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Karla M. Jay

It Happened in Silence Paperback – October 30, 2020

by Karla M. Jay (Author)

615 ratings

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This is a powerful tale of family, a celebration of decency, and the heartbreak of society’s injustices then that rings true today. ★★★★★Set in a world where women of the KKK betray their neighbors, horrors of unscrupulous foundling homes come to light, and buried mysteries are not all that hidden. It's 1921 in Georgia. Mute since birth, fifteen-year-old Willow Stewart has one task to complete—to leave her Appalachian homestead and find a traveling preacher and her brother, Briar. When a peddler kidnaps her, she escapes only to face an unjust arrest and penal servitude. The laws are not on her side. Or her brother’s. Briar is serving time on a chain gang with four months left. When an immigrant boy asks him for help, Briar must decide if he should jeopardize his freedom to help the penniless boy. Soon Willow and Briar become ensnared in a world of cruel secrets, savage truths, deceitful practices, and desperate predicaments. This is a powerful tale of family, a celebration of decency, and the heartbreak of society’s injustices then that rings true today. This novel delves into the gut and sinew of fairness, probing often inexplicable questions, as old and persistent as the forest itself.

Print length

344 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 30, 2020
Dimensions

6 x 0.78 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0578792516
ISBN-13

978-0578792514
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Editorial Reviews

Review

2021 Benjamin Franklin Silver Award
2021 Finalist Wishing Shelf Book Award
2021 Runner Up Historical Fiction Top Shelf Award
2020 Finalist for the Book Excellence Award
2020 Distinguished Favorite, Historical Fiction, Independent Press Award
"A hauntingly beautiful book. Against the backdrop of terror and heartache in America in 1921, Jay celebrates human resiliency, hope and redemption. ~ Firoozeh Dumas, New York Times best-selling author of Funny in Farsi
Jay's book opens a window on a period of intense social change that is often only superficially explored in modern literature. Her deft characterizations alone make this novel a worthy read.-US Review of Books

"This interwoven tale of family, resilience, betrayal and the moral evolution of a nation is powerful and stirring. It's hard not to draw comparisons to Faulkner, both in the deep colloquial writing style, and a memorable narrator separated from the rest of the world. With breath-catching flashes of poetic grace, unexpected descriptive beauty and a meaning-laden flow of prose, It Happened in Silence is a captivating and ambitious achievement." ~ Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★★
A haunting tale of family, friendship, injustice, resilience, and hope...In her evocative latest, the award-winning Jay takes a fascinating look at the interplay of social upheavals in Georgia in the early 1920s as she tells the story of a young girl's struggles to reunite with her family. Jay remarkably depicts everyday life in the Appalachians, women's roles in the KKK, and discrimination... but perhaps best of all is her vivid portrayal of the remarkable Georgia setting. ~ Prairies Book Review ★★★★★
'An inspiring story of injustice and family loyalty set in turbulent 1920s Georgia. Powerfully written and totally unputdownable!...If you happen to be a fan of Laura Frantz's Uncommon Woman or The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson, this novel is for you. Enjoy! This book's a gem!' ~ Wishing Shelf ★★★★★
This gripping historical suspense that had me racing towards the end, hoping against hope for that happy ending. I was not disappointed. With authoritative prose and a compelling plot, It Happened in Silence by Karla M. Jay comes highly recommended ~ Chick Lit Café.
The gorgeous narrative flows like a peaceful river through this riveting and tumultuous tale. ~ Indies Today Review ★★★★★

Honorable Mention in the 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Award Historical Fiction Category

From the Inside Flap

"Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe."
Frederick Douglass
"The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together."
William Shakespeare

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Book Circle Press (October 30, 2020)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0578792516
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0578792514
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.02 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.78 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #813,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #50,239 in Historical Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
615 ratings

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Karla M. Jay

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Karla M. Jay is the award-winning author of When We Were Brave and It Happened in Silence. She has wanted to write books since she was seven. Originally from the east coast, she makes her home in Salt Lake City. Over the years she has written in several different genres, ranging from humor to noir, but currently is focused on historical fiction. When she's not writing, she's reading, gardening, playing with her dog, or traveling to new places to try to find a story that has never been told.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

615 global ratings

5 star		69%
4 star		24%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Christmas Carol

Exceptional story

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 16, 2022

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A mute girl from a mountain country family, whose learned to read and write beyond the average, honest men forces into jail because their poor.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Pamela Crist

Home, Hearth, and Heart

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 21, 2022

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If you're touched by stories that draw you into their warmth and heart, are angered by their tales of injustice and inhumanity based on actual fact, then this is the book for you.

2 people found this helpful

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misty

A definite must read!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 23, 2022

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Having familial ties with the south, and with my early childhood spreading into those parts, seeing hobos, chain gangs, and other things written about in this book, it literally took me back 60+ years.

The characters all standout on their own accord, yet intertwine as the book plateaus. Each character has a separate yet intertwining story.
Much research from the 1920's went into this, from the hill people of the south, to the city people who prayed and tithed on Sunday, then donned their KKK outfits the next evening.

This book brought back a lot of memories and a great thankfulness that my family left the hypocrisy of the town my brother and sisters were brought up in, so I could enjoy the less burdened southwest of the 60's.

3 people found this helpful

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Shirley McAllister

Blood Makes you Kin, Loyalty Makes you Family

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 6, 2021

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An awesome story, filled with the experience of the Appalachian way of life, the shadow of the Ku Klux Klan, and the sorrowful story of the baby farms that cropped up during the depression.

This book follows an Appalachian family in Georgia. The main characters in the story are Willow and Briar Stewart. Mrs. Ardith also is a prominent character in the story. The setting time period is the 1930's during the depression era.

