(CW; ableism, cancer).

I started reading this book during a very chaotic time in my life, I don't blame the book's contents for taking me 5 months to make it through, however I do think that the general lack of a climactic plot settlement could've contributed to my inability to sit & read it.
I always enjoy own voices novels surrounding disabled main characters & their reflective real-life struggles around that aspect of their character, & this novel was no exception. I felt that the deaf community at large was portrayed with dignity throughout the novel, & the struggles deaf people go through, such as being pressured into surgery in order to hear from others who love them who think they know what is best for them. A lot of themes discussed in this novel are things that had never even crossed my mind. The narration of this novel is very eye-opening.
I found the side-characters in this book to be the main source of plot-development, the main source of enjoyment from the story come from the characters & their relationship with each other. This book mainly involves & relies on character development to hold our focus/attention, Beau is a character who's backstory remains largely unknown, for the narrative reason of creating mystery in order to make us as readers invested in his character, or at least tying up a loose end. If you aren't ready & willing to invest yourself with the characters' interpersonal relationships with each other, then this book will probably be somewhat boring to you.

The Silence Between Us is a clean romance that's appropriate for middle schools, but will also appeal to young adult readers. Moreover, it brings awareness to deaf culture and the importance of deaf students to a diverse student population is often minimalized. Readers will learn a lot from Beau and Maya and will tell their friends about The Silence Between Us.

This book follows a deaf girl and the struggles of having to start at a new school. During the course of this book we follow our main character who gets uprooted from her comfort zone and thrown into chaos. Along the way she makes friends at her new school where people definitely aren't used to a deaf girl being in the same class as them. I loved our main character and the hardships that she had to face. This was a great read that I read in one sitting and if you want a hard hitting contemporary this is the book for you!

100% adored this book. This is an own voices book and is centered around the deaf community. When I was very youn I had to learn sign language because my brother was born with Down Syndrome and many other health issues and it looked like he was also going to be deaf. Luckily with some intervention he ended up being able to hear just fine but I have never forgotten learning to sign and the impact it had on me. I have grown up advocating for people with special needs and impairments so reading this book was very special to me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, Alison Gervais. This book was very touching. It showed me a lot about perspective. When we are different and we see the world different, we can not help to have issues. It was very touching book that depicted how it is like to move to a new school where friendships and love is found.

Thank you again!

I am so surprised I didn't enjoy this one at all. I was so excited to read this. The main character was obnoxious. She was so guarded that she never gave anyone a break including Beau. Beau was always willing to apologize and see her side of things, but she couldn't do the same for him. I thought it was out of character for Beau to do what he did at the end of the book which immediately made me think less of this book than I already had. He is so open and understanding of her so why did his character suddenly do a 180? Everything was such a problem with Maya. Why was every second of this story filled with her having to be combative? Instead of me seeing the struggles people may have in the deaf community this just made me annoyed at this teenage girl. And the romance... Where was it? I don't see why Beau would ever want to be with Maya. She constantly berated or embarrassed him. And he clearly liked her from the beginning and she played it off like she wasn't sure. He literally blushed and started learning sign language because he liked her. Also, what was with the pacing? He suddenly learned a bunch of sign language in like a day? There was some odd passage of time that didn't do anything for the story. I'm just really disappointed overall. How this could have won the Schneider Family Book Award is beyond me.

The Silence Between Us follows a Deaf girl named Maya as she navigates a hearing school for the first time in many years.
I appreciated the book's theme and message that just because someone has a disability does not mean they're miserable or in need of pity, or that they crave to be "normal."
I also found myself a bit torn on how realistic psrt of the story was . I enjoyed learning about the draf community.
Thank you netgalley and blink publishing for my review fopy.

I had a hard time staying interested and relating to the thoughts of the main character. She just wasn’t my favorite;therefore I wasn’t compelled to finish the story.

