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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
3 1/2 stars. This is a frightening story set in the frigid Alaskan Arctic tundra. It's very unusual, combining a story of a family with a 10-year old deaf child with an environmental/political thriller. The oil fracking commentary is important but it's not as effective as the interpersonal story line. The best part of the novel is the internal voice of the child, Ruby; she's is a precocious girl, learning how to navigate the world in spite of being totally deaf. The plot of this novel is a stretch but when Ruby and her astrophysicist mother take off into the hostile frozen north to find her missing father, there is some real tension created. Note - I received this book from Goodreads Giveaways.
I received an ARC of this book via Net Galley
Alaska, fracking, social media and the way loss affects individuals are all featured here. A family of three are drawn to the northern reaches of Alaska. Matt is there by choice, documenting wildlife and learning about the way of life of the Inupia. His wife and daughter,(Yasmin and Ruby, respectively) have arrived for a visit from their native England. They are greeted at the airport with the news he is among the dead in the remote village where he was staying, as are all the other inhabitants. Yasmin is convinced he isn’t dead and along with her deaf daughter, begins a frantic journey on a treacherous highway to find him.
There are many facets of this novel that stretch credibility – would the average person be able to drive an 18-wheeler with a heavy load, much less across an icy narrow highway? Smart as Yasmin seems, this is a bit of a stretch. However, the story of the journey, details of the conflict the parents have over Ruby’s schooling ring true. Ruby’s point of view is also central to this story as is her relationship to her father and these parts of the book are the strongest.
In Ms. Lupton’s previous novels we had families in peril and the same is true in her latest. We as readers are the richer for these journeys.
Alaska, fracking, social media and the way loss affects individuals are all featured here. A family of three are drawn to the northern reaches of Alaska. Matt is there by choice, documenting wildlife and learning about the way of life of the Inupia. His wife and daughter,(Yasmin and Ruby, respectively) have arrived for a visit from their native England. They are greeted at the airport with the news he is among the dead in the remote village where he was staying, as are all the other inhabitants. Yasmin is convinced he isn’t dead and along with her deaf daughter, begins a frantic journey on a treacherous highway to find him.
There are many facets of this novel that stretch credibility – would the average person be able to drive an 18-wheeler with a heavy load, much less across an icy narrow highway? Smart as Yasmin seems, this is a bit of a stretch. However, the story of the journey, details of the conflict the parents have over Ruby’s schooling ring true. Ruby’s point of view is also central to this story as is her relationship to her father and these parts of the book are the strongest.
In Ms. Lupton’s previous novels we had families in peril and the same is true in her latest. We as readers are the richer for these journeys.
What a very, very disappointing experience. I was so excited to read Lupton's newest book. I stumbled upon "Sister" and was delighted. It was lyrical and haunting. It took a relatively common storyline and turned it upside down. I sought out "Afterward" as I was so pleased with "Sister." I was pleasantly surprised that "Afterward" was even better ... just as lyrical, more beautiful and more haunting.
"The Quality of Silence" was such a shocking let down. Lupton took what could have been a beautiful peek into a world that most of us don't know nor even think about. What she did instead was plant her feet firmly on Ruby's back and used her and her world as a soapbox.
Many other reviewers have disliked the book for its unbelievability. That doesn't bother me as much. I don't read for believability ... I am always willing to suspend my disbelief when I read a beautiful story that touches me. This book, however, was not that.
Ruby and her beautiful silent world were joyful. Ruby and Yasmin - Ruby and Matt - Yasmin and Matt - these were all threads that could have been woven into something lovely. The ridiculous plotline could have been ignored if the outcome were about Ruby, her mother and her father. As it was, Lupton chose instead to tie off the those threads to create a trite and, ultimately unmoving and uninformative, STATEMENT.
What a waste ... of a heretofore talented writer with an ability to reach the reader by showing not telling ... of a lovely character with a wonderful story to tell ... of my time and energy.
I would give this zero stars if I were able to.
"The Quality of Silence" was such a shocking let down. Lupton took what could have been a beautiful peek into a world that most of us don't know nor even think about. What she did instead was plant her feet firmly on Ruby's back and used her and her world as a soapbox.
Many other reviewers have disliked the book for its unbelievability. That doesn't bother me as much. I don't read for believability ... I am always willing to suspend my disbelief when I read a beautiful story that touches me. This book, however, was not that.
