A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

Summary:
Steffi doesn’t talk, but she has so much to say.
Rhys can’t hear, but he can listen.
Their love isn’t a lightning strike, it’s the rumbling roll of thunder.

Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life – she’s been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He’s deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she’s assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn’t matter that Steffi doesn’t talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she’s falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it.

From the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things comes a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

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My Thoughts

In all honesty, it’s been a while since I read this book as I’m a bit behind on reviews but I still feel all full of hope and happiness when I think about the book. It was a book that I read at a time when I was in the right mood for a very cute romance and thus it was perfect. Sara Barnard has created a story that is both eye-opening and incredibly adorable all at the same time. It was emotional, heart-breaking and ultimately heart-warming and full of hope too. A definite must-read and a book that I would absolutely recommend too.

Maybe it was just a coincidence that Steffi was the first person that Rhys was introduced to. Maybe it was fate. But it certainly changed both of their lives. This story is an interesting one. Sara weaves through the difficulties of having selective mutism and being death with a lot of sensitivity. She allows both characters to have full, vibrant and loving personalities; showing us all that they’re still human and deserve to be treated as such. This story touches upon many different topics and I just found it to be really thought-provoking and evocative.

To choose my favourite character in this novel would be too difficult. I thought both Steffi and Rhys were strong, wonderful characters that walked off the page easily. They were vibrant and truly made me feel emotional. I loved reading about their lives and how they were intertwining and changing as the book continued through. I also really liked Tem as well. As a “side” character, Tem was fascinating. She was outgoing, creative and full of flair. She was also sensitive, scared and lonely. It really made the book that much more interesting to have it so full of fantastically well-thought out characters throughout.

Overall, this book is one that will stick with me for a long time. It was interesting and fascinating as well as being entertaining and as mentioned above, darn cute too. It was hard not to fall head over heels in love with the romance of this book. They were just perfect for each other – even with all of the obstacles that they had to overcome. This is a wonderfully crafted, beautifully sensitive read that everyone should make sure that they pick up. I would also recommend reading What I Couldn’t Tell You and Unspeakable for another two UKYA books with brilliant Selective Mutism protagonists.