Is silence truly always golden?

Synopsis

A gripping and thought-provoking novel from bestseller Caroline Finnerty that asks the question: How far would you go, to protect your child?

When Charlotte Daly wins a scholarship to the prestigious St Thomas’s school, her mother Ali – who has struggled to bring Charlotte up as a single mum – is so proud. She hopes this opportunity will mean a better life for her clever, brilliant daughter.

Ali worries, however, that Charlotte is having a hard time fitting in with her new, wealthy peers. Sowhen Charlotte is invited to a sixteenth birthday party by popular boy Ollie, Ali pushes her to go, hopeful that she’ll finally make some friends.

Just before midnight, Charlotte calls Ali to come pick her up from the party. She’s shaking and silent: it’s obvious something has happened but she won’t say what.

It’s only the next day, when Ali is at work, that she learns a teenage boy has been seriously injured. Then the police turn up at their house, wanting to question Charlotte about the events of that night. People are pointing the blame at Charlotte, saying the injured boy was last seen talking to her, before he was found unconscious in the pool.

As the investigation deepens, Ali finds that everyone has their own agenda and people will stop at nothing to protect their children – especially wealthy people. Only Charlotte knows the truth about what happened that night. Can Ali get her to tell the truth before it’s too late?

My review

Ali Daly is over the moon when her daughter Charlotte wins a scholarship to the prestigious St Thomas’s school. As it isn’t easy for a single mother to bring up a child, Ali hopes that this opportunity will give Charlotte all the chances she didn’t have herself for a better life.
However, Charlotte finds it difficult to adapt to her new school, and despite the secrecy, everyone appears to know that she is the one that won the scholarship, making it even more difficult for Charlotte.
So when there is an invitation for a birthday party by one of the popular boys, Charlotte goes under slight pressure.
However, when Ali picks Charlotte just before midnight, it’s clear that something has happened. But it’s the day after that Ali hears at work that an accident has happened, and when the police turns up home, that all the fingers are pointing towards Charlotte.
As Ali believes that her daughter truly is innocent, she becomes aware that there are people with their own agenda to protect their own children, with no regard for the actual truth. So will Charlotte open up and tell what happened that one night? And will the truth always prevail?

I am not a mother myself (that ship sailed long time ago), but I truly believe that I would be the kind of mother that wants the absolute best for her child, aiming high for him/her. Of course that applies for 99.99% of the parents. 😊

But seeing how Ali has raised her daughter on her own, amazed me. not because Ali wouldn’t be capable, but being a parent as a couple is already difficult enough in these times, but doing it on your own… Luckily, Charlotte has never caused Ali any trouble and she is very focused on her studies.

It’s clear that Charlotte is a real introvert, she doesn’t have (m)any friends, she doesn’t go out and prefers staying at home. And a change of school, from public to private, is a big change for her, especially as she knows that everyone will look down at her, as she doesn’t have the same status as all the others…

But I could also understand Ali, as she wants Charlotte to have the best opportunities in life, even if that means changing school. And I could understand her hope that Charlotte would be making new friends at St. Thomas.

It’s obvious in this book that a mother’s wish doesn’t always align with a child’s one. While it’s obviously all done for the right reason, it can be difficult for a parent to see what truly is best for the child and not just ‘push’ their own dreams forward.

It broke my heart to see the injustice in this book. It was great reading how Ali stands behind Charlotte from the very start until the bitter end. But seeing how Ali has to fight to find out the truth, how people want to twist the truth, it made me just sick…

It is an ugly thought, that people with money, with some kind of status want to make their own truths, and aren’t afraid of even threatening those ‘beneath’ them, for their own advantage. You would think that in the world we are living in now, that would be all in the past. Although…

I liked Ali’s determination to discover the real truth, not just believing what others are saying and claiming. Perhaps, with anyone that isn’t Charlotte, I would believe that Charlotte isn’t as innocent as she claims to be. But right from the start, I was in her corner too. And learning more about her, and her past, what she has been through already and her ongoing struggles, I was only more certain of her innocence.

This sounds like a very dark story, and it for sure takes dark turns here and there. Especially with some more shocking revelations that I didn’t see coming. But it was also a strong story, about the bond between a mother and a daughter. Not only about how far a mother would go to protect her daughter, but mainly about the love between mother and daughter.

So while this wasn’t an easy story to read, the love was palpable and that made me truly like the story.