Ruby and her beautiful silent world were joyful. Ruby and Yasmin - Ruby and Matt - Yasmin and Matt - these were all threads that could have been woven into something lovely. The ridiculous plotline could have been ignored if the outcome were about Ruby, her mother and her father. As it was, Lupton chose instead to tie off the those threads to create a trite and, ultimately unmoving and uninformative, STATEMENT.
What a waste ... of a heretofore talented writer with an ability to reach the reader by showing not telling ... of a lovely character with a wonderful story to tell ... of my time and energy.
I would give this zero stars if I were able to.
Yasmin and Ruby arrived in Fairbanks Alaska to meet Matt, each with different reasons to be anxious for reuniting their family. Matt has been in Alaska for months, photographing the winter wildlife and staying with and learning from Native people in the small village of Anaktue.
When Yasmin and Ruby arrive in Fairbanks, it is only to learn of the tragic fire that has engulfed the entire village and taken the lives of all residents, including Matt. Yasmin’s immediate response is disbelief, how could they know that Matt wasn’t away on one of his filming projects? Even when facts are brought to light that indicate the worst Yasmin holds onto her gut feeling that Matt is still out there, alive. Ruby has been looking forward to creating a blog with her father about all the wildlife they see during her visit, especially as she’s become a target for bullying at her school. The novel switches between different perspectives, mainly those of Yasmin and Ruby and during Ruby’s sections readers get an inside view of a young deaf girl’s perception of the world. Ruby tweets how she sees and tastes words and though she tries to tell her mother how she feels, Yasmin is determined that Ruby, ‘Use her words” with her voice instead of her fingers.
Once it becomes clear that the authorities have given up the search for any survivors, Yasmin decides to find Matt on her own. Once Yasmin and Ruby set out to find Matt, travelling towards the Anaktue, nature becomes their enemy. Travelling the ice road is dangerous in perfect conditions, but a winter storm is bearing down as they set out. Alaska in the heart of winter is completely dark, day and night, making Yasmin and Ruby’s journey seem to comprise one endless night and keeping the pacing taut and the reader pinned to their seat, just as Yasmin and Ruby are trapped in the cab of their truck. Added to the natural elements is another truck driving, who seems to be following them into the storm. Only when they’ve gone too far to turn around does Yasmin realize that not only Matt’s life is in jeopardy and she must figure out a way to protect Ruby, when everything around them seems to be hostile.
The characters of the story are well written and as the story goes on readers are invited further and further into the events that have led up to Yasmin’s desperate journey to find her husband and her belief that he cannot be dead. Through flashbacks as the characters battle the treacherous roads and blizzard conditions of the ice road, we see how Yasmin and Matt met, fell in love and raised Ruby together and what has drawn them apart.
The setting, pacing and character development of the story create a haunting and harrowing novel about survival and love, greed and tragedy. The messages of family understanding and environmental awareness are well intertwined and add rather than detract from the whole of the novel. Aside from the thrilling plot involving Yasmin’s attempts to reach Matt and the plot to silence her, is Yasmin’s growing awareness and revelation about Ruby’s growing independence and perspective, which is highly rewarding and very insightful to read.
When Yasmin and Ruby arrive in Fairbanks, it is only to learn of the tragic fire that has engulfed the entire village and taken the lives of all residents, including Matt. Yasmin’s immediate response is disbelief, how could they know that Matt wasn’t away on one of his filming projects? Even when facts are brought to light that indicate the worst Yasmin holds onto her gut feeling that Matt is still out there, alive. Ruby has been looking forward to creating a blog with her father about all the wildlife they see during her visit, especially as she’s become a target for bullying at her school. The novel switches between different perspectives, mainly those of Yasmin and Ruby and during Ruby’s sections readers get an inside view of a young deaf girl’s perception of the world. Ruby tweets how she sees and tastes words and though she tries to tell her mother how she feels, Yasmin is determined that Ruby, ‘Use her words” with her voice instead of her fingers.
Once it becomes clear that the authorities have given up the search for any survivors, Yasmin decides to find Matt on her own. Once Yasmin and Ruby set out to find Matt, travelling towards the Anaktue, nature becomes their enemy. Travelling the ice road is dangerous in perfect conditions, but a winter storm is bearing down as they set out. Alaska in the heart of winter is completely dark, day and night, making Yasmin and Ruby’s journey seem to comprise one endless night and keeping the pacing taut and the reader pinned to their seat, just as Yasmin and Ruby are trapped in the cab of their truck. Added to the natural elements is another truck driving, who seems to be following them into the storm. Only when they’ve gone too far to turn around does Yasmin realize that not only Matt’s life is in jeopardy and she must figure out a way to protect Ruby, when everything around them seems to be hostile.
