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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
www.snazzybooks.com
The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton is a slow burner of a novel about desperation and adventure. It is her third novel and is very different to her other novels (I really enjoyed Sister and want to read Afterwards).
Although the characters are all really well developed, some of the characters feature far less than others (which obviously makes sense when you think about the plot of the book). We learn about Matt through Yasmin and Ruby’s memories, but only a limited amount- most of the novel is focused on Ruby and Yasmin’s struggle to find Matt, and the challenges they face in trying to do so. Yasmin and Matt’s relationship is, for most of the novel, a question mark.We learn about the early days of their relationship, but not a great deal between then and Matt leaving to work in Alaska- but it all seems to have gone quite wrong in that time, and their marriage is on ‘thin ice’ (…groan, sorry!) It leaves things between them quite uncertain and a little mysterious for the reader. I was really hoping all the way through that Matt would be OK, but as the novel goes on it looks less and less likely…(won't give too much away though).
I really liked the fact that Ruby is deaf is not shown as a negative, but just as a different quality to her which she deals with well. It's interesting that her parents seem to be more worried about her deafness, and how it affects Ruby, than Ruby herself! She seems to just get on with it for the most part, and the novel doesn’t overly focus on the fact that Ruby is deaf- the story is what it is, and Ruby’s deafness is just another interesting element to the narrative.
Lupton creates a strong sense of atmosphere, and uses wonderfully descriptive language throughout. I really felt like I could be there, feeling the ice cold winds around me and losing the feeling in my toes! We learn that people traveling at this time of year in Alaska need to ensure they don’t sweat whilst they’re outside, as it’s so cold that the sweat will freeze on their skin and can cause hypothermia. Therefore running too fast is out of the question, even though you’d think you could run hell for leather to try and warm yourselves up…but no! This is just one of the many threats that Ruby and Yasmin face in the harsh Alaskan winter.
However, I never felt truly scared for Ruby and her mum- I don't know why, as the landscape around them was very threatening, as I've mentioned. It's just that the storyline itself didn't have me on the edge of my seat. It was perhaps a little slow for me. Because of this, I didn't enjoy this novel anywhere near as much as her other novels. It just didn't have the same element of mystery and threat.
The Quality of Silence by Rosamund Lupton is a slow burner of a novel about desperation and adventure. It is her third novel and is very different to her other novels (I really enjoyed Sister and want to read Afterwards).
Although the characters are all really well developed, some of the characters feature far less than others (which obviously makes sense when you think about the plot of the book). We learn about Matt through Yasmin and Ruby’s memories, but only a limited amount- most of the novel is focused on Ruby and Yasmin’s struggle to find Matt, and the challenges they face in trying to do so. Yasmin and Matt’s relationship is, for most of the novel, a question mark.We learn about the early days of their relationship, but not a great deal between then and Matt leaving to work in Alaska- but it all seems to have gone quite wrong in that time, and their marriage is on ‘thin ice’ (…groan, sorry!) It leaves things between them quite uncertain and a little mysterious for the reader. I was really hoping all the way through that Matt would be OK, but as the novel goes on it looks less and less likely…(won't give too much away though).
I really liked the fact that Ruby is deaf is not shown as a negative, but just as a different quality to her which she deals with well. It's interesting that her parents seem to be more worried about her deafness, and how it affects Ruby, than Ruby herself! She seems to just get on with it for the most part, and the novel doesn’t overly focus on the fact that Ruby is deaf- the story is what it is, and Ruby’s deafness is just another interesting element to the narrative.
Lupton creates a strong sense of atmosphere, and uses wonderfully descriptive language throughout. I really felt like I could be there, feeling the ice cold winds around me and losing the feeling in my toes! We learn that people traveling at this time of year in Alaska need to ensure they don’t sweat whilst they’re outside, as it’s so cold that the sweat will freeze on their skin and can cause hypothermia. Therefore running too fast is out of the question, even though you’d think you could run hell for leather to try and warm yourselves up…but no! This is just one of the many threats that Ruby and Yasmin face in the harsh Alaskan winter.
However, I never felt truly scared for Ruby and her mum- I don't know why, as the landscape around them was very threatening, as I've mentioned. It's just that the storyline itself didn't have me on the edge of my seat. It was perhaps a little slow for me. Because of this, I didn't enjoy this novel anywhere near as much as her other novels. It just didn't have the same element of mystery and threat.
With the temperature here in Pennsylvania averaging around 5 degrees the past few days, I thought it would be appropriate to pick up a wintry read. This really fit the bill. This book is very atmospheric, you feel as if you are riding in the truck with Yasmin and Ruby across the icy roads of bitter cold Alaska. I flew through the book as the pacing was perfect. The suspense builds slowly and, although not extremely surprising, it had a satisfying ending.
The setting was perfect and caused me to Google the places in the book, which led me to watch some episodes of Ice Road Truckers, as it features some of the places described in the book (the Dalton Highway, Coldfoot, and Deadhorse).
My main issue was the main character, Yasmin. As a mother, I was appalled at the danger she put her daughter in, even with the warnings of many people. There were several times that I was extremely frustrated with the choices that she made. I also felt that the author allowed her personal beliefs in regards to a certain issue to seep into the book a bit too much for my taste.
I definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves suspense and is in the mood for a chilly read.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
The setting was perfect and caused me to Google the places in the book, which led me to watch some episodes of Ice Road Truckers, as it features some of the places described in the book (the Dalton Highway, Coldfoot, and Deadhorse).
My main issue was the main character, Yasmin. As a mother, I was appalled at the danger she put her daughter in, even with the warnings of many people. There were several times that I was extremely frustrated with the choices that she made. I also felt that the author allowed her personal beliefs in regards to a certain issue to seep into the book a bit too much for my taste.
I definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves suspense and is in the mood for a chilly read.
I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book for free on a GoodReads Giveaway.
I struggled with this book. I loved the middle part when the mother Yasmin and daughter Ruby where in the truck traveling across the Alaskan ice roads. This part of the novel was really vivid and well written. Their determination to find Matt, the husband and father, really helped the pages keep turning during this section.
However the beginning and end I found to be a bit of rubbish. The author I felt struggle at the start of the book balancing the back and forth between the first person narrative of 10 year-old Ruby, who is also deaf, and third person. It was a challenge to begin with to truly understand Ruby cadence as a narrator, but the flipping back and forth made it even more difficult. The author did get better in the middle and should have gone and done a revision of the start.
The end of the book just seemed like a jumbled mess that was thrown together, throwing in your standard environmental hype to help sell the book. There didn't seem to be any full lead in to the conclusion and left me feeling cheated as the reader.
I struggled with this book. I loved the middle part when the mother Yasmin and daughter Ruby where in the truck traveling across the Alaskan ice roads. This part of the novel was really vivid and well written. Their determination to find Matt, the husband and father, really helped the pages keep turning during this section.
However the beginning and end I found to be a bit of rubbish. The author I felt struggle at the start of the book balancing the back and forth between the first person narrative of 10 year-old Ruby, who is also deaf, and third person. It was a challenge to begin with to truly understand Ruby cadence as a narrator, but the flipping back and forth made it even more difficult. The author did get better in the middle and should have gone and done a revision of the start.
The end of the book just seemed like a jumbled mess that was thrown together, throwing in your standard environmental hype to help sell the book. There didn't seem to be any full lead in to the conclusion and left me feeling cheated as the reader.
tense
fast-paced
A cat and mouse chase meets Ice Road Truckers. I love this author.
theme - the oldest arc on my shelf
theme - the oldest arc on my shelf
Ruby, a 10 year-old deaf girl is travelling to join her father inside the Arctic Circle in Alaska. He is a wildlife photographer and Ruby and her mother, Yasmin, are going to visit him. When they arrive in Alaska, the police tell them there's been an accident, the whole village was destroyed in a fire, there were no survivors. Yasmin refuses to believe this and is determined to make her own way to the remote village to find the truth.
Discovering Ruby and Yasmin's characters with every turn of a page was just magical, they are very quiet, unassuming characters until you get to know them. Ruby's deafness presents it's own difficulties but we learn how Ruby has her own twitter account where she can share her thoughts just like anyone else, instead of struggling to communicate in her mainstream school. We uncover Yasmin's and Matt's marriage isn't perfect and the real reason why they are visiting him.
Yasmin is an incredibly strong woman, she is very determined, intelligent and resourceful. The way she deals with each set back was inspirational and her relationship with Ruby is lovely.
I really liked the ending, the building tension and then the reveal of the truth was totally unexpected (for me) and I loved it. I've previously read Sister by the same author and that was amazing too, highly recommended.
Discovering Ruby and Yasmin's characters with every turn of a page was just magical, they are very quiet, unassuming characters until you get to know them. Ruby's deafness presents it's own difficulties but we learn how Ruby has her own twitter account where she can share her thoughts just like anyone else, instead of struggling to communicate in her mainstream school. We uncover Yasmin's and Matt's marriage isn't perfect and the real reason why they are visiting him.
Yasmin is an incredibly strong woman, she is very determined, intelligent and resourceful. The way she deals with each set back was inspirational and her relationship with Ruby is lovely.
I really liked the ending, the building tension and then the reveal of the truth was totally unexpected (for me) and I loved it. I've previously read Sister by the same author and that was amazing too, highly recommended.
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this! Such a well researched book covering important topics. It was obvious the author researched all these topics (deafness, fracking, the Alaskan tundra, astronomy, Native Americans) extremely well. Really fast read...wanted to know what was going to happen! Also: super atmospheric; I actually felt freezing while reading this!
This one is a doozy to try to determine how to rate. On one hand, the suspense kept me wanting to keep listening, however the plot point that the suspense is built upon was completely implausible.
A big section of the novel is built upon **small spoiler ahead** the fact that Yasmin STEALS and then drives an 18-wheeler through treacherous Alaska roads in the winter AND during a blizzard. She has NO experience driving an 18-wheeler so for anyone that is familiar or somewhat knowledgeable about what it takes to operate this kind of vehicle, the immediate reaction was "YEAH, right!" Add to that the unfamiliarity of how a vehicle that large handles, an Alaskan blizzard and she doesn't wreck? Just not possible. The author/editor should have done a little more research here. The rest of the book was okay.... I liked the characters and wanted to see how the mystery of the "who" all played out. I also learned more about fracking. Ultimately, I couldn't really get past the 18-wheeler thing. The book would have been much stronger if it had been more believable.
A big section of the novel is built upon **small spoiler ahead** the fact that Yasmin STEALS and then drives an 18-wheeler through treacherous Alaska roads in the winter AND during a blizzard. She has NO experience driving an 18-wheeler so for anyone that is familiar or somewhat knowledgeable about what it takes to operate this kind of vehicle, the immediate reaction was "YEAH, right!" Add to that the unfamiliarity of how a vehicle that large handles, an Alaskan blizzard and she doesn't wreck? Just not possible. The author/editor should have done a little more research here. The rest of the book was okay.... I liked the characters and wanted to see how the mystery of the "who" all played out. I also learned more about fracking. Ultimately, I couldn't really get past the 18-wheeler thing. The book would have been much stronger if it had been more believable.
Lovely prose and I suspended all my disbelief. Super coolio!