Pain. Cally's life is full of pain. Her mother was killed in an accident one year ago and life is falling apart all around her. First Cally hears her "best" friend Mia tell Daisy that Cally is a "rubbish singer." Then, her father tells her and her brother that they can't afford to live in their home any longer and are going to have to move. Cally goes with her father and relatives to visit her mother's grave and it is only Cally who sees her mother's ghost standing nearby wearing her red raincoat.
Everyone is giving Cally the look. It's the look that makes you feel as though you can't do anything right. It's a look of disappointment. So, when the student council kids come to her class in search of volunteers for a day of silence, Cally raises her hand and gets selected. Can she keep quiet for an entire day or will she disappoint? Cally is finding her way through these dark times. Friends begin to cross her path, a man named Jed who is homeless and a huge silver-eyed dog who comes when she needs him.
This is a very sad and painful story filled with loss, loneliness and abandonment. Can Cally find a silver lining in all the pain? Can she find a reason to speak? 198 pages Ages 8-11