The characters of the story are well written and as the story goes on readers are invited further and further into the events that have led up to Yasmin’s desperate journey to find her husband and her belief that he cannot be dead. Through flashbacks as the characters battle the treacherous roads and blizzard conditions of the ice road, we see how Yasmin and Matt met, fell in love and raised Ruby together and what has drawn them apart.
The setting, pacing and character development of the story create a haunting and harrowing novel about survival and love, greed and tragedy. The messages of family understanding and environmental awareness are well intertwined and add rather than detract from the whole of the novel. Aside from the thrilling plot involving Yasmin’s attempts to reach Matt and the plot to silence her, is Yasmin’s growing awareness and revelation about Ruby’s growing independence and perspective, which is highly rewarding and very insightful to read.
I'm torn between a 3 and a 4 so we'll have to just say 3.5! To be fair I usually rate quite high, so need to pull it down a bit and found that I couldn't compare this to some of the other books I'd rated 4 stars.
4-Star Worthy Things
IT WAS SO TENSE!
I couldn't put it down. We're talking about two thirds of the book where Yasmin and Ruby are in the darkness and it is properly stressful!! I Could Not Put It Down (and had in my head this was going to be a 5 star [b:The Ice Twins|23553419|The Ice Twins|S.K. Tremayne|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415872674s/23553419.jpg|42439923]-type cracker).
I also really loved how Lupton presented Ruby's deafness. All the things about her voice being her signing and not her speaking even though Yasmin desperately wanted her to learn to speak to be able to fit in with the rest of the world. Screw the rest of the world, Ruby's awesome! Also the idea of how words look, taste and feel was so interesting, I loved Ruby's Twitter - is it real? It should be real!
3-Star Worthy Things
Ohhh the ending just ruined it! The tension had peaked to an almost unbearable level, then suddenlyMatt appears! That would have been an excellent twist, had Lupton not then spent about 100-150 pages explaining how Matt had survived in such a long drawn out way, followed by a rather dull 101 Reasons Not To Frack. The tension literally evaporated. Not to mention Yasmin and Ruby's stalker turning out to be Mr I Heart American Oil. The idea of it being the creepy blonde guy from the beginning was far more terrifying, and while I would have been pretty freaked out if it had been him, it would have been a lot more interesting! The real conspiracy just felt a bit...pedestrian.
Perhaps because the author did such a fantastic job of creating this almost supernatural hell that Yasmin and Ruby have been sprinting through for most of the book (my idea of hell anyway), the real explanation was a bit too...plausible! I wish that they had found him, got him home, and just lived to tell the tale of this horrible darkness, rather than faffing around debating the evils of the oil industry. I appreciate for any who are more personally affected by the fracking debate that this will be an area of passion, but for me I felt a bit "Oh. Is that it? Ok. Well yeah there are assholes like that out there. What's you point?"
Even with Ruby and Captain Grayling's final hurrah, I'd just lost the absorption I'd felt for the rest of the novel - I had no doubt in my mind that Ruby would be fine (fingers included) because I wasn't feeling any tension anymore, and I didn't really care about Grayling because he was just weak and boring. Boooo
I can't deny that Lupton has done an excellent job in creating one of the most tense books I've read, but sadly she lost it a bit at the end. Such a shame!
4-Star Worthy Things
IT WAS SO TENSE!
I couldn't put it down. We're talking about two thirds of the book where Yasmin and Ruby are in the darkness and it is properly stressful!! I Could Not Put It Down (and had in my head this was going to be a 5 star [b:The Ice Twins|23553419|The Ice Twins|S.K. Tremayne|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415872674s/23553419.jpg|42439923]-type cracker).
I also really loved how Lupton presented Ruby's deafness. All the things about her voice being her signing and not her speaking even though Yasmin desperately wanted her to learn to speak to be able to fit in with the rest of the world. Screw the rest of the world, Ruby's awesome! Also the idea of how words look, taste and feel was so interesting, I loved Ruby's Twitter - is it real? It should be real!
