Hannah’s Voice

u201cHannahu2019s Voice is a poignant coming of age tale about a girl who was forcibly ripped away from her home and her mother when she was a small child. The story follows her through to adulthood as she seeks answers to this tumultuous beginning and searches for her lost mother. Robb Grindstaff writes a surprisingly strong female protagonist with plenty of complexity, tenacity, and faith in God and family, without being overly political or religious, despite the religious and political roots of the story. Throughout, the author does a good job of examining different sides and all the grey areas and taking a neutral stance in between the political and religious upheaval that surrounds the protagonist for the duration of the book.u201cFrom an early point in this story, Hannah is forced to deal with death and suspicion. As a six-year-old, she has to deal with the recent death of her father, and as the beginning unfolds, she is closely related to the deaths of her classmate and her fatheru2019s best friend. She is also forced to deal with her motheru2019s faulty memory and aggravating repetition. The loss of these things that are dear to her and the accusations against her involving the classmateu2019s death play a part in her decision to stop speaking. Through the exchanges with her teacher, the principal, the school counselor, and her Sunday school instructor, Hannah begins to feel bullied and misunderstood.u201cThe feelings of being misunderstood and unheard are powerful ones and feelings that many people can relate to. One thing about Hannahu2019s voluntary muteness that was bothersome throughout the book was that no one seemed to have bothered to teach her sign language, and even when she has a deaf roommate, even though the roommate can read lips and speak, no sign language is used and is hardly even mentioned.u201cAlthough Hannah takes it to a new level, the psychological impact of grief and trauma are discussed reasonably in this novel. Her silence invokes the attention of two different groups of people: the radical religious nutcases and the radical political ones. While these two communities clash heads over the reason Hannah doesnu2019t speak, Hannah takes solace in the comfort of her friends, and they heroically defend her right to live her life as she pleases.u201cOverall, Grindstaff does a fantastic job with inclusivity and the importance of family and diversity. He captures the emotional turmoil of the foster system and being bounced from one family to the next, all the while clinging to the hope that Hannahu2019s mother is out there somewhere, waiting for that joyous reunion.u201d

u201cI had the pleasure of reading an early manuscript of Hannahu2019s Voice, and it deeply affected me then. Through the rewriting and editing process, it has truly been transformed into a searingly memorable story and will stay with the reader long after the novel is put down. Ms. Kautenu2019s review contains a fine statement of the novelu2019s plot. The primary theme is wonderfully cleveru2014the indelible importance of truth to one little girl, and the parodic impulse of zealous adults to defined the meaning of her silence to their own ends. In no other literary work have I ever witnessed a more eloquent example of the gravity of oneu2019s silence. Grindstaffu2019s prose is unadorned, deft, carefully constructedu2014but I think what sets this novel apart is its humor. Grindstaff has a knack for portraying the drama of Hannahu2019s dilemma in a way that makes you giggle.u201d

u201cI am a sucker for strong female protagonists, from Lisbeth Salander all the way back to Jane Eyre, and even further. Hannah joins this elite club of kick-ass female characters, women who have strong voices, independent and feisty personalities, and basically take no prisoners. Not that Hannah is a martial arts Goth with attitude. Far from it. When we meet her she is a young girl in a southern town, being raised by a devoutly Christian mother shortly after her beloved father has passed away. Iu2019m not going to spoil the plot, except to say that a series of events causes her to decide to stop talking, with repercussions that play themselves out after about a decade. Grindstaff has created a vulnerable, wise, caring, and thoughtful heroine, one who inadvertently finds herself at the center of a raging national debate over religion and politics. She handles her situation with grace and courage, and the plot, which unfolds with great dexterity, brings us to a satisfying conclusion. Grindstaffu2019s writing is nuanced and subtle, and serves his purposes to a tee.u201d