This is the first YA contemporary that I have read about a Deaf protagonist and is own voices. This book was fantastic! The representation in here is great, and I really related with the main character, Maya. I love how unapologetic she is and how she just goes after what she wants. Also, the cover art is phenomenal! Highly recommend!

This seemed to have all of the ingredients to make an enjoyable read, but for whatever reason, I really could not connect with them. I did not have a problem with each individual part, the plot was good, the characters well fleshed out, and the pacing was fine - again, I think it's just a me problem. I would recommend others to check out the novel and decide for themselves.

So what if this teen romance is predictable?! It's so well written that I stayed up half the night to finish it. I loved how Gervais conveys the three different ways Maya communicates - ASL, writing notes, and lip-reading/speaking. This is also a great cross-cultural book, one I think the TCKs I work with will like. Maya's transition to "hearing school" is similar to those faced by kids starting school in a new language. Maya's story immersed me in deaf culture. Highly recommended for teen readers who want a story of challenges and an ending that makes you smile.

A beautiful contemporary with amazing representation and a heartfelt story that explores hearing and deaf worlds.

Thank you netgalley and publisher for the early copy.

I could not connect with the writing style so I decided to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Blink Publishers for the copy of The Silence Between Us for review.
This is a solid coming of age story of a 17 year old deaf girl who moves from New Jersey to Colorado and has to attend her first hearing school. Like most coming of age stories there was some growth with Maya’s character even though it takes place over a year. Unfortunately, she still kind of came off as needlessly stubborn and arrogant sometimes. I understand as someone coming from a group that is often marginalized she would be a little guarded but I found her exhausting with the chip on her shoulder. I did like the love interest Beau a lot along with the other supporting characters. I learned a lot about sign language, cochlear implants and issues facing the deaf community.
I did find the ending a little abrupt and I wasn’t fond of the epilogue

Thank you NetGalley!

This was a book that tackled matters that I am ashamed to admit, I never really thought about before. The rights of the hearing impaired and the challenges they face.

Maya, who has been death since she was 13, is being forced out of her comfort school and into a "regular" high school with an interpreter. Needless to say, she is less than thrilled. I wanted to like Maya, I really really did, I felt for her and the cards she was dealt. I just couldn't though. She's so angry, mean and with the exception of her brother, she doesn't think of anyone but herself. She left a bad taste in my mouth which is why I think I couldn't get into the book as much as I wanted to.

I do think though, that this does shed a lot of light and opened my eyes to the challenges the hearing imparied face on a daily basis

This was such a well written YA book about the rights of the hearing impaired and the things they face. The main character Maya has to grow on you a bit but she definitely does! I'd recommend this novel!

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

I like that the main character didn’t let her being deaf stop her or make her not try to make her dreams happen or stop her from living life the way she wants and paving her own path in life. The only part that I didn’t really like about this book is that the plot was kind of slow at times.

The Silence Between Us is a rousing young adult novel with a Deaf protagonist who never lets her disability set her back. It explores the challenges of a Deaf/hearing relationship and addresses the strain a sibling’s chronic illness can have on a family.

The Silence Between Us is terrific! Moving to Colorado right before senior year wasn't Maya's first choice, let alone leaving behind her Deaf school to a hearing school. This book gave me Switched at Birth (the show) feelings, it showed the Deaf culture in a positive light and show us a few different points of view. I found it a joy reading about sign language and how the author shows it to us. I know a few of the basic signs, so I could easily see these characters do the signs. The relationship between Maya and Beau is one of the main parts of this book and I did enjoy it. Beau is a hearing boy from her new school and starts learning sign language so he can talk to her. I found that to be very cute. It wasn't rush of pushed too far. I felt that Maya's growth in some areas of her life while other parts I felt she didn't grow enough The Silence Between Us is a loud and proud book of the diverse world of the Deaf culture mix with romance and a coming of age story.


(This review was also in Double the Books Magazine issue Aug.)