3-Star Worthy Things
Ohhh the ending just ruined it! The tension had peaked to an almost unbearable level, then suddenly
Perhaps because the author did such a fantastic job of creating this almost supernatural hell that Yasmin and Ruby have been sprinting through for most of the book (my idea of hell anyway), the real explanation was a bit too...plausible! I wish that they had found him, got him home, and just lived to tell the tale of this horrible darkness, rather than faffing around debating the evils of the oil industry. I appreciate for any who are more personally affected by the fracking debate that this will be an area of passion, but for me I felt a bit "Oh. Is that it? Ok. Well yeah there are assholes like that out there. What's you point?"
Even with Ruby and Captain Grayling's final hurrah, I'd just lost the absorption I'd felt for the rest of the novel - I had no doubt in my mind that Ruby would be fine (fingers included) because I wasn't feeling any tension anymore, and I didn't really care about Grayling because he was just weak and boring. Boooo
I can't deny that Lupton has done an excellent job in creating one of the most tense books I've read, but sadly she lost it a bit at the end. Such a shame!
There's something about the wilderness and the bitter cold that can seem both beautiful and terrifying. When you think of all the dangers that come with that combination (frostbite, starvation, hypothermia, etc.) and the complete isolation of being in a place that is just too wild and remote to maintain any sort of modern civilization, it's easy to see why people are fascinated with books and movies related to the subject. Into the Wild, The Revenant, The Terror, and everything written by Jack London are some of my favorite stories to read from the safety of my heated home in the dead of winter.
I was hoping Quality of Silence might join the shelf of cold weather favorites, but that was clearly not meant to be. While I initially felt drawn to the story, there were a lot of issues to be had with both the plot and the structure of the novel, both of which ultimately fell flat for me by the story's finale.
For the first half of the novel, the environment and the author's description of its unwelcoming violence keeps the story afloat. Lupton is able to maintain that underlying feeling of danger for the characters through the bitter cold temperatures and the (slightly cliched) impending snow storm.
Suddenly the blackness lightened. The clouds, blown by the harsh wind, had separated and illuminated the mountains. In the half light, she saw how high they were and the sheer drop down a precipice, barely three feet from the left side of the road. She wished it had remained dark so that she didn't have to see the violent terrain, a scene from a gothic tale, nothing soft or hospitable, which dwarfed her into nothing.
Unfortunately, descriptions of the deadly Alaskan wilderness were not something that could keep the story going on its own. And while I did enjoy both Ruth and Yasmin's characters, there was a lot that was so implausible about the events in the novel that even my appreciation for the mother/daughter duo wasn't enough to keep me fully engaged.
When Yasmin and Ruby arrive in Alaska, the reader learns that this decision was made in haste after Yasmin learns of an act of infidelity that her husband, Matt, has shared with her during one of their brief,strained phone conversations.
She'd traveled halfway round the globe to tell him that he had to come home, right now, that she didn't believe him that nothing more would happen with the Inupiaq woman and she wasn't going to stand by on the other side of the world as this woman destroyed their family.
The woman's name? Corazon - I'm not kidding. And Matt's reasoning for the indiscretion of a stolen kiss?
I kissed her because I missed you.
So this is where Lupton started to lose me a bit. A woman has no choice but to take her 10 year old daughter with her to Alaska to confront her husband about kissing a woman who's name translates to heart. While there are hints of marriage difficulties as the story progresses, I found it hard to swallow that Yasmin would need to take such drastic measures when her husband was the one who made the decision to separate from his family for months as part of a work endeavor. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound like someone I'd go running after. Perhaps this piece of the story was meant to demonstrate Yasmin's strength and perseverance, but it had the opposite effect on me in terms of logic.
Upon being told that Matt has been presumed dead after a catastrophic fire breaks out in the village he was staying, Yasmin clings to the belief that he is alive and sets out to find him. Ruby obviously adores her father and is happy to move along with her mother's plan. Because of the remoteness of the village, they must find someone to take them as far North as possible and that's where Adeeb Azizi's character is first introduced.
Mr. Azizi is a refugee from Afghanistan who owns his own 18-wheeler and travels dangerous distances to deliver ready-made houses for oil workers. While I found Adeeb to be one of the more dynamic characters in the novel, I also found it interesting that Lupton would specifically choose the one trustworthy character to be from the Middle East in a land of oil rigging companies. Clearly, this was most likely meant to make a silent statement, but I found his part in the story to be too brief to have the impact it should.
