates keeping something from her regarding what has actually taken place here?

This is not so much a mystery story, as an examination of secrets between family members and complicated sibling dynamics. It delivers on emotional storytelling rather than being particularly suspenseful, and should be chosen by readers who are looking for the former rather than the latter. For me, it was a mixed bag - not what I had expected when I picked up the book, but not without its merits either.