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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. 

I knew I liked Sara Barnards writing and style. But I had no idea how much this book would blow me away.

This book astounded me on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start. I’m just going to have to go through them all.

“Here are three separate but similar things: shyness, introversion and social anxiety. You can have one, two or all three of these things simultaneously.”

I’ll start with the thing that stands out about this book the most. In A Quiet Kind of Thunder, Steffi suffers from selective mutism and her love interest, Rhys, is deaf. They communicate through BSL (British Sign Language). On a personal level, this really resonated with me. My career dream is to work as a teacher or in learning support, so I have actually considered learning BSL or ASL (American Sign Language) in the past. I know basic BSL (the alphabet/numbers etc) and I understand the complete importance and flow of it, and I love how that shone through in this novel.

But BSL isn’t just something that makes this novel unique – although I find it amazing that Barnard chose to write about it. It completely changes the lives of both Steffi and Rhys, and impacts the way they grow together. I really admire Barnard for taking such a big plunge and writing their story. I am so grateful to her.

Another of the struggles Steffi faces is anxiety. As an ex-sufferer myself of separation anxiety and a sufferer of anxiety, I was astounded by how well Barnard wrote about Steffi’s panic attacks and general anxiety. I can fortunately say I have only suffered one (serious) panic attack in my recent years, but this does mean I completely related to Steffi on a personal level.

“A lot of the time people think they’re all the same thing, but that’s just not true.”

All that aside, there were so many other things that stood out about this novel. For one – friends and family! Yes, friends and family are often mentioned in YA. But this novel was just something else. I know from Beautiful Broken Things that Barnard does a good job writing about teenage friendships, but she went above and beyond my expectations with Tem. Tem is Steffi’s best friend, and I love the dynamic between her and Steffi in this novel. It added something fresh and interesting that I really don’t often come across in YA, and I absolutely loved having that relationship in A Quiet Kind of Thunder.

It wasn’t just Rhys and Steffi’s friends that stood out to me. I love the relationship Steffi and Rhys had with their families and how they all bounced off one another beautifully. I also loved Steffi’s interest in animals and Rhys’s love for video games. It rounded out their characters and made the story not just about romance.

“Extroverts can be shy, introverts can be bold, and a condition like anxiety can strike whatever kind of social animal you are.”

So to finish up, let’s talk a bit about the romance. Was it insta? Kind of, but it felt so different. Steffi and Rhys had a lot of issues and faced many struggles. This made their relationship feel layered and somehow much more real. I loved Steffi and Rhys. I loved them falling in love and their adventures together. It was tentative, sweet and it honestly made me cry. I feel honoured to have been welcomed into their world.

Overall? This book really feels special to me. It shows anxiety in a way I haven’t seen before in YA, and showcased an incredibly important story. I fell in love with Steffi, Rhys, Rita (Steffi’s dog) and every other little thing about this novel. It’s one I will hold close to my heart for a long time.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Seventeen-year-old Flora Banks has no short-term memory. Her mind resets itself several times a day, and has since the age of ten, when the tumor that was removed from Flora’s brain took with it her ability to make new memories. That is, until she kisses Drake, her best friend’s boyfriend, the night before he leaves town. Miraculously, this one memory breaks through Flora’s fractured mind, and sticks. Flora is convinced that Drake is responsible for restoring her memory and making her whole again. So when an encouraging email from Drake suggests she meet him on the other side of the world, Flora knows with certainty that this is the first step toward reclaiming her life. With little more than the words “be brave” inked into her skin, and written reminders of who she is and why her memory is so limited, Flora sets off on an impossible journey to Svalbard, Norway, the land of the midnight sun, determined to find Drake. But from the moment she arrives in the arctic, nothing is quite as it seems, and Flora must “be brave” if she is ever to learn the truth about herself, and to make it safely home.

Note: Forgive me for not being here! I’m currently away in Madeira with my family but I’m getting a lot of reading in and here’s my review for the first book I’ve finished since I arrived.

Unfortunately I don’t have my laptop with me, so forgive this review for being a little all over the place! I’ll edit it properly once I’m back off my phone.

