Thirteen-year-old Rosa lives on a small island in the Philipines, in a peaceful village called Mirasol. Well, peaceful…
The people of Mirasol only have one enemy and they will stop at nothing to destroy it: the Calm. The only sounds Rosa can make are animal grunts, and every time she leaves her house she has to cover terrible marks on her neck. The marks of the Calm.
Rosa is home-schooled and has no social life, so she spends most of her free time on the Internet and social networks. There she meets Ansel95, and as their friendship blossoms, Rosa discovers that she's not the only one with something to hide.
Candy Gourlay's style of writing is different, modern and sometimes challenging but very enjoyable to read. Gourlay always approaches difficult subjects and although Rosa's illness is fictional, there are people in the world who cannot speak.
My favourite sections were the ones narrated by Rosa's dead mother, because they were written as though she was talking to someone, using the subjects 'you' and 'I'.
The plot-line was excellent, and by reading Rosa and her mum's story everything slowly added up together, like a jigsaw puzzle.
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