Up through Adeeb's role in the story, The Quality of Silence held me fairly captivated despite the complaints I make above. Lupton's creation of the treacherous environment and the underlying threat that seems to come from Yasmin's interactions with some of the men she and Ruby encounter were enough to heighten the suspense of the novel. Unfortunately, these details weren't enough to maintain my interest once events unfolded and ended up with Yasmin suddenly able to drive an 18-wheeler in deadly conditions just because she is an astrophysicist.
Because I chose to read the second half of the novel in one sitting, I also started to notice details that became repetitive enough to make me doubt my sanity. Perhaps Lupton chose this tactic as a way to maintain the tension she initially builds when the reader learns that Yasmin and Ruby may be being followed by someone who wishes to harm them, but I found it to be extremely distracting.
Yasmin knew now that Matt had told her the truth about his wedding ring and about coming out her in winter to film wildlife, and he'd told Ruby that he could make an aputiak. She believed him now about all of it. Trusting Matt meant that he had a chance of being safe.
The above statements about the wedding ring and filming wildlife are brought up way too much during the second half of the book. Although it's made clear that Yasmin's hope for her husband surviving the fire is helping to keep her afloat, it was repetitive enough to irritate me. It felt like something that could have been edited down to avoid becoming so redundant.
Ultimately, The Quality of Silence showed potential in the beginning, but there was too much about the plot I found implausible to really become immersed in the story. From reading an interview with Lupton, it sounds like the idea behind this novel came from her horror of the impact the fracking industry has on not only people who live in remote areas of Alaska, but the animals and environment as well. While I know many authors often get inspiration this way, I wonder if the topic could have been dealt with in a different manner rather than masked in a psychological thriller.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
I was hoping Quality of Silence might join the shelf of cold weather favorites, but that was clearly not meant to be. While I initially felt drawn to the story, there were a lot of issues to be had with both the plot and the structure of the novel, both of which ultimately fell flat for me by the story's finale.
For the first half of the novel, the environment and the author's description of its unwelcoming violence keeps the story afloat. Lupton is able to maintain that underlying feeling of danger for the characters through the bitter cold temperatures and the (slightly cliched) impending snow storm.
Suddenly the blackness lightened. The clouds, blown by the harsh wind, had separated and illuminated the mountains. In the half light, she saw how high they were and the sheer drop down a precipice, barely three feet from the left side of the road. She wished it had remained dark so that she didn't have to see the violent terrain, a scene from a gothic tale, nothing soft or hospitable, which dwarfed her into nothing.
Unfortunately, descriptions of the deadly Alaskan wilderness were not something that could keep the story going on its own. And while I did enjoy both Ruth and Yasmin's characters, there was a lot that was so implausible about the events in the novel that even my appreciation for the mother/daughter duo wasn't enough to keep me fully engaged.
When Yasmin and Ruby arrive in Alaska, the reader learns that this decision was made in haste after Yasmin learns of an act of infidelity that her husband, Matt, has shared with her during one of their brief,strained phone conversations.
She'd traveled halfway round the globe to tell him that he had to come home, right now, that she didn't believe him that nothing more would happen with the Inupiaq woman and she wasn't going to stand by on the other side of the world as this woman destroyed their family.
The woman's name? Corazon - I'm not kidding. And Matt's reasoning for the indiscretion of a stolen kiss?
I kissed her because I missed you.
So this is where Lupton started to lose me a bit. A woman has no choice but to take her 10 year old daughter with her to Alaska to confront her husband about kissing a woman who's name translates to heart. While there are hints of marriage difficulties as the story progresses, I found it hard to swallow that Yasmin would need to take such drastic measures when her husband was the one who made the decision to separate from his family for months as part of a work endeavor. Call me crazy, but that doesn't sound like someone I'd go running after. Perhaps this piece of the story was meant to demonstrate Yasmin's strength and perseverance, but it had the opposite effect on me in terms of logic.
Upon being told that Matt has been presumed dead after a catastrophic fire breaks out in the village he was staying, Yasmin clings to the belief that he is alive and sets out to find him. Ruby obviously adores her father and is happy to move along with her mother's plan. Because of the remoteness of the village, they must find someone to take them as far North as possible and that's where Adeeb Azizi's character is first introduced.
Mr. Azizi is a refugee from Afghanistan who owns his own 18-wheeler and travels dangerous distances to deliver ready-made houses for oil workers. While I found Adeeb to be one of the more dynamic characters in the novel, I also found it interesting that Lupton would specifically choose the one trustworthy character to be from the Middle East in a land of oil rigging companies. Clearly, this was most likely meant to make a silent statement, but I found his part in the story to be too brief to have the impact it should.
