Silent Night by Danielle Steel – a Review

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Description:
Paige Watts is the ultimate stage mother. The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Paige channels her acting dreams into making her own daughter, Emma, a star. By the age of nine, Emma is playing a central role in a hit TV show. Then everything is shattered by unforeseeable tragedy.

Now Emma is living with her aunt Whitney, who had chosen a very different path from her sister’s. Whitney was always the studious older sister, hating the cult of celebrity that enveloped their childhood. Instead, she is a psychiatrist who lives for her work and enjoys a no-strings-attached love affair with a wealthy venture capitalist. But at a moment’s notice, Whitney drops everything to help her niece.

Once famous, outgoing, and charismatic, Emma is now a shadow of her former self–without speech, without memory, lost and terrified. But with her aunt Whitney’s help, along with a team of caregivers and doctors, Emma begins to find her way, starting her young life all over again–and changing the lives of everyone around her.

Emotionally gripping and richly involving, Silent Night explores how the heart has mysterious healing powers of its own, and blessings happen when we think all is lost.

Review:

Silent Night by Danielle Steel is a standalone novel that is a bit different then her usual trademark romantic stories.  Yes it has a little of romance, but it is the story of family, tragedy, love and life changing events.  Silent Night was a wonderful and very emotional story.

Paige and Whitney Watts are sisters, and very much different, as their mother was a famous actress.  Paige loves the spotlight, and since she could not get her own career started, she lives through her daughter, Emma, who has become a popular young actress on a television show; she has become the ultimate stage mother.  Whitney is the opposite, as she is a psychiatrist, who loves her work, and enjoys life with her wealthy boyfriend, but frowns on how Paige pushes Emma to the spotlight. 

One night everything changes when a tragic accident kills Paige, and severely injures Emma.  Being the next of kin, Whitney is contacted while on vacation in Italy, and drops everything to rush home to be with her niece.  What she finds at the hospital is that Emma has serious brain damage in the frontal lobe, and is in a semi coma.  Whitney will change her life to take care of Emma, and help her recover from the serious damage she had to her brain.  Emma at 9 years old, will come out of the coma, unable to remember, or talk (she talks gibberish) and has a hard time overall with understanding and mobility. This is very emotional story, as we watch Whitney and Emma struggle through life and the determination to rise above the terrible effects and pain surrounding them now.   I really loved Whitney, as she loved her niece and was willing to change her life to become the caregiver for Emma.  It was sad to watch Emma, unable to cope with her inability to talk, and the ensuing violence, when her anger took control.  Whitney persevered and brought in specialists to work with Emma.  There is a slow built romance between Whitney and Dr. Bailey (he was one of her doctors), as they spent a lot of time together during their struggle to help Emma.   

I really enjoyed Silent Night, which was an emotional and heartbreaking story line.  Both Whitney and Emma were wonderful characters that had us emotionally pulled into their lives.  I do not want to give spoilers, but I will say that Silent Night was a different type of read for me from Danielle Steel; but it was a great story.Once again Danielle Steele blows it out of the park. I wholly suggest you read Silent Night.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher