Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
This story is set in the Alaskan wilderness and is quite suspenseful. Ruby is the young daughter to Matt and Yasmin. Ruby is deaf and my favorite character in the book. Ruby is endearing and brave but also vulnerable, vulnerable in a way that the reader can relate. Yamsin and Ruby take off on a daring adventure in attempts to locate their father/husband. Silence is a recurring theme through out the story, whether it’s the inability to hear, the lack of communication in a relationship or through mother nature scare!
I have loved Lupton’s books but I struggled with parts of Quality of Silence. I loved the story at times and found it too slow at other times. I do love Lupton’s ability to develop characters and her use of words to vividly depict the story. The point of view was hard to follow at times as it told through Ruby and Yasmin’s eyes. It took me a while to get use to this and believe this is why I found the beginning a little too slow.
Overall I would recommend this book as a suspenseful easy read.
I have loved Lupton’s books but I struggled with parts of Quality of Silence. I loved the story at times and found it too slow at other times. I do love Lupton’s ability to develop characters and her use of words to vividly depict the story. The point of view was hard to follow at times as it told through Ruby and Yasmin’s eyes. It took me a while to get use to this and believe this is why I found the beginning a little too slow.
Overall I would recommend this book as a suspenseful easy read.
The solitary, bleak environment perfectly set the stage for the tension and desperation of this story. The lonely Alaskan highways were wonderfully described. While the tension of the thriller was the best part and very well done, the powerful love between the family members was also very evident in the writing. Advance e-galley provided by Netgalley and the publisher.
Great book. Glad I read it. Ruby was, of course, my favorite character. Yasmin was up and down for me - sometimes I was very angry with her both other times, when I was able to take a step back from my initial reaction towards her,I don't know if I would have done it any differently.
The descriptions of what it is like to be a deaf girl in a hearing world and the Alaskan tundra were fantastic. I would definitely read another book by Rosamund Lupton
The descriptions of what it is like to be a deaf girl in a hearing world and the Alaskan tundra were fantastic. I would definitely read another book by Rosamund Lupton
Lupton’s novel is a gorgeous story about love, family, and hope, and in particular, how these things inspire determination to drive a truck across Alaska through a storm to find someone officially pronounced dead. The Quality of Silence sweeps the reader up in a snowstorm of excitement which rages on from the very first sentence to the very last. It has action, adventure, mystery, romance, science, and humour all rolled into one gripping story, and cannot be put down until the last page has been hastily turned.
My favourite character was Ruby. Starting the novel I was apprehensive that my lack of experience with D/deaf culture or with sign language would make it difficult for me to relate to her. However, through Lupton’s exquisite storytelling, I understood Ruby’s frustration and isolation due to being deaf, and also the new experiences, senses, and insights it allowed her. An unexpected hero, Ruby is one of the most relatable, awe-inspiring, and thrilling characters I have ever come across, and Lupton writes her tense relationship with her parents exquisitely. I adored the book and can’t wait to get stuck into Lupton’s earlier novels, and I look forward to new ones in the future.
My favourite character was Ruby. Starting the novel I was apprehensive that my lack of experience with D/deaf culture or with sign language would make it difficult for me to relate to her. However, through Lupton’s exquisite storytelling, I understood Ruby’s frustration and isolation due to being deaf, and also the new experiences, senses, and insights it allowed her. An unexpected hero, Ruby is one of the most relatable, awe-inspiring, and thrilling characters I have ever come across, and Lupton writes her tense relationship with her parents exquisitely. I adored the book and can’t wait to get stuck into Lupton’s earlier novels, and I look forward to new ones in the future.
What I liked
- The atmosphere: I literally felt as though I was in Alaska in the cold and the wilderness. The author very clearly did their research
- The tension: The middle section was so dark and mysterious and really sucked me into the story.
- The twist: After thinking about it, I actually really liked the direction the story took.
- The themes: The discussion of sound and other similar themes was very thought-provoking and added nice layers to the story.
What I disliked
- The pacing: I felt that there was too much set-up and not enough thrilling moments. We had about 100 pages of set-up, and only the middle section thrilled me. The last 100 pages was the revelation, which was kind of long-winded.
- I didn't care enough about the characters unfortunately
- The writing drove me mad. The switch between first and third person took a long time to get used to, and it really pushed me out of the story. I also felt that the writing at times was disjointed and stopped the story from being more thrilling than it could have been.
Overall, if the story intrigues you, then you should check it out. I was just a tad bit disappointed.
- The atmosphere: I literally felt as though I was in Alaska in the cold and the wilderness. The author very clearly did their research
- The tension: The middle section was so dark and mysterious and really sucked me into the story.
- The twist: After thinking about it, I actually really liked the direction the story took.
- The themes: The discussion of sound and other similar themes was very thought-provoking and added nice layers to the story.
What I disliked
- The pacing: I felt that there was too much set-up and not enough thrilling moments. We had about 100 pages of set-up, and only the middle section thrilled me. The last 100 pages was the revelation, which was kind of long-winded.
- I didn't care enough about the characters unfortunately
- The writing drove me mad. The switch between first and third person took a long time to get used to, and it really pushed me out of the story. I also felt that the writing at times was disjointed and stopped the story from being more thrilling than it could have been.
Overall, if the story intrigues you, then you should check it out. I was just a tad bit disappointed.
Holy Hell..... What a book!
For starters, The Quality of Silence is the first book that I have read, where one of the main characters have a disability, (being deaf). It was a completely new experience to me, but one I enjoyed greatly from the get go. TGOS was filled with action and suspense from the very first page and kept me intrigued, reading the book in less than two days I felt drawn in to the world that Ruby and Yasmin was in. From the moment they started their journey to the moment the book ended. Although saying that, when I finished the book, I couldn't help but go WHAT! How could it end that way? I honestly wanted there to be more, I hoped that there would be more. But other than that, I really enjoyed the book.
(Spoilers below, if you don't want to know more, stop reading now)
***********
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
From the moment Yasmin and her Daughter Ruby get's off the plane from England in Alaska, they have trouble, believed to be dead in a fire that wiped a whole village out, Ruby's mother sets out to find her husband and Ruby's father, believing that he is alive and not gone like the police say he is.
Setting out to get to the destroyed village, Yasmin and Ruby search for a rigger who would be willing to drive them to another city. When they are turned down, Yasmin starts to loose hope until another driver tells her about a driver who owned his own rig.
Willing and happy to take them, Yasmin and Ruby starts their journey across the wildness of Alaska. After a short while of being on the road, the driver of the rig notices headlights in his mirror, thinks it could be another driver on the road.
#As they drive, Ruby believes that her father is alive and well since her mother hasn't told her about the fire which has burnt the village down. As they drive, Ruby soon makes friends with the driver and find themselves talking about music and other things until they arrive at a rest stop, the last before open country for hundreds of miles.
While Yasmin is inside buying more food and drink, Ruby comes rushing in, explaining to her mother that their friend and driver had taken ill, soon he is returned to Fairbanks and Yasmin has to take matters in to her own hands.
Driving herself and Ruby in to the unknown, they soon encounter a fierce storm, making er worry even more after emails from a strange email address start to come through on Ruby's laptop, plus, those headlights are still following her and the truck.
Being forced to continue driving, Yasmin soon comes to the ice road that she spoke about to the driver and starts to test the ice until finally her and Ruby have to leave before they go down with the rig when it starts sinking.
Sending a flare up in hopes that the police will find them, mother and daughter starts walking and running to get of the ice, in sheer hoplesness, Yasmin starts shouting for her husband before she notices a torch running towards them. Stopping in fear, she holds Ruby close before the man appears and it's like her whole life is fixed when it turns out to be her husband, alive and as well as he can be after being out in the snow and storm.
It's not long before the officer who spoke with Yasmin at the start of their journey appears, telling them that he has the guy who was following her and Ruby. Matt tells them all everything which had happened and how he had found the villagers dead before he is shocked to know that a fire had been set to hide the truth behind their deaths. While the officer turns out to be one of the bad guys, Ruby sets off in the dark to get to a high point on a mountain so she can connect to the internet long enough to send out her blog and tweets for help.
The bad man ends up shooting the officer after he turns and helps Yasmin and Matt when they go after Ruby. Once he arrives and sees that she has sent the tweets out, the bad man, Jack, shoots the laptop before disappearing in to the night, leaving the family alone on top of the mountain.
For starters, The Quality of Silence is the first book that I have read, where one of the main characters have a disability, (being deaf). It was a completely new experience to me, but one I enjoyed greatly from the get go. TGOS was filled with action and suspense from the very first page and kept me intrigued, reading the book in less than two days I felt drawn in to the world that Ruby and Yasmin was in. From the moment they started their journey to the moment the book ended. Although saying that, when I finished the book, I couldn't help but go WHAT! How could it end that way? I honestly wanted there to be more, I hoped that there would be more. But other than that, I really enjoyed the book.
(Spoilers below, if you don't want to know more, stop reading now)
***********
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
From the moment Yasmin and her Daughter Ruby get's off the plane from England in Alaska, they have trouble, believed to be dead in a fire that wiped a whole village out, Ruby's mother sets out to find her husband and Ruby's father, believing that he is alive and not gone like the police say he is.
Setting out to get to the destroyed village, Yasmin and Ruby search for a rigger who would be willing to drive them to another city. When they are turned down, Yasmin starts to loose hope until another driver tells her about a driver who owned his own rig.
Willing and happy to take them, Yasmin and Ruby starts their journey across the wildness of Alaska. After a short while of being on the road, the driver of the rig notices headlights in his mirror, thinks it could be another driver on the road.
#As they drive, Ruby believes that her father is alive and well since her mother hasn't told her about the fire which has burnt the village down. As they drive, Ruby soon makes friends with the driver and find themselves talking about music and other things until they arrive at a rest stop, the last before open country for hundreds of miles.
