''The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind'' is a 2013 young adult novel by Cuban-American author

Meg Medina Meg Medina is an American children’s book author of Cuban descent whose books celebrate Latino culture and the lives of young people. She is the 2023 – 2024 National Ambassador of Young People’s Literature. Medina is the recipient of the 2 ...

. The book was first published on 13 March 2012 through

Candlewick Press Candlewick Press, established in 1992 and located in Somerville, Massachusetts, is part of the Walker Books group. The logo depicting a bear carrying a candle is based on Walker Books's original logo. Sebastian Walker launched Walker Books from ...

and follows Sonia Ocampo, a teenage girl that leaves home to seek her freedom but finds that she cannot leave her past behind her.

Synopsis

Sonia Ocampo has always grown up with people expecting great things from her. She was born in the small town of Tres Montes, Chile during a terrible storm that threatened to completely destroy everything, only for it to stop soon after she was born. This has caused the townspeople to believe that Sonia is capable of fulfilling any wish if she prays hard enough and as a result she spends her days deep in prayer, as she herself believes in the power of her prayers. One day one of her prayers goes unanswered, showing that neither Sonia or her prayers are magical. This realization causes her to quickly leave town to avoid bringing shame to her family, and Sonia manages to get a housekeeping job in a wealthy home in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, where Sonia is seen as no different than any of the other maids. However while the big city is exciting and Sonia's lodgings are far more nice than her former home, Sonia finds herself the target of her supervisor (who picks at everything Sonia does) and the nephew of Sonia's boss (who views her as nothing more than a conquest to be won). Soon Sonia learns that her brother Rafael has gone missing shortly after he left Tres Montes, and Sonia must seek help from her old friend Pancho in order to discover what happened to her brother.

Reception

Critical reception for ''The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind'' has been positive. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' and the ''

Palm Beach Daily News The ''Palm Beach Daily News'' is a newspaper serving the town of Palm Beach in Palm Beach County in South Florida. It is also known as "The Shiny Sheet" because of its heavy, slick newsprint stock. It was founded in 1897 as the ''Lake Worth Dail ...

'' both praised the work, and the ''Palm Beach Daily News'' described it as "Sweet, well-thought and nutritious without pomp, it's a discovery worth making." The ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' also praised the work, stating that it could "serve as an introduction to Latin American magic realism for teen readers."

Awards

* Bank Street College of Education's "Best Children's Books of the Year: Twelve to Fourteen", 2013 *'' Latino Book Award for Best Young Adult Fiction Book'' (second place) (2014, won)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl Who Could Silence the Wind 2012 American novels American young adult novels Novels by Meg Medina American magic realism novels Candlewick Press books