Silently Screaming

by Dawn Husted

Young Adult Fiction - 34000 words, appx 113 pages

It's the spring semester of their senior year at Centerville High. Despite drastically different upbringings, Nikki and Caroline have been best friends since they were ten years old.

Whenever Nikki isn't in school, she's either at work or visiting Caroline. Nikki's only chance at a normal future is to save enough money so that she can move out after graduation. But when she chooses to do the unthinkable for extra cash, the ramifications are deadly.

Caroline's life is anything but picture perfect, unless her parents can help it. When they find out she's pregnant, her mom encourages her to get an abortion, but Caroline's determined to raise the baby with her boyfriend Tod. When the pressures of school and life become too much for her to handle, what will she do?

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 15, 2012

About the author

Dawn Husted is the author of young-adult books written with romantic and dark twists. She was nominated as a panelist for Teen BookFest by the Bay V and is a member of SCBWI. Dawn’s written for online publications, such as Mother’s Day Magazine and A Backpacker’s Tale, and print magazines, such as Insite Magazine. When not writing, she's either camping or dreaming about hiking, minus the 100°F heat. She lives in central Texas with her husband, two kids, a feisty black cat, and an adorable golden retriever.

Among her many interests are sweet tea, wall calendars, kayaking on the rare occasion, acquiring another bookshelf that matches her old one, the color gray, and motivational quotes.

Reviews

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Source: Downloaded for free from Amazon.co.uk)
Teenager Caroline is pregnant, and her parents aren’t supportive. Her boyfriend Tod says he’ll stand by her, but isn’t even around all that much, and the only person she can really depend on is her friend Nikki. Caroline also has some issues with abusing pain medication.
Can Caroline really look after a baby on her own? And can she manage her addiction to pain killers before it’s too late?


This was an okay short story, but it was nothing special.

Caroline was an okay character, only I think her parents were right when they told her that she had no idea what raising a child was like. I think she expected to easily cope with both her school etc. and the baby, but then didn’t find that the case at all.

The storyline was fairly realistic I guess, from the teenage pregnancy, to the boyfriend problems, coping with the baby, and then problems with addiction, but I just couldn’t really connect with the story. Okay, I wanted to know what happened, but the story didn’t really suck me in the way I expected it to, and I started to lose interest.
The ending was okay, if a little predictable, but I couldn’t really be sure that Caroline wasn’t going to repeat her mistakes again in the future.
Overall; okay short story, but only okay,
6 out of 10.

[WickedLovely1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review*

This is the story of Nikki and Caroline and the choices they face. Nikki's had to take care of herself for a very long time, and just wants to graduate and get away from her current situation. Caroline's life is much more normal, but she still doesn't always make good choices.

Having been a teen mom myself, I know the struggles of trying to go to school and raise a baby. However, my mom was alot more willing to help, and my child's dad was very responsible and helped a great deal. I think that if Caroline's parents had been more involved, she probably wouldn't have ended up where she did. But they have their own problems to deal with. I was glad to see them getting family counseling toward the end of the book. Caroline has the right idea about finishing high school and going on to college.

Nikki has a harder time, because of the situation with her own mother, but this makes her a stronger person. She makes a very bad choice, which luckily doesn't land her in jail. I was also happy with the choice this character makes at the end of the book, as it will offer her the structure that she needs to succeed in her personal life. This choice is one that I have recommended to my own teenage daughter.

My only pet peeve is bad grammar and spelling. And that's why I only gave 4 stars. I think the author needs a good proofreader. Other than that, I think the writing is good, and the characters developed enough for high school students. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a short read.

