So Loud a Silence

Juan Guillermo thinks he has found an escape route from poverty and family conflict when he moves from Bogota to live with his grandmother on her farm near a rural Colombian village. During his first few days at the Punta Verde estate, Juan enjoys the luxuries of ample food, fine clothing and quietude. But his new-found happiness is cut short by guerrilla warfare in surrounding mountains. As friends and neighbors argue about defense strategies, Juan must choose between showing loyalty to his grandmother and standing up for his beliefs. And only since he has left his home does Juan realize how tightly he is bound to the members of his family, especially his struggling father. De Jenkins's (Celebrating the Hero; The Honorable Prison) taut drama convincingly relates a discontented, rather self-absorbed rebel's lessons in compassion and sacrifice. An intimate coming-of-age story, against a backdrop of terrorism and loss. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)