The story is written in different chapters following the three characters of Willow, Briar, and Mrs. Ardith. The first half of the book follows the adventures of Willow and Briar after leaving Stewart Mountain. The second half still follow the Stewart siblings, but now Mrs. Ardith comes into the picture and the storyline of Baby farms and the Ku Klux Klan come into play as well as the great train wreck in Missouri.

I like the book because the characters speak the language of the mountain people. The stories and superstitions, the herbs and natural medicines. Most of all the contentment and love of family, kin, and neighbors. The customs they follow and how they live.

It is interesting on how the families involved with the Ku Klux Klan were all for the Klan, but one mistake, one thing that any of them did to anger or embarrass the Klan and they were banned, not only banned but destroyed. How they had to spy on their town, and their neighbors and find people that were doing things not okay by the Klan and they were beaten and sometimes murdered.

I was surprised to learn that young men like Briar could be arrested for having less than a dollar and sentence to two years on the chain gang. The information on the chain gang was new to me as I knew little of this practice.

It was an interesting time in history. It was revealing and page turning. The ending was perfect. I would like to see a second book following the characters, the Stewart family, Ardith's husband and Oliver, and the Russian boy that Briar rescued from the chain gang. I would recommend this book.

Thanks to Karla M. Jay, IBPA Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of the book for an honest review.

17 people found this helpful

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fuzzylop

The 1920's were not so roaring.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 16, 2022

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1921 a big change in society attitudes is at the heart of this difficult to put down story. As the characters push through real hardships you get an eye opening tale of chain gangs. The low value of children at the time. Horable deeds done in the name of Chrisianity. The rise of the women of the Ku klux Klan. The awful times people endured here after world War one. A very good read and a peak into our history.

3 people found this helpful

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Andrew B Walker

Truly EPIC storytelling!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 11, 2020

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Another absolutely STUNNING Book! Karla M. Jay does it again with “It Happened In Silence”, but this time chooses the KKK, specifically the WKKK (Woman’s Klan) to explore. There are several praiseworthy things I enjoyed about this book:

Except maybe for Mark Twain, I can’t think of another author that can have you talking in the dialect of the story's characters within a chapter or two (and stick with you for days!). I don’t know how Karla learned the dialect or Georgia mountain folk circa 1920 so well but it seems utterly convincing.

I also can’t think of an author that invokes descriptions so well and completely you can smell the pine needles, turpentine, sweat, and even fear! She has a unique gift in this and many other disciplines of creative writing. I found scents, scenery, and sounds so compelling and embracing, I would have been thrilled to read the story without a plot or plan - just to see, feel and hear the unfolding mountain, river and cityscapes before me. Truly REMARKABLE writing.

I assure you however, there is a plot that would keep you plowing page by page even without such extraordinary writing skills. I often ponder my predicaments with a certainty that they’re nothing compared to the plight of others: present, past, and future. I’m left doubtless that all the troubles I’ve seen, even at their worst, are but a quiet walk in the park by comparison to the downtrodden and abused folks unlucky enough to be born on the south side of colorblindness. Even today, but in our past, the injustice and prejudice were magnitudes worse.

I found tremendous interest and texture in the first person story telling that changes character by character as each chapter rolls by.

While Karla writes fictional novels (at least that’s all I’ve read), they are pegged closely to stark, painstakingly researched, reality. I feel like I come away from her novels with better than a history class would impart.

For a horrifyingly new perspective of women’s societies in the south that allied with their male counterparts to blossom the WKKK in the early 1920s, and the callous treatment of those that stray from white, Protestant ethos, this book is a real eye opener. A southern story of loss, suffering, and heroics, this book blows through the top the charts!

6 people found this helpful

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RDBOOMER

Good

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 22, 2022

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Liked.

2 people found this helpful

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Julynne

Good book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 1, 2022

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I I really enjoyed this book. it’s a little slow for the first half, but grabs your attention in the second half.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer

Disturbingly poignant

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on February 1, 2021

Verified Purchase

I must preface my review with a caveat. I struggled to finish this book and wrestled with my review not because it was written poorly or the author failed to draw robust and interesting characters, quite the contrary, but because of the disturbingly poignant subject matter which assaulted my sensibilities filling me with dread at the turn of every page.
It Happened in Silence is a disturbing historical fiction told from multiple points of view and based closely upon events and people in 1920s Georgia. A time when Ty Cobb batted his 3,000th hit, Georgia permitted women to vote and the Ku Klux Klan might have died in obscurity if a sinister, racist woman hadn’t come along. Elizabeth Tyler was a public relations mastermind for the Ku Klux Klan and, arguably, the most influential person in the KKK at the time.
Karla M. Jay is a gutsy and consummate wordsmith painting word pictures so vivid you will smell the convicts’ sweat and wilt under the sultry heat. Her character images both real and imagined are so well crafted and so powerful you’ll find yourself empathizing with their profound personal demons in a world where God, family and food are some of the most important aspects of a southern life and in Georgia you can include tradition.
She describes an oppressive milieu where racism is woven into the social fabric, political and social institutions and born and bolstered in classrooms, bedrooms and bars, town halls and assembly lines and stitched together with the threads of faith, love and courage.
Karla M. Jay is truly a master of her craft.

2 people found this helpful

Divya

A well written novel

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on January 23, 2022

Verified Purchase

This was a well written novel with some interesting characters and situations. The story follows mute girl Willow and her struggles in life due to some unfortunate circumstances.

Kerry Gubb

Cracker of an Author!

Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on April 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

I collect colourful phrases by highlighting them and saving to my Kindle account. Karla Jay's work has been a goldmine of these. What an original, creative writer!

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