Review: A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

"Mistakes are an unfortunate side effect of actually doing things, but they're usually worth it in the end."

Steffi doesn't talk. 
Rhys can't hear.
They understand each other perfectly. 
Love isn't always a lightning strike. Sometimes it's the rumbling roll of thunder...
The stunning new novel from the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things is a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

A Quiet Kind of Thunder is certainly one of the best books I've read this year. It tells the tale of two wonderful people who need to have their story heard: a socially anxious teenager who struggles to have her voice heard due to her selective mutism and a deaf boy struggling with the challenges of starting sixth form at a main stream hearing school. Despite their communication challenges, the pair support each other and develop a strong bond, speaking through broken sign language and messaging apps. But there's more to their relationship than having difficulties in communicating with the world in common - they're a dynamic duo who understand each other, sharing inside jokes and pushing themselves to bring out the best in each other. This beautiful tale of young love despite exploring two minorities whose voices often go unheard is relatable to all young teens starting a new school, moving on to the next stage in life and falling in love for the first time. 

The most refreshing part of the book is that Steffi's chronic anxiety is not magically cured by a handsome boyfriend. Instead, their strong bond gives her the courage to go out and do the things she's always dreamt of, with the added confidence of someone cheering her on at the sidelines. Additionally, Rhys is not overly reliant on Steffi to communicate, they work together to better themselves. Their young relationship is fresh and new and exciting for them and this is tangible when reading, however it is not overly intense as relationships often are in YA novels, so this was certainly refreshing to read.

I believe this is a really important book to be read as it delicately explores the issue of anxiety and mental health in young people while not glamourising it. Steffi's experience is raw and it's easy to see the difficulties she faces. Young people should read this book to better understand the experience of those around them with anxiety, and also for those who experience similar problems to realise they are not alone and this is something a large number of people unfortunately go through.

Furthermore, this is the first YA book I have read where one of the main characters is deaf. Barnard does an amazing job in bringing disability to the forefront of YA books and handles the topic well. Rhys is just a normal teenager who just happens to be deaf and it's really important that he is portrayed that way so that awareness is raised of the difficulties disabled people face but also of the fact that with support they can lead a normal life. This book also sparked an interest for me in BSL as I think it's important for us to be able to communicate with people from all walks of life.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a coming of age YA novel and also anyone who enjoyed Barnard's first YA book Beautiful Broken Things. If you like the writing style of Holly Bourne, you'll probably love this book.

9/10

This week is mental health awareness week and if you're interested in learning more you can visit https://www.mind.org.uk/ or https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week