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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
This was a lovely book. It was a beautiful journey seeing Maya and Beau find their way to each other. Even more so watching Maya take complete ownership of her life and never be a victim of her circumstances.
I really liked this book. I really liked the writing style. I liked the narration and had fun following Maya’s character. I feel like I’ve learned a little more about deaf culture than I knew before. I really liked watching Maya’s friendships with Beau and Nina grow. I liked learning about her past friendships. Before starting this book I was a little afraid a romance might take over the main plotline, and while there is a romance as a central theme I’m glad it was still balanced with the main character navigating the hearing world and her triumphs and struggles. I’ve read books before where the minute a boy is introduced they drop the other plotline to focus on the relationship, only bringing up whatever it is that the character deals with for a big dramatic scene to bring the two together. That kind of thing really annoys me. I really liked seeing how much she cared about her brother and the times she realized her mother was struggling with stress and finances.
Her brother’s health troubles brought back memories of when my brother was a baby and had trouble breathing. Luckily he is 100% fine now, but there were 2 whole years where it was an ongoing thing, and even after that I was still worried about him. One of my earliest memories is when I was six and standing in the doorway crying as the ambulance took him away. (my dad stayed home and my mom went to the hospital)
I do kind of feel like they brushed over the whole collapsed lung thing, like isn’t that life threatening? I wish they would have spent a little more time explaining why he is okay now, but I guess since he isn’t a main character it kind of makes sense. Idk, if one of my siblings had a collapsed lung I’d be flipping out. It would basically be the only thing I’d be able to think about for a week or more because I’d be worried.
Other than that, I think the author handled his problems well. I liked when she showed how worried Maya gets about him, as well as defensive if anyone were to take fun of him or look at him weird. That being said I don’t know anyone personally who has dealt with cystic fibrosis. Someone else might disagree with me on that.
So, overall I really really liked this book. I don’t think I loved it, because I don’t love most books, but this is a book I’ll probably buy one day. I loved the plot, the characters, etc. I look forward to seeing what this author publishes next.
Her brother’s health troubles brought back memories of when my brother was a baby and had trouble breathing. Luckily he is 100% fine now, but there were 2 whole years where it was an ongoing thing, and even after that I was still worried about him. One of my earliest memories is when I was six and standing in the doorway crying as the ambulance took him away. (my dad stayed home and my mom went to the hospital)
I do kind of feel like they brushed over the whole collapsed lung thing, like isn’t that life threatening? I wish they would have spent a little more time explaining why he is okay now, but I guess since he isn’t a main character it kind of makes sense. Idk, if one of my siblings had a collapsed lung I’d be flipping out. It would basically be the only thing I’d be able to think about for a week or more because I’d be worried.
Other than that, I think the author handled his problems well. I liked when she showed how worried Maya gets about him, as well as defensive if anyone were to take fun of him or look at him weird. That being said I don’t know anyone personally who has dealt with cystic fibrosis. Someone else might disagree with me on that.
So, overall I really really liked this book. I don’t think I loved it, because I don’t love most books, but this is a book I’ll probably buy one day. I loved the plot, the characters, etc. I look forward to seeing what this author publishes next.
My only complaint is that towards the very end there were two-three major issues/points of conflict introduced and although the epilogue neatly wraps it all up, I was enjoying the story/writing/characters so much I would have preferred to actually see them overcome the issues rather than just having it all handwaved.
It was great reading this while also reading through Deaf Utopia.
I loved seeing Maya’s growth and her comfortability levels change throughout the book as she re-emerged into a world she had grown accustomed to not being. Seeing how supportive the people around her were, in spite of hiccups in their desires for her, was also realistic yet heartwarming.
I loved seeing Maya’s growth and her comfortability levels change throughout the book as she re-emerged into a world she had grown accustomed to not being. Seeing how supportive the people around her were, in spite of hiccups in their desires for her, was also realistic yet heartwarming.
The Silence Between Us is about Deaf student Maya as she navigates her senior year of high school after moving across the country and starting at a hearing school. As she tries to find her place among her peers, she’s also busy applying for college and helping her single mother take care of her younger brother, who has cystic fibrosis. It’s a somewhat short piece of contemporary fiction that explores high school from the perspective of a Deaf person, which is something that doesn’t appear all that often in YA, or much of any fiction.
As someone hearing, I know there’s a lot about ASL and Deaf culture that I’m unaware of. And while this book doesn’t dive into some of these aspects as much as perhaps I would have liked, I still found it insightful and enjoyed Maya’s perspective. I listened to the audiobook version (which is well-read and of course makes it more widely accessible), and it’s a book I’d like to at least peek inside a paper copy of. Gervais (who herself is hard of hearing) writes out the direct ASL translation (some missing words and grammar tweaks) and includes blanks or spaces of words Maya doesn’t know when lip-reading. From a proofreading standpoint, I’m curious to see how the page is laid out, particularly with the blank words.
