The Silencers by Jenna Greene Review – Author Anthony Avina’s Blog

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own. 

In a world where students are taught to hunt those deemed “dangerous” due to mental ailments, one young woman who joined to escape poverty must decide whether to protect her own father or follow her training and use her skills to destroy him in author Jenna Greene’s “The Silencers”.

The Synopsis

On the “Best Young Adult Dystopian Novels” list on Goodreads!

Scona must choose. Protect her father, or embrace the darkness she’s been trained to destroy…

Despite warnings from family and friends, Scona Tinay enrolls in Silencers Academy.

To escape a life of poverty and hardship and ensure a stable future, Scona sets her sights on the Silencers, where the students earn a wage. She soon learns her fellow students are cutthroat and the training regimen brutal.

As Scona heads deeper into her training, she begins to question the role of Silencers, as well as the “madness” she is being taught to destroy. But each question she asks brings her under suspicion, and she soon discovers the only person she can trust is herself.

Unable to change the culture of her world, where mental ailments are deemed dangerous, she must embrace all manner of skill and courage to protect her own father…

Someone she has been training to kill.

The Review

Such a fascinating and haunting YA Dystopian read. The author does a remarkable job of world-building here, immediately thrusting readers into a world vastly different than our own. Getting a fresh perspective from a young girl’s view of a world she knows little about; the author expertly explores what happens when ignorance and desperation force young people into misguided journeys and vulnerable positions, as Scona showcases a protagonist without any awareness of what this so-called “madness” is and why those in power want them eradicated, let alone the realities of her own family. 

The powerful themes of mental health awareness and illness, as well as the impact they have on society and the destruction that comes from willfully ignoring or criticizing them without attempting to understand them, stood out in this novel. The imagery and atmosphere aided in these themes development, and the adrenaline-fueled tension that builds further and further Scona finds herself mixed into the complex reality of her world gave the reader a compelling YA thriller that refused to be let go.

The Verdict

Haunting, thought-provoking, and entertaining, author Jenna Greene’s “The Silencers” is a must-read YA Dystopian Thriller. The twists and turns in the story, the revelations, and the shocking cliffhanger will keep readers engaged and eager for the next entry in this series. If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your copy today!

Rating: 10/10

About the Author

Jenna Greene has been writing since before she could hold a pencil, building stories with her She-ra: Princess of Power action figures and My Little Pony toys in her basement or on long car rides. Once she could pen a tale, she composed poetry and short stories, finding that she was best at writing novels. Her first fantasy story (Imagine) came to her when she was in her first year of university, and she drafted it between essays, mid-terms, and reading assignments. Once finished university, with a B.A. in English as well as a B.Ed, she began her career as a teacher and also found time to return to her writing. While teaching middle school, she wrote and published the first books in her Imagine series.

Her Reborn Marks Series took a unique journey. While traveling home from a writers’ conference in Calgary, Jenna was hit by inspiration and formed the character of Lexil – someone who had hidden strength and talents that weren’t easily recognizable. The first half of the book was written while Jenna Greene’s mother was ill with cancer, and the second half was completed after her mother passed away. Winning the 2019 Moonbeam Children’s Book award (gold) provided an opportunity for her to express her gratitude for the inspiration her mother gave her as a storyteller, acknowledging that those we love never truly leave us, as they are in our hearts, phrases, morals, and memories – a major theme for the trilogy.

Having moved to teaching younger students, as well as the addition of a daughter to her family, Jenna has been recently inspired by Children’s Books. In 2021, her first picture book was released: Winston, the Well-Dressed Wombat. Winston is unique and friendly, with a sense of style others might not imitate.

Jenna has more writing projects on the horizon, as ideas continue to arrive in her head. But deep down, she is just a little girl creating imaginative stories with her She-Ra action figures (and possibly a Ninja Turtle or two).

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