While Yasmin is inside buying more food and drink, Ruby comes rushing in, explaining to her mother that their friend and driver had taken ill, soon he is returned to Fairbanks and Yasmin has to take matters in to her own hands.
Driving herself and Ruby in to the unknown, they soon encounter a fierce storm, making er worry even more after emails from a strange email address start to come through on Ruby's laptop, plus, those headlights are still following her and the truck.
Being forced to continue driving, Yasmin soon comes to the ice road that she spoke about to the driver and starts to test the ice until finally her and Ruby have to leave before they go down with the rig when it starts sinking.
Sending a flare up in hopes that the police will find them, mother and daughter starts walking and running to get of the ice, in sheer hoplesness, Yasmin starts shouting for her husband before she notices a torch running towards them. Stopping in fear, she holds Ruby close before the man appears and it's like her whole life is fixed when it turns out to be her husband, alive and as well as he can be after being out in the snow and storm.
It's not long before the officer who spoke with Yasmin at the start of their journey appears, telling them that he has the guy who was following her and Ruby. Matt tells them all everything which had happened and how he had found the villagers dead before he is shocked to know that a fire had been set to hide the truth behind their deaths. While the officer turns out to be one of the bad guys, Ruby sets off in the dark to get to a high point on a mountain so she can connect to the internet long enough to send out her blog and tweets for help.
The bad man ends up shooting the officer after he turns and helps Yasmin and Matt when they go after Ruby. Once he arrives and sees that she has sent the tweets out, the bad man, Jack, shoots the laptop before disappearing in to the night, leaving the family alone on top of the mountain.
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
overall an entertaining read with a unique plot. However, I knocked off a couple of stars for a couple of reasons: (1) the writing can be a bit overwrought and overly dramatic at times, and sometimes the 10-year old girl sounds more like an adult (or at least a much older teenager); (2) I don't appreciate an author battering my brain with propaganda (even if I agree with their position), especially when it's done in such a brutal way (if animal cruelty bothers you, you may want to reconsider - it's not graphic, but for me, it doesn't need to be).
***very slight spoiler***
I'll also add - I felt like the whole part of the story where Yasmin is driving a huge eighteen-wheeler, in a snowstorm, on the ice road, with a huge load of a housing structure on the back trailer, with absolutely no training whatsoever (just a couple of hours observing another trucker) - completely, totally ABSURD! Yeah - she just climbs up behind the steering wheel and takes off down the road and over the mountains like it's not any different than driving her little Toyota back in Scotland!
And if that doesn't take the cake, she is dragging along her 10-year-old deaf daughter with her, and heading into a huge hurricane-force winds/avalanche inducing storm!
But, ya know, she an astrophysicist, so of course, totally relate-able and transferable skills!
***very slight spoiler***
I'll also add - I felt like the whole part of the story where Yasmin is driving a huge eighteen-wheeler, in a snowstorm, on the ice road, with a huge load of a housing structure on the back trailer, with absolutely no training whatsoever (just a couple of hours observing another trucker) - completely, totally ABSURD! Yeah - she just climbs up behind the steering wheel and takes off down the road and over the mountains like it's not any different than driving her little Toyota back in Scotland!
And if that doesn't take the cake, she is dragging along her 10-year-old deaf daughter with her, and heading into a huge hurricane-force winds/avalanche inducing storm!
But, ya know, she an astrophysicist, so of course, totally relate-able and transferable skills!
The Quality of Silence was an interesting story with a deeply atmospheric setting and the voice of a ten-year-old little girl that made this book special. Ruby and her Mum, Yasmin, have just arrived in Alaska from England when they are told their wildlife photographer husband and father, Matt, has died in a freak fire that has erased an entire village. Refusing to accept this scenario, Yasmin takes Ruby on a frightening journey a la 'Ice Road Truckers' to find Matt.
The narrative alternates between Ruby's and Yasmin's point of view. Ruby is deaf, and following her POV was the highlight of the book for me. She was funny and clever and opened up an entirely different way of thinking about words.
I also enjoyed the style of writing, especially the lyrical descriptions of the unforgiving landscape and the extreme weather.
I wouldn't call this a thriller, though. There was some slowly building suspense and a feeling of dread, but it was more of a family drama with an emphasis on relationships.
I have to admit I skimmed some of the last quarter of the book, as it didn't hold my interest.
Overall, a good book, but not quite riveting enough for 4 stars. This was the first book by Rosamund Lupton that I've read, and I intend to catch up with her other publications. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The narrative alternates between Ruby's and Yasmin's point of view. Ruby is deaf, and following her POV was the highlight of the book for me. She was funny and clever and opened up an entirely different way of thinking about words.
I also enjoyed the style of writing, especially the lyrical descriptions of the unforgiving landscape and the extreme weather.
I wouldn't call this a thriller, though. There was some slowly building suspense and a feeling of dread, but it was more of a family drama with an emphasis on relationships.
I have to admit I skimmed some of the last quarter of the book, as it didn't hold my interest.
Overall, a good book, but not quite riveting enough for 4 stars. This was the first book by Rosamund Lupton that I've read, and I intend to catch up with her other publications. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.