A Sudden Silence is peopled with contemporary characters that are deftly drawn and act like real persons. Jesse narrates the story and is the most fully developed character as the reader is privy to Jesse's thoughts and emotions.

Although the story opens with the death of sixteen-year-old Bry (Bryan), he continues to be significant to the action, and the reader gets to know him through the eyes of Jesse and other characters. Bry is not, however, a fully rounded character because those grieving for him remember only his good traits, and he is not given a free range of human emotions. Also, one questions whether Bunting is somewhat manipulative in the matter of Bry's disability. Deaf from birth as a result of his mother having German measles while he was in the womb, Bry is never taught to sign but relies on lip-reading.

He...