Publishers Weekly
02/20/2023
A teenage sexual assault survivor seeks justice in this heart-stopping volume by Rosenblum (The Stepping Off Place), which explores the pervasiveness of—and the structures that uphold—toxic masculinity. Gifted artist Quinn Walsh was a freshman at the prestigious boarding school Lycroft Phelps Academy when varsity crew athlete Colin Pearce assaulted her and faced no repercussions. Now a sophomore, Q, who has PTSD, has one goal in mind: make Colin pay. Q’s piercing first-person narration alternates with strait-laced Charlotte Foresley, a dancer who struggles with internalized misogyny and who is the girlfriend of Colin’s popular best friend; and insecure scholarship student Max Hannigan-Loeffler, who faces a moral dilemma when he’s recruited to Colin’s alpha male crew team. As the trio’s paths converge, dark secrets from Lycroft Phelps’s past come to light, and Q must decide if she’s willing to risk expulsion—or worse—to see justice served. A captivating start gives way to a rushed denouement, leading to more questions than answers. Nevertheless, Rosenblum’s immersive and poetic prose tackles difficult themes with precision and care, delivering a profound account of overcoming trauma in a system designed to protect abusers. Major characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Alexandra Levick, Writers House. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
"The Sharp Edge of Silence is a searingly honest story of sexual assault and one girl’s journey to fight for herself in the aftermath. But it’s also about friendship and finding one’s voice. Quinn is heroic and human and she had my heart from the very first page. Please read this beautiful book." — Jennifer Niven, #1 New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places
“The Sharp Edge of Silence is a thrilling story of the courage necessary to effect change at a vividly drawn boarding school. Cameron Kelly Rosenblum writes with a crackling, lyrical voice that takes root in your heart and echoes in your mind long after you’re done turning pages.” — Jeff Zentner, critically acclaimed and award-winning author of The Serpent King and In the Wild Light
“Told in sumptuous, evocative prose, The Sharp Edge of Silence chronicles the interwoven stories of three very different Lycroft Phelps students on their journey to a shared epiphany: that power and privilege hide a multitude of sins, and silence is the natural enemy of justice. The poetic narrative and sparkling New England setting illustrate that beauty can be found in broken things, and anything is survivable if we don’t give up on ourselves.” — Gillian French, Edgar Award Finalist and author of Grit, The Lies They Tell, and Missing Season
“Unnerving, harrowing and suspenseful, The Sharp Edge of Silence is a masterfully woven story that explodes with raw anger at the repercussions of toxic masculinity on an elite boarding school campus. A sensitive, hopeful look at fitting in and taking a stand.” — Alex Richards, author of Accidental and When We Were Strangers
"An unflinching, necessarily emotionally difficult read with plenty to say." — Kirkus Reviews
"Rosenblum’s immersive and poetic prose tackles difficult themes with precision and care, delivering a profound account of overcoming trauma in a system designed to protect abusers." — Publishers Weekly
“Rosenblum delivers both pain and retribution in a caustic narrative that challenges toxic masculinity while also mourning how impossible it can feel to overcome such a culturally pervasive environment.” — Booklist
School Library Journal
★ 05/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Quinn (artist, musician, and legacy student), Charlotte (dancer and high achiever), and Max (scholarship student and math genius turned varsity crew coxswain) all attend the elite boarding school Lycroft Phelps. When Quinn is raped after their spring formal, she returns to school the next fall changed. Her roommate, Alex, can tell and even her "Big Sister" Charlotte from the year before can see something is wrong, but Q doesn't want to tell anyone. Told from the multiple perspectives of Quinn, Charlotte, and Max, this novel examines elite athletics, secret societies, male toxicity, and a culture of silence. Once Quinn's secret is exposed, who will rise to help her and who will choose to support the status quo? Rosenblum's thoughtfully crafted, moving narrative allows for the time and space needed to address the complexities of how sexual assault is dealt with on a high school campus. She deftly weaves the stories of three very different students whose lives are intertwined and who must all find the person they want to be. VERDICT A beautifully written novel that tells a powerful story of survival, support, and finding voice.—Rebekah J. Buchanan
Kirkus Reviews
2023-01-12
A young woman returns to her prestigious New Hampshire boarding school the fall after she was raped by a fellow student.
Told in first-person perspective by three different students, the narration alternates among Quinn, who goes by Q, a promising artist who is the assault survivor; Charlotte, a talented dancer whose relationship with a popular guy is making her second-guess herself at every turn; and Max, a high-achieving student on a full-ride scholarship who has acutely felt his outsider status during his time at Lycroft Phelps. In a winding tale that incorporates the traumatic experience of sexual assault, the failure of people to take a stand against campus cultures that encourage sexual violence, an all-male secret society, and an exploration of the magnetic appeal of team loyalty and camaraderie, this novel takes its time building its characters’ stories. While the proliferation of misogyny in insular privileged schools is not a new tale, this telling is expansive in its examination of the subject and offers an auspicious, realistically imperfect resolution for patient readers who stick with it to the end. The three main characters reflect a White default; there is ethnic diversity in secondary characters as well as some passing critique of the superficial claims of valuing diversity on display at their school.
An unflinching, necessarily emotionally difficult read with plenty to say. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14-18)