I’ll be back home on Saturday, but for now I’ll just be posting reviews of books I’m finishing. Other posts would be too hard without my laptop!

I think the easiest way to describe this book is unique. It’s possibly the most unique YA book I’ve ever read.

This book made me reconsider the boundaries of YA itself. It pushed everything I know about YA aside and created something entirely new and wonderful.

I won’t lie – I found this book a little mixed up. The narrative is some of the strangest I’ve come across. Due to Flora’s amnesia, a lot of the book is deeply repetitive (especially in the first ~100 pages). This kind of annoyed me a little for a while, but I did get used to it and understand how it was vital to the story.

“I am really here. Yet I know I am not.”

I obviously can’t speak for the accuracy of how Flora’s illness was portrayed, but I have to say it felt real. The complex plot really reflected the wild randomness of Flora’s mind, and I really admire Barr for being able to create that.

“I am inside something that must be buried in my head.”

The main thing I loved about this book is it’s complexity and cleverness. I won’t say I didn’t see the plot twists coming – I did guess some – but I also enjoyed the discovery.

However, there were parts of this book I didn’t enjoy. Specifically, Flora’s narrative. Yes, the repetitiveness of her story is vital. It is also incredibly, incredibly tedious. I found her incredibly childish at times and found the writing suitable for middle-grade. Therefore, the “emails” seemed very out-of-place and weird compared to the narrative.

“I am layers deep in my own brain.”

So overall, I didn’t love or hate this book. It was intriguing, involving and I found myself completely absorbed in the story from after around 100 pages. I liked the setting(s), numerous characters and complex plot. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, but it’s certainly very intriguing and I’d still say give it a go if you like the sound of the synopsis!

★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Sixty years after a virus has wiped out almost all the men on the planet, things are pretty much just as you would imagine a world run by women might be: war has ended; greed is not tolerated; the ecological needs of the planet are always put first. In two generations, the female population has grieved, pulled together and moved on, and life really is pretty good – if you’re a girl. It’s not so great if you’re a boy, but fourteen-year-old River wouldn’t know that. Until she met Mason, she thought they were extinct.

Doesn’t this sound like such an interesting read? Unfortunately, I was disappointed once again. Part of me thinks I may be getting a little critical of books as I’m reading more, but this one actually doesn’t have good reviews – and for good reason.

I had a lot of issues with this book. Some of them were just writing, language and plot holes. Some are deeper than that.

I honestly don’t even know where to start with this one. I guess with the simple things. This book just felt lacking – and I think that might be in plot. I believe dystopia should be interesting and fast-paced…and Who Runs the World? just wasn’t. I felt bored, and I didn’t feel motivated to read. I felt disconnected from the characters and the story. The writing was incredibly simple, and I honestly felt like River was treated like a child, acted as a child and thought as a child.

Another thing I found confusing was the tense. River constantly referred to the Granmumma speak as ‘text talk’, which I think meant it was 2 generations in front of the present day? But similar to how I found Ink by Alice Broadway, the town felt really behind. Yes, we had trains and hotels and (I think) phones. But then the only news we heard was through word-of-mouth, and TV’s and video games were all seen as old fashioned. It just seemed weird to me.

But unfortunately my issues with this book also grew deeper. In my viewpoint, this book was sexist. It basically said that men are directly connected to rape and murder. It told the main character to cover up so she could avoid being raped. It portrayed men in a very negative light and really didn’t show much progress throughout the story. Yes, the final few chapters started to turn things around…but it wasn’t really enough. The views of men in this book were just inexcusable.

★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Colourful, raw, brave, rich and fantastical – this mermaid tale is not for the faint-hearted.
Looking after a naked girl he found washed up under Hastings pier isn’t exactly how Rory had imagined spending his sixteenth birthday. But more surprising than finding her in the first place is discovering where she has come from.
Lorali is running not just from the sea, not just from her position as princess, but her entire destiny. Lorali has rejected life as a mermaid, and become human.
But along with Lorali’s arrival, and the freak weather suddenly battering the coast, more strange visitors begin appearing in Rory’s bemused Sussex town. With beautifully coiffed hair, sharp-collared shirts and a pirate ship shaped like a Tudor house, the Abelgare boys are a mystery all of their own. What are they really up to? Can Rory protect Lorali? And who from? And where does she really belong, anyway?

