The Silence Between Us follows a Deaf girl named Maya as she navigates a hearing school for the first time in many years. I was initially excited for this book because of the disability rep. The author, Alison Gervais, is hard of hearing, and I think that she did a great job at representing a Deaf main character. There were so many little things that added to the experience, from the choppier way conversations in sign were represented, to how you only were able to read the words that Maya saw while lip-reading, instead of the full sentences that people were speaking. It really helped me get a feel for how Maya’s communication as a Deaf girl differs from those that are hearing.

That being said, throughout the book I found it very hard to connect to Maya as a character. There are some points of the book where it felt like we were supposed to feel sympathy or sadness, but the writing just did not help deliver that. There was nothing in the story itself that made me care, or want to keep reading very much. The characters and storyline never quite made me want to keep reading more. It wasn’t so much that it was a bad book, it’s more that it was a little bit boring at times.

One part of the book that highlights the underdevelopment of the plot and characters was Maya’s little brother, Connor. Her younger brother was a major character for the book plot-wise, with his cystic fibrosis being the reason the family moved to Colorado in the first place, and his illness being the reason Maya wants to become a respiratory therapist. However, despite all of that, he just wasn’t developed enough to make me feel much of anything. There was never a time that we felt that I felt the depth of his illness and its effects. It was all very surface level.

And as for the plot, there wasn’t much going on. What is mentioned in the synopsis on Goodreads, doesn’t even happen till pretty much the end of the book. This just made the book feel like it dragged on, and like not much was happening, partially because nothing much was happening. The synopsis mentions a romance, struggles with college, and debate over a cochlear implant. Those things don’t really come into play until much later and weren’t as big a deal as I expected.

I know that all these negatives might make it seem that it’s not a good book. But honestly, it’s not a bad book. The main reason why I didn’t give it a higher rating is that it could have been so much better! As I mentioned the representation was fantastic, and the idea of the plot was very good, but I just felt that the execution was lacking. I gave it 2 stars since it took me a lot longer to read than I would have liked, otherwise it would have gotten 3 stars.

I still would recommend this book, since it just seems like this was a case of it’s not you, it’s me. While this book fell a little flat for me, I'd still recommend reading it just for the awesome disability representation.

This was a very cute contemporary YA book. The big difference as far as characters go is that the main character is deaf. There is a lot about deaf culture and ASL, etc. in the book that most readers may not be familiar with, so in that respect it was extremely informative. For me, personally, it felt a little bit derivative of an old TV show called Switched at Birth. The main character being deaf, wanting to graduate high school and go to college to study for entrance into a medical field, and the emphasis on not wanting a cochlear implant are all things that I saw in the TV show. This is why I gave the book 3 stars, because to me it didn't really feel new or fresh. However, for someone not familiar with the ABC Family show the book will probably have a much greater impact. And it was well written, and a quick read, so I would still recommend it to someone wanting a slightly different from the norm YA contemporary.

Thank you Netgalley and Blink for sending me a complimentary digital copy of this book.

3.5 stars

After years of attending school for the deaf, Maya, who recently moved to Colorado, has to attend a regular school for the first time in her life and she isn't too thrilled about it. With her dreams for getting into college and becoming a respiratory therapist, Maya has never considered herself disabled. However her classmates and teachers do not seem to understand that and hence, she is a constant subject of their pity or insensitivity. But then there are Nina and Beau who don't treat her differently. In fact, Beau seems to make extra effort to learn sign language and get to know and understand her better. Yet their world are very different and no matter how much efforts Beau puts in, there are somethings he can never understand. As Maya starts developing feelings for him, she starts questioning if they can really look past the differences and be together despite of everything.

This book was so wonderfully written. I loved each and every character in this book. They are all precious. I loved how masterfully the author addressed the struggles of a hearing impaired person in the world of hearing people. There are so many things I learned from this book that I did not know before. Maya's brother has cystic fibrosis which is another great representation. Beau is so adorable and I loved how much willing he was to learn about Maya's world. In fact, each and every character of this book was so supportive and nice.

Maya is a nice protagonist who has many great qualities. I love how she stands up for herself and does not take anyone's shit. Her bond with her mom and brother is also beautiful. But I also felt she was too unkind and rude sometimes. She always expected other people to understand her but she failed to do just the same for others. She was hostile towards Beau right from the beginning even through he was being really sweet. She was even rude to Nina when she met her the first time in the principal's office. Maya often came off as self centered person who was constantly thinking of her struggles without being aware of the struggles of the people around her. She also kind of disrespectful towards people with CI.

Maya and Beau are totally adorable together. I loved all the interactions between them. I wish we got more glimpses of Beau's relationship with his dad and what really went down when he told him about his future plans.

Overall, this was a great book with representations. Even through I had issues with some parts, I thoroughly enjoyed most of it and learned so much. I would definitely recommend it.

I loved this book. Maya is a strong young adult starting her senior year, and she is having to adjust to many changes in her life. Maya has spent her junior high and high school years in a deaf school. Now along with moving across the country, she is suddenly going to a "hearing" school as the only deaf student.
I've loved how the author showed Maya's fears without making her seem weak. I'm excited that this book will soon be on our library shelves. I will be highly recommending the book to our students. Great read!! 5 Stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Blink YA Books for providing an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much Blink publishing for sending me this eARC to review through Netgalley.

3.25 / 5 stars

Maya is crushed when she learns that she must move to Colorado for her final year of high school. Maya must transition from a Deaf school to a hearing school. Maya lost her hearing at a young age, but she is not sad by the outcome of her loss of hearing. Maya is proud to be deaf and the community that welcomed her in with open arms. As Maya navigates a hearing school and new environment she must decide if she wants to give her new classmates a chance to know her.

I love the discussion that occurs within this novel about Deaf culture and community. I believe that Deaf culture, customs, and community are fairly-well represented. Sign language is included in this novel in an accurate form. I also appreciated how some of the spoken sentences had words omitted to show how Maya is not always able to lip-read as people speak to her. This gives the reader a glimpse at how hard it can be to understand things that are omitted due to trouble with communication. This novel discusses real, important subject matter in regard to Deaf people and representation.

I would like to clarify how Maya is deaf and not Deaf. Deaf refers to someone who has never been able to hear. When deaf is not capitalized, it refers to someone who has lost their hearing. It may also represent those with a cochlear implant, but I am not exactly sure how this is represented. Regardless, I am no expert but the Deaf and deaf community is very close to my heart. I loved the representation for Maya and how her deafness was represented.

I do want to mention how I think Maya was a little too close-minded at times. As a deaf person who was once hearing, she seemed to discourage hearing people from getting close to her at times, or trying to communicate with her through her language of sign. I know that she was nervous during this transition, but her attitude came off almost a bit rude and cold at times. Maya was always quick to judge and jump to conclusions.

Some inclusions in this novel do not make much sense. Maya’s brother has cystic fibrosis and he is moved to a colder, higher elevated environment. It is hard for him to breathe at times and this environment begins to hurt his health even more. Why would their mother do this? She seems to genuinely care for her children; so why is this present? No job is worth hurting and impacting your child’s health. Also, there is some unnecessary drama at the end of this. The subject of cochlear implants is discussed at times in the novel, and it plays a role towards the end. All I will say is that the unnecessary drama relates to something with the love interest, and it felt totally off base. I could clearly tell that it was the author injecting this in and changing the character a bit do work with this topic. I know the character that was presented up until that moment never would have done this. It was so unnecessary and it all felt ridiculous for the author to add it at that point. The ending was okay but not as good due to this unfortunate addition.

Overall I enjoyed the representation and discussion most of the time. Good points and topic are discussed throughout the novel. I appreciated the relationships of friendship that slowly progress in the novel. I would recommend this.

