As a true crime fan and an educator, I liked the content of this book. It has elements that I look for in some books that I read: true crime, advocacy, legal information, and a way to make it personal. Brian Claypool does all of that within "Break the silence". This book is needed in the modern world. Kids are more vulnerable than ever. Part memoir, part true crime, part legal brief, this book kept me reading with a few needed breaks taken. Brian is a powerful advocate for children and inspires me to continue being an advocate myself. Information is included for parents and community members to help prevent crimes against kids and what to do if they are made aware of one.

If I could have one wish with this book, it would be to cut a little bit of fat from the text. I'm a picky reader when it comes to text pace. This one would keep me moving forward and then slog through the mud slowly. Personally, just keep me going quickly please.

I recommend this book to educators, people with an interest in advocating for children, and SOSA fans.

I have been on a nonfiction kick recently and this one stood out for many reasons. I loved the honesty and emotion. I felt like I was in the moment with the author and I felt like the articulation of the circumstances were easy to understand which I appreciated with such a complex issue.

Part memoir, part call to action, BREAK THE CODE OF SILENCE is an insightful, heartbreaking, infuriating read that will have you clutching your children tightly while asking the question, "what more can I do?" As a trauma-informed mental health professional, this book was a stark reminder that collaboration and transparency are key to protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

(I would've rated this book higher; however, the grammatical errors took me out of what were some intense moments in the book. I can only hope that the grammatical errors will have been addressed in the final print).

This book stuck out to me and I’m really glad I read it. Brian Claypool tells his unbelievable story of being a survivor of not only the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shooting but also an abusive and neglected childhood. He begins his book by divulging about both and then leads into his work as a lawyer for mostly child abuse cases. I found his story very inspiring and also very sad.


He talks about many tips throughout his book for where parents should be alerted to their own children’s lives but also where all adults should be holding themselves accountable for reporting abuse. It was sad to hear his story and then hear him say that there were many other adults who had clues to what was going on in his household yet no one saved him from his bad situation. Now he works hard to find justice for children and hold institutions accountable for their mistakes in hopes of bringing change to the entire systems that are meant to protect children but often fail.

It was disheartening to hear about the failures of the DCFS, foster care systems, and even schools but very eye opening. As a mother it definitely made me open my eyes to things I need to look out for to protect my own children but also made me wonder about other children who I could be a voice for. I feel like it’s easy to convince yourself you should mind your own business but when it comes to the safety and well-being of a child all adults should be trying to protect them. It was so sad to hear about children being abused by their own parents and even sadder to hear about all of the adults who had a chance to save their lives and didn’t. But that’s why I’m glad I read this book for making me think about how important it is to watch out for the tips and red flags Claypool listed.

Claypool was a very good storyteller with an important story to tell and I definitely recommend this book to anyone, not just parents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Girl Friday Books for an ARC of this book.

I have no doubt whatsoever that litigation lawyer Brian Claypool has important stories to tell about his own childhood trauma and the child protection work and advocacy he does. However, it’s evident that this galley has undergone no editing whatsoever. It reads like a very rough draft and is full of grammatical errors and repetitive, poor-quality writing. I read fifty pages and felt I couldn’t persist with the book for these reasons. I really hope BREAK THE CODE OF SILENCE receives a rigorous edit. In its current state, I don’t think it’s worthy of publication

Brian Claypool tells and horrifying detail the night he went to the Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas and a terrifying moments afterwards he goes on to tell us about court cases where he is championed the voiceless been a hero to those most would quietly ignore. He is a frequent guest on talkshows and news outlets from the stories he tells in the book you say he easily makes friends what is the most and biggest accomplishment is being a father to his daughter. Whenever he does anything she is always at the forefront of his mind and throughout the book you can tell how much he really loves her. I found this book truly entertaining and although this is a book about Brian Claypool‘s wife it is also a book about True Crime hey and an advocate anyone would be lucky to have. I love the way he tells the story and it seems he has a great neck for doing so. I can’t recommend this book enough I loved it and found it a book I didn’t want to stop reading not to mention things in the book will linger on in your mind long after you’ve closed it this is a definite five star read. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This book felt like a first draft. There were so. many spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization errors that it was difficult to read at times. I stuck it out because I think it's such an important topic and wanted to see if the content would make it worth my while. By the end, I was skimming. The final section was repetitive.

Even setting aside the mechanical errors (after all, I read an uncorrected proof), I felt this book was in dire need of editing. Parts of the book felt more like a memoir, detailing the author's personal traumas. Other parts felt like a legal summary, detailing cases he has personally worked on. Other parts felt like he was trying to terrify parents into never trusting any adults with their kids.

I think this author needs to decide which type of book he is writing. What is his purpose? Is he trying to write a memoir about childhood trauma? Great! Is he trying to show the ways abused and vulnerable children are silenced by systemic problems? Great! Is he trying to show parents and other caregivers ways to identify and report suspected abuse? Great! This book is trying to do too many things at once, and does none of them well.

This is a tough topic, and I the author is definitely qualified to write about it. He describes a lot of examples of how children can be abused, and it's always very sad, but he also gives several advices and things we as adults should do if we know something weird is going on around children. Some of them may seem too obvious, but that's kind of the point, sometimes we normalize situations that are potentially dangerous and then it's too late to do anything.

I think his testimony about the Las Vegas shooting was unnecessary, though, as he was an adult at the time and he wasn't even with his daughter. Perhaps he just wanted to tell the story again, and I would understand if it wasn't a book about child trauma.

I suggest a bit more editing because there are some typos and grammar errors that have to be corrected.

The book didn't draw my attention. I found it boring. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It's not the topic which interested me. The advice given about child protection are cliché.

Break the Code of Silence by Brian Claypool was a short and important read. Claypool has been fighting against child abusers in the court-room for years and has now graciously shared his knowledge on how to keep our children safe. Very useful information and a must-read.