Disclaimer: I received this book from Hot Key UK in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my views in any way.

This book reminded me very much of Ink, for a good reason and a bad reason. The good reason was the uniqueness. There is no denying I have never read a book like Lorali, or met characters like the ones in her world.

The bad reason, however, is the confusion. I liked the uniqueness, but you can go too far…and unfortunately, I feel like Lorali did.

Creating a whole new concept in YA is a brave thing – and I can say Dockrill did that. But even though the concepts for both Lorali and Ink are both good, they weren’t carried out in the right way.

For a start, the world of mermaids is a concept hard to get your head around, especially in this book. I think part of the problem was the writing – it felt so debut-y. And pre-teen-y. The language just didn’t seem right. Even though I enjoyed the different way Rory sounded in his writing, it came across as immature.

I also disliked the ending, which felt like it cancelled out some of the book for me. I won’t say anymore because of spoilers, but it kind of felt like she lost a lot of the things she gained by ‘surfacing’. Okay, I’m going to stop moaning in a second! The last complaint I have is the amount of different characters in this book. Oh, it confused me so!

Onto the good stuff. I think the concept salvaged this story more than anything else. It’s unique, it’s different, and a lot of people will love it. There are not many mermaid themed books, so this one definitely creates something fresh and interesting. I also can’t say I disliked the book while I was reading it. Sure, I found a lot wrong…but I didn’t hate the actual process of reading it.

So overall, mixed feelings. It’s been a tough choice, but I am going to carry on with the series and read Aurabal if I can! Even though I didn’t like the main ending, the epilogue has actually drawn me in.

I give this book…

★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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It’s been a year since Milly, Elyse and Leonie’s dad died, and a year since their last trip to Rome. Summer’s here again, and once again they are heading with their mum to Italy – but what’s it going to be like going without Dad? Rome still holds its familiar charms – the sun is still as warm, the gelato as delicious, the people as welcoming. But nothing is quite as it once was …
With grief still raw for all of them, Milly is facing the additional awfulness of having to see Luke again – gorgeous, gorgeous Luke, who she had a fling with last year, and who she made a total fool of herself with – or so she thinks. What’s going to happen this time? What’s more, things between Milly, her sisters and their mum are rocky – Leonie is being tempestuous and unpredictable, Elyse is caught up with her new boyfriend, and Milly feels like she just doesn’t know how she fits in any more.
Over one Italian summer, can Milly find a way back to the life she once had?

Disclaimer: I received this book from Hot Key UK in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my views in any way.

It’s safe to say I loved this book. It was the perfect romance/contemporary and holiday read. As I explained in my video above, I loved most aspects of this book, and they all fit so well together.

The plot flowed pretty well. A week or two is a great time frame for a holiday read, and it really made me feel close to the characters and the setting!

The setting was one of my favourite parts of this book, and it really felt like I was, as a reader, in the setting and with the characters. This reminded me of Anna and the French Kiss, which also has a great representation of the setting.

Moving onto the characters, I really liked Milly. She felt real and relatable, struggling with many different things we feel day-to-day. She was a typical teenager with a love interest, but it really kind of worked. I really like that the entire book wasn’t completely focused on romance and it allowed room for other thoughts and feelings.

Some of these were really well represented, including worrying, paranoia and coping with grief from overcoming her dad’s death. The side characters were really well written, meaning a I found out about a lot of stories within the novel without being confused!

The only tiny gripe I could pick up in this book was the slight bit of insta-love, but I can’t really complain too much. As with much of the book, the love progressed with the story and it worked too!

Overall, I really liked this book. I didn’t want to finish it, and I actually avoided reading it for a while because I didn’t want to leave this story! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves YA contemporary, romance and holiday reads.

I give One Italian Summer:

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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