Up through Adeeb's role in the story, The Quality of Silence held me fairly captivated despite the complaints I make above. Lupton's creation of the treacherous environment and the underlying threat that seems to come from Yasmin's interactions with some of the men she and Ruby encounter were enough to heighten the suspense of the novel. Unfortunately, these details weren't enough to maintain my interest once events unfolded and ended up with Yasmin suddenly able to drive an 18-wheeler in deadly conditions just because she is an astrophysicist.
Because I chose to read the second half of the novel in one sitting, I also started to notice details that became repetitive enough to make me doubt my sanity. Perhaps Lupton chose this tactic as a way to maintain the tension she initially builds when the reader learns that Yasmin and Ruby may be being followed by someone who wishes to harm them, but I found it to be extremely distracting.
Yasmin knew now that Matt had told her the truth about his wedding ring and about coming out her in winter to film wildlife, and he'd told Ruby that he could make an aputiak. She believed him now about all of it. Trusting Matt meant that he had a chance of being safe.
The above statements about the wedding ring and filming wildlife are brought up way too much during the second half of the book. Although it's made clear that Yasmin's hope for her husband surviving the fire is helping to keep her afloat, it was repetitive enough to irritate me. It felt like something that could have been edited down to avoid becoming so redundant.
Ultimately, The Quality of Silence showed potential in the beginning, but there was too much about the plot I found implausible to really become immersed in the story. From reading an interview with Lupton, it sounds like the idea behind this novel came from her horror of the impact the fracking industry has on not only people who live in remote areas of Alaska, but the animals and environment as well. While I know many authors often get inspiration this way, I wonder if the topic could have been dealt with in a different manner rather than masked in a psychological thriller.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
Ah, this book. I picked it up because the author shares her first name with my partner AND because one of the main characters is a deaf child, something I can identify with.
Lupton's writing style is great and flowing, though the constant switch between points of view in the beginning was a bit confusing. Still, there's nothing wrong with the book stylistically.
My problems with it are:
1) Yasmin's attitude towards Ruby's deafness (starting with this point since it's not spoilery). I can understand that as a mother, Yasmin wants all that's best for Ruby but dear god, she was alienating her child by refusing to see that sign language is a perfectly fine way to communicate - a valid way and one that gives voice to Ruby (aka the reasoning Yasmin used behind her nagging for Ruby to use her voice). Ruby's world is silent and her words come out in shapes rather than sounds. It annoyed me greatly that Yasmin couldn't put herself in Ruby's shoes and understand that UNTIL she experienced the great silence of Alaska, or whatever it was that changed her mind in the book. This is because I'm deaf and I'm sick and tired of hearing people behaving like deafness is something to be "fixed" but Yasmin's character and behaviour spoiled the book for me.
2) White saviour routine
While the Inupiaq people all died, Matt survived because he was away - fair enough, plot point and all. What I couldn't stand is how Lupton used a white character to show how devastating the fraking accident was. How hard would it have been for her to make Matt a POC? He's from England but by gods, that does not mean he should be automatically white. While the book mentions that the Inupiaq people were rallying against the fraking company, it was only told to use from the point of view of a white, middle-class male and it just ticked me off.
Ruby herself was a delightful character whom I absolutely loved and identified with. Unfortunately, that isn't enough to bring my review to even two stars.
Lupton's writing style is great and flowing, though the constant switch between points of view in the beginning was a bit confusing. Still, there's nothing wrong with the book stylistically.
My problems with it are:
1) Yasmin's attitude towards Ruby's deafness (starting with this point since it's not spoilery). I can understand that as a mother, Yasmin wants all that's best for Ruby but dear god, she was alienating her child by refusing to see that sign language is a perfectly fine way to communicate - a valid way and one that gives voice to Ruby (aka the reasoning Yasmin used behind her nagging for Ruby to use her voice). Ruby's world is silent and her words come out in shapes rather than sounds. It annoyed me greatly that Yasmin couldn't put herself in Ruby's shoes and understand that UNTIL she experienced the great silence of Alaska, or whatever it was that changed her mind in the book. This is because I'm deaf and I'm sick and tired of hearing people behaving like deafness is something to be "fixed" but Yasmin's character and behaviour spoiled the book for me.
2) White saviour routine
Ruby herself was a delightful character whom I absolutely loved and identified with. Unfortunately, that isn't enough to bring my review to even two stars.