Book Review #74: A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

Hey Guys x

This is probably the first book that I've ever bought solely based on someone else's review of it. I was not familiar with the author, I didn't really know that much about the story, but when a review popped up on my twitter timeline, based on what they said, I bought the book and ended up reading it in about four days.

Steffi doesn't talk. Rhys can't hear. But this means that they can communicate perfectly. And suddenly, Steffi finds that her once-small world has completely opened up. But can Steffi really fit into Rhys's world if she doesn't even fit into her own?

This book was a weird one for me.

On the one hand, I loved it. I love love stories, and this was one with a difference. It spoke about a lot of issues that aren't talked about a lot, such a deafness, anxiety and selective mutism. But it did this in such a way that not only made you interested, but it made you as the reader want to learn more about all of these issues.

On the other hand, I found it really triggering - which I'll explain further below.

Steffi is probably, for me, the most relatable protagonist I've ever read about. She felt so close to me because I have struggled and do still struggle with a lot of the issues that she does. Even though her issues were a lot worse than mine in some cases, when she is explaining how she feels and what's going through, so much of what she says is exactly how I felt when I was at school.

And reading about something so close was extremely triggering for me, to the point where I almost decided that I wasn't going to finish the book. I basically read it as fast as I could so that I wouldn't have to keep living with the anxiety that it gave me.

But when I forced myself to distance from the character of Steffi, and to read it for exactly what it was (a love story, amongst other things), I really enjoyed it.

I love the characters of Steffi and Rhys. They are both so well created by the author. They are so real and so three-dimensional. Even though the story is only told from Steffi's point of view, you also get to know Rhys really well, and in a way it feels like both of them are the protagonist of the book.

I also loved that this was an unconventional love story, and the subject of the story was two people that you usually don't get to hear from in books like this - whether that's because Rhys is deaf and Steffi has anxiety, or just because these two don't particularly stand out. They aren't the epic love story that will last until the end of time. They are just two people who manage to find each other, and in each other, find so much more.

What was good?
This was an easy book to read. For me, it felt like an escape from the books I usually read - the murder mysteries and complicated thrillers. It was nice to sit down and get into Steffi and Rhys' world.

What was bad?
I didn't really like the character of Tem, Steffi's best friend. While you don't have to like every character in a book, Tem wasn't one that I warmed to. And as I mentioned, because it's so close to me, I don't feel like I could love it as much as I wanted to.

Overall
I'd definitely recommend this book. Whether you just want something easy to read, or something to take your mind off of things, this is a good one.

3/5 Stars

Lou