Bry, Jesse's brother, is killed at the beginning of the story. He is deaf and has never learned to use sign language to communicate with the hearing world. Bry has always read lips. The title refers to Bry's deafness, since he lives in a world of silence, but it also refers to the hit-and-run accident that kills Bry. He is suddenly taken away from his family, and he's only sixteen years old. They must all go through feelings of guilt and grieve for Bry.