For some reason,I have recently been drawn to books about parent-child relationships and there is a definite trend re East Indian culture. My own preferences or a sign of the times?? Who knows and really who cares?? I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really didn't want to put it down. More than just being entertaining, Secret Daughter educates one about a culture very different than the Canadian Anglo-Saxon one I was raised in. It also gave me something to think about in terms of how I related my dreams and hopes for my children to them and the consequences of this. It provides clues to adoptive parents as to what their child may think about and need from their birth parents and the importance of examining both sides of the coin when any child is raised in a biracial family. It did fulfill my criteria of a good read: Canadian author, happy ending, good balance between being cerebral (thought provoking) and fluffy (entertaining). In this new world, my sons and their partners have a much more extensive experience with different cultures than I ever will and this is a book that I know the daughter-in-laws will enjoy.

When I was talking to my adult kids about this book and others that I was passing onto them, they noted that my recent reads all seem to be about parent-child relationships. Interesting and true!! Another good "vacation" read well balanced between cerebral (thought provoking) and fluffy (entertaining). So did it answer any questions for me re my relationship with my parents or my relationship with my kids...probably not however it did capture my attention and keep me reading in one sitting. The relationships Callie has with her brother, her friend, her mother and school counselor are poignant and caring...wouldn't it be remarkable if every child who is "different" have people like this in their lives?? We are all silenced in some aspect of our lives by things that happen to us. Finding our voice is a miraculous thing!! I am probably I am making this book more cerebral that the author intends. I also like a book with a "happy ending" and The Weight of Silence" meets this criteria.

I enjoyed reading this book...and it had the happy, if unexpected, ending that I prefer. (I am a sap for "living happily ever after".) I don't know how realistic the premise of the story is: mother of adopted baby finds his picture on missing children flyer and "knows" it is right to find out if it is him, regardless of the consequences for her. It caught my interest, hook, line and sinker. I often flip to the last pages of a mystery novel to find out what the ending is but for some reason, I didn't do it with this book. The author had me intrigued and I wanted to be surprised. It would be a great vacation read...it is well balanced between cerebral and fluffy. One of my criteria for a "good" book is if I have to think about who to pass it on to, who will "get it": Look Again meets this criteria.

I am an avid fan of Canadian writers and try to read these as often as possible, especially if I hear/see a review (CBC radio is the most often source). This was an unexpected but interesting read primarily about a father-daughter relationship. The father is spiraling into some kind of dementia and the daughter is trying to figure out her relationship with him, past, present and for the future. She is/was the "different" one among her siblings, often lost in her own world but so is her father. I prefer happy endings but, as is the case with a parent with dementia, this is not the norm. The story did help me re-frame some aspects of my relationship with my own father not that there was any great resolution of angst but it did provide some helpful insights. This father, like mine, served in World War II and came back a changed man. I will read it again and pass it on to friends who look for substance in their reads.