 Eventually she resorts to Dad's expertise as University Registrar Kane, regarding the Zamborska case; that and some prodding by Connor effect some warming between daughter and father.According to the "School Library Journal" review, the book contains "themes of communication, relationships in blended families, being different, friendship, adolescence, and shame".An Amazon.com review stated that "Silent to the Bone" shows Konigsburg's "keen understanding of young people"; that it is "darker than some of her others, with a remarkably true glimpse into a young man's inner world".