While I do have a few complaints about the book—namely its abrupt ending and that it felt somewhat short, with side characters relatively underdeveloped—I still fell in love with the story and Maya’s voice. It’s not a book that speaks for all Deaf and HoH people, of course, but it still offers a perspective on a culture outside my own. The writing style is pretty good for a YA novel, and overall the characters are likable, even if somewhat bland. I wish a few topics had been returned to and developed better—such as Maya’s job search, Jackson’s ignorance, and family/mental stuff with Beau—but honestly, this was the kind of book I needed at this moment: a quick, enjoyable read that didn’t have an abundance of issues I could hyper-focus on and grumble about.
Probably a truer rating is 4.5/5 stars (or possibly even a 4, for the items listed above), but finishing this book this morning has put me in a good mood for the day, and I’m feeling generous and optimistic.
Edit a few hours later: Oops, the real world came crashing in and I realized that yes, five stars is too generous. Minor spoilers in this graf, so be warned. Melissa, Maya’s Deaf friend from her old high school, only exists when Maya has a crisis; nothing going on in Melissa’s life, and we know next to nothing about her. And re: Beau. Additionally, Nina’s sudden scholastic bowl departure felt like she was trying to get out of a friendship she felt was obligatory with Maya. And while I’m glad that wasn’t the case and Nina proved herself a true friend, there wasn’t much else to her aside from “smart hearing friend, female edition.”
On second thought, most of the characters only exist for the sake of Maya’s story, and we get the bare minimum of their development. Still a great book that I highly recommend, but certainly some changes would have benefitted the overall book.
As someone hearing, I know there’s a lot about ASL and Deaf culture that I’m unaware of. And while this book doesn’t dive into some of these aspects as much as perhaps I would have liked, I still found it insightful and enjoyed Maya’s perspective. I listened to the audiobook version (which is well-read and of course makes it more widely accessible), and it’s a book I’d like to at least peek inside a paper copy of. Gervais (who herself is hard of hearing) writes out the direct ASL translation (some missing words and grammar tweaks) and includes blanks or spaces of words Maya doesn’t know when lip-reading. From a proofreading standpoint, I’m curious to see how the page is laid out, particularly with the blank words.
While I do have a few complaints about the book—namely its abrupt ending and that it felt somewhat short, with side characters relatively underdeveloped—I still fell in love with the story and Maya’s voice. It’s not a book that speaks for all Deaf and HoH people, of course, but it still offers a perspective on a culture outside my own. The writing style is pretty good for a YA novel, and overall the characters are likable, even if somewhat bland. I wish a few topics had been returned to and developed better—such as Maya’s job search, Jackson’s ignorance, and family/mental stuff with Beau—but honestly, this was the kind of book I needed at this moment: a quick, enjoyable read that didn’t have an abundance of issues I could hyper-focus on and grumble about.
Probably a truer rating is 4.5/5 stars (or possibly even a 4, for the items listed above), but finishing this book this morning has put me in a good mood for the day, and I’m feeling generous and optimistic.
Edit a few hours later: Oops, the real world came crashing in and I realized that yes, five stars is too generous. Minor spoilers in this graf, so be warned. Melissa, Maya’s Deaf friend from her old high school, only exists when Maya has a crisis; nothing going on in Melissa’s life, and we know next to nothing about her. And re: Beau.
Spoiler
I think the reason he “forgets” his pain meds sometimes is because of guilt over his mom’s death; he’s punishing himself. If his leg hurts so badly that he sometimes falls, then that seems a bit far-fetched that he habitually forgets his meds. Plus he’s an extremely intelligent and well-organized individual. I wish more time had been taken to dive into his guilt over his mother’s death (which I agree he isn’t at all to blame for, but he still carries that guilt) and the frosty relationship with his father. It’s hard for me to believe that he’s not suffering from something like PTSD or anxiety.On second thought, most of the characters only exist for the sake of Maya’s story, and we get the bare minimum of their development. Still a great book that I highly recommend, but certainly some changes would have benefitted the overall book.
Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of The Silence Between Is in exchange for an Honest review.
Alison Gervais's Silence Between Us , takes the reader along as Maya is pushed into a regular school for the first time rather a school for the deaf as the result of a family move. Maya is faced with her fears of such a transition as well as the reality of the situation. I enjoyed this book as I was pushed to consider this GS I had not previously.
Alison Gervais's Silence Between Us , takes the reader along as Maya is pushed into a regular school for the first time rather a school for the deaf as the result of a family move. Maya is faced with her fears of such a transition as well as the reality of the situation. I enjoyed this book as I was pushed to consider this GS I had not previously.
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm not great at writing reviews but I wanted to write a couple of things I really liked.