[Julia Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silently Screaming tells the story of two teen girls, Caroline and Nikki. Told from the alternating perspectives of the two girls it is a novella that accurately and realistically depicts the struggles and harsh realities faced by many teens today. Caroline, a teen mom, searching for love, is faced with the obstacles of raising a child, retaining her identity and achieving her goals. Her, best-friend, Nikki also struggles to discover her identity and crawl out of the dark world her drug-addicted mom has created for her.
The novella is a fast -paced, well-plotted page turner that teens will enjoy. I wanted to know what was going to happen next and found myself rooting for the girls as I read. I appreciated the fact that the author didn’t sugar -coat or glamorize the situations her protagonists faced.
While I really enjoyed the characters, there were some moments when I would have liked to have understood them more. The antagonist, Chris, was one of the characters I wished had been fleshed out more as well as Nikki’s mother. I wanted to understand what had led them down the paths they had chosen. I also felt the author could have spent more time on the relationship between the girls. I was curious about how they came to be friends since they were from disparate backgrounds. Maybe this is something the author would consider for a sequel.
Overall, Silently Screaming was an enjoyable read, and I would pick up a sequel to this novel just to find out what happens next.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of Silently Screaming for an honest review.

Nikki and Caroline have a very cliché friendship. One of their families is very well off, whereas the other one doesn’t even consider her family, family. I felt like I really connected with them both at parts (Nikki more than Caroline), even though I’ve been out of high school for 4 years. I thought it was awful Nikki felt justified for having a poisonous snake, because it would deter people from breaking into her room.

At some point or another we all can relate to the single sentence in the middle of this book, which is “Before life got hard”. It really drew my attention back to the book and story. I’m surrounded by people who think life after high school is going to be magical.

I feel this connects the bridge between kids listening to adults about drugs and pregnancy. It’s not in your face “I told you so” but it levels with an average high school student. And it helps them embrace the information versus rebelling against it. And I think it’s important to explain to teenagers on the same level as them, instead of talking down – instead letting them see the possible mistakes impact someone else’s life.

There are many reasons why this book should be available in every high school library around the county and if I had a teenage daughter, I would definitely buy her this book.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story itself was a good one and I honestly felt torn on how to rate the book overall because of this. I felt for Nikki and her situation. I also understood each and every decision she made and was happy with the way things worked out for her by the end of the story. Like Caroline, I was a teen mom, so I definitely got the difficulties she faced and felt for her. I was glad to see her push through so much and I think her story shows the truth about how often a teen mom loses her support system from baby's dad to her own parents. However, Caroline's story is also where I had some issues with the book. At the beginning of the book, there are some very large hints dropped that Caroline's parents are closet alcoholics and this issue is never dealt with by the end which bothered me. Were they working on that through family counseling???? Another issue for me was that the blame for Caroline's drug issue is suddenly placed on Nikki's shoulders by Caroline's parents. Why??? Nikki had been Caroline's biggest support in many ways and Caroline's parents had started inviting her to dinner, etc. so why did they suddenly blame her for the drug issue? Those two issues really bothered me and I felt like they just weren't reconciled within the book when I would have preferred that they were.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Maggie Thom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the journey of the two teenage girls in this story, Silently Screaming. It is a well written novella. It is about two girls in grade 12 who have dreams of graduating and living a different life. Only things don’t quite work out how they planned.

The two characters, Nikki and Caroline, are best friends but live very different lives. They find themselves caught up in situations that require them to make some difficult decisions. Decisions that impact their lives in ways they couldn’t imagine and have such ironic twists of fate. Their lives become more intertwined than they could imagine. And they start down a path that they just might not be able to come back from.

I enjoyed this story but I would have loved it to be a full length novel. For a novella it was well written, the characters were well defined. I could clearly imagine who the girls were and where they lived. The situations they found themselves in were sadly very realistic. The girls have some tough choices to make at such a young age. I look forward to more from this author.

[Laura Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arc provided free by author for honest review.

First off I have to state that this isn't my normal kind of book, but the blurb had me really interested. This book is based on the senior year of 2 friends from different sides of the tracks. I loved the authors writing method and how I quickly became attached to the 2 main characters, but, I kept waiting for something to happen, and unfortunately that just didnt come until the final chapters. This book felt real, like I was reading 2 diaries simultaneously, as opposed to a work of fiction, maybe for me I'd have rated it higher if there had been a bit more fiction, a bit more teenage angst. This book covers some tough scenarios, drug abuse and teenage pregnancy to name the most prevalent, and were tackled head on, with little or no sugar coating, something that I think a lot of young people should be made to read. Life choices are never easy and silently screaming shows this in abundance.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iwill post the review once I can fully wrap my head around what I read. It was intense!!

