Reviews

The Quiet is Loud by Samantha Garner

romes's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

i found the constant switch between first- and third-person narration a bit irritating so i didn't really get into a reading flow with this one. other than that it was okay. nothing more, nothing less. 

samhanson's review

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medium-paced

3.5

cl456's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

nicole_the_bookworm's review

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really loved this book - I finished it on the train to Ottawa, and I think I'm going to have to buy my own copy now. 

mezzythedragon's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

Interesting story overall, but moves rather slowly. I could’ve condensed/cut out the flashback chapters, since they slowed down the pacing of the story, and the flow felt choppy as a result. Also, the key memory about Freya’s mom, which served as a catalyst for her power, doesn’t happen until ~100 pages in.

The rift about the dad and Aunt Judith regarding his book felt anticlimactic, imo. Chapters upon chapters hinting the book changing the family dynamic for the worse, and it was  because of…that. 

This story reminds me of X-Men, and when I read the acknowledgements, whaddya know? The author talks about X-Men.

I will say I liked all the Filipino food references. I should make longsilog at some point.

tinamayreads's review

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4.0

THE QUIET IS LOUD by Samantha Garner is a great own voices debut novel! This story is about Freya, a 28 year old Filipino Norwegian Canadian woman, who discovered at the age of ten that she had prophetic dreams and now has finally met some more people with abilities like her own. This is a multi layered story showcasing Freya dealing with issues of racial identity, how people regard the supernatural, and consent and privacy protection. I loved the Canadian setting and the dual timelines. The writing would switch back and forth between the past told in third person and Freya’s present day of 2015 told in first person. I liked how the change in narration reflected how the Freya in the past was a different character to Freya now. She definitely went through many big changes throughout her life and this story is about her most significant change. I really enjoyed the pacing as the chapters were all short however I would prefer to have the page numbers omitted on just the first page of each chapter and not on the adjoining pages too. I found I could easily connect to Freya as we share being mixed raced Canadians. I definitely recommend this book if you’re a fan of Can Lit or speculative fiction!
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Thank you to InvisiBooks for my gifted review copy!

rowdybee's review

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This is a contemporary story of a young woman with a skill no one else has. When the skill begins to change and she loses control, she finally seeks out others like herself. Reading this book felt like I was sitting next to a friend while she told me about her life. I loved every page.

emmasusan's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

mkr's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A fun fiction read. Almost reads like magic realism where the story and characters and grounded in real life and the supernatural elements are additive to our real world. Javi is my favourite character and never I never wanted to root for the romance that did pop up. 

rachmcb's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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