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A review by mollylooby
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard
5.0
I had high hopes for this book from the get-go. I loved Sara Barnard’s previous novel, Beautiful Broken Things, so I was so pumped for this. Plus, I loved the concept! I was right to be excited. This book was so adorable.
First of all, the narration was perfect. I loved Steffi right from the first page. I thought it was incredible that Barnard chose to create her inner voice to be so chatty, which heightened her selective mutism in the most perfect way possible. I wanted to applaud, but of course that would be bizarre.
Certain parts really jumped out for me, (especially this line, “You’re so quiet, Steffi. Why are you so quiet? But in my head it’s so loud.”) and I found Steffi so relatable. I’m not saying I've ever suffered from selective mutism, but I spent my entire childhood and teenage years only talking to the people I was comfortable around. For the longest time, I couldn’t even order for myself in a restaurant, so Steffi’s anxieties really rang true for me and validated my experience. Steffi’s thought process really resonated with me because I thought in almost the exact same way when I was seventeen. It’s always wonderful to read about someone like yourself and feel like someone understands, and that’s what this book did for me. I only wish it’d been around sooner.
Of course I loved Rhys too, as well as Steffi’s best friend, Tem, and the plot in general. I love that all Barnard did was paint a normal (as far as I’m concerned) teenage experience, and it was so entertaining. Sometimes you don’t need crazy drama. The whole thing made me feel warm and smiley. It made me feel great just to be reading it. It’s so wonderful and beautiful and true, and I implore you to have a read.
A Quiet Kind of Thunder is one of those books that makes you feel better about everything just by picking it up. Sometimes it’s a blessing when a book doesn’t break your heart - but crawls in beside it.
First reviewed on Movellas: http://www.movellas.com/blog/show/201709061110314889/book-review-of-sara-barnards-a-quiet-kind-of-thunder
First of all, the narration was perfect. I loved Steffi right from the first page. I thought it was incredible that Barnard chose to create her inner voice to be so chatty, which heightened her selective mutism in the most perfect way possible. I wanted to applaud, but of course that would be bizarre.
Certain parts really jumped out for me, (especially this line, “You’re so quiet, Steffi. Why are you so quiet? But in my head it’s so loud.”) and I found Steffi so relatable. I’m not saying I've ever suffered from selective mutism, but I spent my entire childhood and teenage years only talking to the people I was comfortable around. For the longest time, I couldn’t even order for myself in a restaurant, so Steffi’s anxieties really rang true for me and validated my experience. Steffi’s thought process really resonated with me because I thought in almost the exact same way when I was seventeen. It’s always wonderful to read about someone like yourself and feel like someone understands, and that’s what this book did for me. I only wish it’d been around sooner.
Of course I loved Rhys too, as well as Steffi’s best friend, Tem, and the plot in general. I love that all Barnard did was paint a normal (as far as I’m concerned) teenage experience, and it was so entertaining. Sometimes you don’t need crazy drama. The whole thing made me feel warm and smiley. It made me feel great just to be reading it. It’s so wonderful and beautiful and true, and I implore you to have a read.
A Quiet Kind of Thunder is one of those books that makes you feel better about everything just by picking it up. Sometimes it’s a blessing when a book doesn’t break your heart - but crawls in beside it.
First reviewed on Movellas: http://www.movellas.com/blog/show/201709061110314889/book-review-of-sara-barnards-a-quiet-kind-of-thunder