A review by nhdk
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

4.0

This is a surprising book. In a way, there's no conflict, or at least very little till right at the end. Which should make it a very slow dull book, except it's not. It's awesome, and I loved it. The story of the two characters, a deaf teenager and a teenager with anxiety and selective mutism falling in love is so wonderful I read it practically in one sitting. It's a little fairytale, because not a lot goes wrong, but I don't mind because the characters were so full of depth and interesting backstory.

For me it didn't quite get 5 stars because I felt like the plot bubbled away slowly - a bit like the metaphor from the title, quiet thunder, and perhaps that's the point. But for me, I like a bit more tension and conflict. Arguably the characters had enough personal barriers to get over to warrant more in the plot, but for me I just wanted a little more earlier on.

Nevertheless, this was a wonderful guilty read for me, unique characters in a fairytale love story with a super satisfying end.