I really liked that the sign language (ASL not BSL as this is set in America) was glossed instead of written in English. I also liked that when she's lipreading "you... sentences... like this" to represent that she's not catching every word and is extrapolating from the ones she does catch. These are two really strong stylistic choices that I think really help you immerse yourself in Maya's worldview.
One part did feel a bit icky. Early in the book, Maya is (understandably) upset when a deaf girl with a cochlear implant insists she's not deaf, as if it's shameful or a dirty word. But then Maya does the same thing later in the book with the word disabled. The author says in a note at the end that many of the Deaf community don't consider themselves disabled which would be fine if the next sentence wasn't "There is NOTHING wrong with having difficulty hearing." Of course there isn't but there's nothing wrong with being disabled either! As a character it's probably internalised ableism on Maya's part but when the rest of the book is so careful to challenge any prejudices against the Deaf community it felt odd to have this unchallenged.
Anyway, thankfully that was more or less a throwaway line. I really did enjoy this book quite a lot. The characters were great (Melissa in particular, though Maya was also great), I really enjoyed the way language was expressed on the page, and watching the characters get to know each other and learn more about each other and the unique challenges they all faced.
I really liked that the sign language (ASL not BSL as this is set in America) was glossed instead of written in English. I also liked that when she's lipreading "you... sentences... like this" to represent that she's not catching every word and is extrapolating from the ones she does catch. These are two really strong stylistic choices that I think really help you immerse yourself in Maya's worldview.
One part did feel a bit icky. Early in the book, Maya is (understandably) upset when a deaf girl with a cochlear implant insists she's not deaf, as if it's shameful or a dirty word. But then Maya does the same thing later in the book with the word disabled. The author says in a note at the end that many of the Deaf community don't consider themselves disabled which would be fine if the next sentence wasn't "There is NOTHING wrong with having difficulty hearing." Of course there isn't but there's nothing wrong with being disabled either! As a character it's probably internalised ableism on Maya's part but when the rest of the book is so careful to challenge any prejudices against the Deaf community it felt odd to have this unchallenged.
Anyway, thankfully that was more or less a throwaway line. I really did enjoy this book quite a lot. The characters were great (Melissa in particular, though Maya was also great), I really enjoyed the way language was expressed on the page, and watching the characters get to know each other and learn more about each other and the unique challenges they all faced.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness
Minor: Medical content, Death of parent
A lovely book about growing up, being true to yourself, and the stumbles along the way when two people with very different experiences try to understand one another while falling in love.
17yo Maya has been Deaf since an illness about five years ago, and has been attending a school for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) people. Her mom's job moved them--including her little brother who has Cystic Fibrosis--across the country, where it makes logistical sense for her to go to a mainstream "hearing" school. She's content in her skin, but has worries about how she's going to get the education and experiences she needs in that new environment in order to stay on the path to her dream career.
Not to mention how the whole making friends and not totally standing out and being pitied things might get messy.
Enter cute, nice, star pupil Beau. He's close friends with the girl showing Maya around school, and makes deliberate efforts to learn ASL, communicate with her, befriend her. But maybe that's just too confusing to deal with right now?
I really liked how messy things got, because it felt real. Like the reactions of teenagers in the thick of senior year and all the pressure they get internally and externally. So good. So relatable.
Also, once I got into this, I realized I'm fairly certain I've never read a book by a HoH person with a Deaf main character. I was reading ASL instead of traditional novel dialogue at times, and between that and the telling of Maya's story, I feel like I gained good things by picking up this book.
Topics addressed include speed bumps that differently-abled people have to navigate both in daily life and when trying to move into being more independent young adults, the different ways family respond to their child's choices of college/career, friendships, cochlear implants, and more.
A great read for ages 11/12 and up.
17yo Maya has been Deaf since an illness about five years ago, and has been attending a school for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (HoH) people. Her mom's job moved them--including her little brother who has Cystic Fibrosis--across the country, where it makes logistical sense for her to go to a mainstream "hearing" school. She's content in her skin, but has worries about how she's going to get the education and experiences she needs in that new environment in order to stay on the path to her dream career.
Not to mention how the whole making friends and not totally standing out and being pitied things might get messy.
Enter cute, nice, star pupil Beau. He's close friends with the girl showing Maya around school, and makes deliberate efforts to learn ASL, communicate with her, befriend her. But maybe that's just too confusing to deal with right now?
I really liked how messy things got, because it felt real. Like the reactions of teenagers in the thick of senior year and all the pressure they get internally and externally. So good. So relatable.
Also, once I got into this, I realized I'm fairly certain I've never read a book by a HoH person with a Deaf main character. I was reading ASL instead of traditional novel dialogue at times, and between that and the telling of Maya's story, I feel like I gained good things by picking up this book.
Topics addressed include speed bumps that differently-abled people have to navigate both in daily life and when trying to move into being more independent young adults, the different ways family respond to their child's choices of college/career, friendships, cochlear implants, and more.
A great read for ages 11/12 and up.