If you read my blog, you know I enjoy reading books by a former student (now grown up!), Trilby Kent. Trilby published SILENT NOON this summer in Great Britain and Canada. I was able to get it on Kindle here in the States.
In SILENT NOON, it is the early 1950’s, and Barney Holland is sent on scholarship to a boys’ boarding school in England. Post-war England is still recovering and the boys are a scrappy lot. Barney doesn’t fit well with the others, and finds a companion in the older (but troubled) pupil Ivor. Then one of the teacher’s daughters starts attending school as the only girl (she was sent home from her boarding school) and she and Barney form an unlikely friendship. Unfortunately, all the plots converge into a somewhat traumatic and unsettling ending.
There’s a lot going on in this book: peer relationships, budding sexuality, a ghost story, and more. Trilby has a wonderful way of making post-war Britain come alive. The details of daily life are quite vivid and one can feel both the coldness of the dormitory and the coldness of the relationships. One note: if you are looking for a neatly tied up ending with full resolution to all plot lines, this isn’t the read for you! I really enjoyed it, and it kept me thinking about it afterwards.
You can see it on Amazon for Kindle, where I got mine.
Beth's Book-Nook Blog 
I’m fairly new to your blog so I didn’t know – how cool is that to read published works by former students! 🙂 Congratulations to you and to your student.
Hi, Susan — Trilby’s other books are MEDINA HILL and STONES FOR MY FATHER, which won a huge literary award in Canada. I have her SMOKE PORTRAIT, too, which I’ve managed to take twice to Hawaii and to misplace twice! She is an excellent writer. She went to school where I taught when her family lived in Massachusetts (I never had in class, but I knew her), then they moved to Canada and I always stayed in touch. She was already a gifted writer as a child and you just knew she would be going places. Lovely family, lovely child — so rewarding to see her grow up and fulfill her dreams!
Wow…now that is great to have a former student publish a book.
CONGRATS to both of you.
Elizabeth
Silver’s Reviews
My It’s Monday, What Are You Reading
Beth,
What warm, generous remarks…which is how we still remember you from Trilby’s very happy school days in Massachusetts. Thank you for your
continuing support – I do believe the best is yet to come!
Big hug,
Cilla
PS T’s a brilliant Mummy, too 🙂
Thank you for your note! 🙂 I’ve always been so happy to stay in touch with your family. Must say that my daughter, who is ten, loves to look on facebook with me for new pictures of little you-know-who. We think she is just adorable – and brilliant!! beth