[Megan McCooey · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, let me first start off by saying that while I read A LOT, I have read only one novella and that was by Dean Koontz and was the prequel leading into one of his newest novels. With that said, I wasn't really sure how a book dealing with such major issues was going to be able to tell a story in such a short amount of space... 67 pages to be exact. The set up of the novella was interesting; each chapter was from the point of view of either Nikki or Caroline, but you saw the same scene from each of their viewpoints before you moved forward.

I enjoyed D.L. Husted's "Silently Screaming" and I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, Nikki more so than anyone and this could be because I could relate to her on so many levels. I grew up in a similar environment as Nikki, and while my situation was never so blatant and in your face, it was what it was, nonetheless. There was a part where Nikki is coming out of her room and she is fearful of what she might find, and I found myself holding my breath, knowing all too well exactly how that felt. The constant need for self preservation, the need to work rather than a desire for spending cash, and the longing to break free of a life you are determined not to live is Nikki's world and I was reminded of how far I have come from those very days in my own life.

Caroline, while not as relatable for me is a relatable character and finds herself in a situation that I am sure a lot of young girls today can identify with. Both girls have plans for their futures, but suddenly find that life has other plans as they are forced down different paths than they planned.

Nikki's main goal throughout the novella was getting to graduation, walking across that podium and knowing she had done it... she was free. I again could relate to this feeling. It's never easy when you know people are judging you because of the kind of family and/or background you come from, and that desire to succeed, to show everyone that you are stronger and more capable than they have given you credit for, well it is a driving force that is fierce and strong and this was evident in Nikki.

As I said above, the chapters are from each girls view and you would see the same scene twice, but first from Nikki's view and then from Caroline's. There were times throughout the novella where the author mixes up the characters within their chapters and this led to some confusion as I found myself going back a line or paragraph to double check who she was actually talking about. In addition, I feel there were areas more detail could have been included and I desperately wanted it. Sometimes she would mention something, such as when Nikki is holding her breath as she walks through the house, but she never explains why. It is simply this one sentence and then she moves on and I longed for more... more detail, more information, something that would invoke more emotions, but they rarely came.

While there were a few things that fell short for me, which is why I gave it a 4 stars I LIKED IT, I did really enjoy Silently Screaming. I read it in one sitting and felt a real connection to the characters and wanted to find out what was going to happen to them, and when it ended I still wanted more. I kept thinking this was just the beginning of Nikki and Caroline's story. I can only hope that the author feels the same way and that we will soon be following Nikki and Caroline as they navigate down the paths their lives have led them down.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I recommend Silently Screaming to anyone who enjoys short stories dealing with tough choices and real life obstacles.

Visit my blog for more reviews: turnthepagebookblog.blogspot.com

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read about two high school best friends growing up in totally different lives yet somehow became best friends. Caroline is the beautiful and popular girl at school who becomes known as the pregnant girl at school. Caroline seems like she has it all with a nice house, family, popularity, and good grades, but it's all a mask. Deep inside Caroline stresses about raising a baby with no help. Nikki is unpopular and poor. She goes to school and works since her mother is a deadbeat druggie. No one knows this about Nikki or cares to. Except for Caroline. Both girls tell us their stories in their own point of view. But I never felt like Caroline and Nikki had a good connection. They didn't really spend much time together or even communicate well with one another. It seems like they were only there when they really needed each other to be. Kind of like one another's guardian angels. I understand that they were both busy with their own lives and that they were really different. It's just sad that they considered themselves best friends when they really weren't all that much. Especially towards the end where they just completely drifted apart. This a pretty good read I was just missing the connection between our leading ladies.