A number of cognitive scientists -- Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker among the most prominent -- claim that language is an instinctual and not a social behavior. We talk, says Pinker, because it's our thing, just like the bee is born to sting. But if speech is an essential part of being human, I wonder what it means when someone refuses to speak?

In Silent to the Bone by E.L. Konigsburg, a 13-year-old boy becomes mute while placing a 911 call that could save his baby sister's life. Searching for clues to the mystery, his best friend develops a system of communicating with flashcards and discovers that silence can be a weapon against betrayal and an escape from embarrassment. Konigsburg treats the subject of male adolescence with sensitivity and respect.

Exploring the female perspective, Laurie Halse Anderson discloses another side of reticence in Speak. The book zeroes in on a high-school girl with an agonizing secret. Silence is the result of rage in this story, and the narrator a modern-day Lavinia who has figuratively cut out her own tongue. Anderson gives an emotionally honest portrayal of teen anger and loathing, and the heroine of Speak is gutsy and sharp.

Another smart silent type is Burt, the hero of Howard Buten's darkly humorous classic When I Was Five, I Killed Myself, republished last year by Overlook Press. After committing an unspeakable act, Burt is sent to a psychiatric center with an obtuse administrator. Burt can be a brat, yet he is also gifted and witty -- and his insolence is pointed at authority figures who well deserve it. His head is full of shrewd aphorisms that will make you simultaneously laugh out loud and wince in disbelief. No other book I have read captures better the terror and wonder of being five, and when Buten reveals the true nature of Burt's transgression there is a tacit indictment of the clueless moral conceit too often found in adults.

All three books are earmarked as young adult, but it would be a mistake if this kept you from reading them before passing them along to your favorite teenager. These are mature, provocative stories that deal with the theme of silence and its relationship to language, power, and shame. After you read them, you'll want to talk about them.

Jeff Doleman is a reading and writing teacher in San Francisco, Calif. He holds a M.A. in Theatre Arts, and is currently pursuing graduate study in Speech-Language Pathology. He has worked at Cover To Cover Booksellers for five years.