Maya is not pleased about being the new girl for her senior year, halfway across the country. She's even less pleased to be the only Deaf student at her new school. While she is initially reluctant and prickly towards her new environment and the people she interacts with, things start to look up as she makes friends with Nina, who was initially assigned as a peer mentor for her first day, and student body president, Beau. Maya works hard at school, because she wants to be a respiratory therapist to help kids like her little brother, who has cystic fibrosis. She knows that there are many challenges that face her in reaching this goal, and at her new school she is already facing some of them. Microaggressions, misinformation, ignorance, and lack of accessibility have always been challenges for her, but now it seems to come full force. And why is Mr. Overachiever Beau learning sign? Could this be the beginning of his fabulous college application essay, befriending the new Deaf girl? Or is he doing it for honest reasons?

I devoured this novel, and loved every moment of it! A brilliant novel with a fantastic voice and cast, Gervais has majestically portrayed her own experiences as someone who struggles to live in a hearing world while d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing. Also a brilliant job portraying Deaf history (through an amazing presentation from Maya about the Deaf President Now movement), differing views towards Cochlear Implants, and why technology isn't always the greatest when it comes to making the world truly accessible (Does anyone have a truly functional VRI????). My undergrad senior thesis was about why American Sign Language needed to be taught in more schools and count as a foreign language, and most of my research came from d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing voices like Gervais, so while not much of this information was new to me, I felt Maya's frustration even more keenly.

Maya herself is such a strongly written character, her emotions almost tangible, almost as if they are the reader's responses, not a character in a book. Maya is probably the most realistic character I have ever encountered in fiction.

Fantastic story, fantastic characters, fantastic writing, and let's not forget a fantastic cover! (For those who do not know sign, the sign portrayed on the cover is the American Sign Language sign for 'friend', very fitting for this book.) I eagerly await what Alison Gervais will write next!

The Silence Between Us was a quick read for me, taking less than a full day to read it. Once I was a couple chapters into the book, I found it really hard to put down! It's a YA story about a deaf girl, Maya, who has to attend a "hearing" school for her senior year after years of attending a school for the deaf. Maya is a strong character, and presents a positive image of a deaf person who does not let her condition stop her from doing anything. Through the story, she is able to make new friends and even develop a romance. I really enjoyed the characters and the interactions between them, bridging the gap despite the communication challenges. In the story we learn about ASL and other deaf culture, as well as the mixed feelings about cochlear implants, which are topics I have not seen in other books. We are also introduced into the world of Cystic Fibrosis through Maya's brother, Connor. As a parent of a visually impaired child, it is wonderful to see a strong, differently abled character in a positive light and overcoming her challenges. I recommend this book to teens and adults alike!

I received a free review copy of this book through NetGalley, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

This is the perfect ya novel dealing with hearing, family, and friendship. It has taken a place on my favorite contemporary reads shelf.
The characters were the strongest point of Gervais's writing, from Maya's brother to Melissa. They all showed their strengths and weaknesses in ways that made you hurt or cheer for them.
I loved how this story was an #ownvoices novel and that the author did a phenomenal job portraying the sign so that everyone could understand. Everything about how Maya and her friends communicated was precise and to the point.
This review is being written a week after the book is read and I'm still thinking about the story. That is what shows how amazing this novel was. I would recommend finding a copy of this as soon as it releases. You won't regret it.

Rating: 5 Stars
Content: 5 Stars

*I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher. A positive review was not required and all thoughts are my own.

I found Maya very annoying and judgmental for a lot of this book. She judges everyone based on the fact they are hearing. She knows nothing about them, their home lives or what they are going through. She thinks she’s the only one who life is hard for just because she’s deaf.
I like how Nina and Beau try with her and they learn sign language. Beau tries so hard with Maya from the beginning. I don’t know how he doesn’t give up on her. She’s even horrible with her own mother. She knows her mom is taking care of her brother who has cystic fibrosis but she doesn’t care she gives her a hard time. Her mom knows he sick her son is but still moves them to a place that is not ideal for him.
There is a turning point where I did start to like Maya. Life is hard for her because she is deaf and people make assumptions they shouldn’t about her. I like that she can read lips and calls someone out when he’s talking about her in class.
A different good, I really enjoyed it. I would recommend it.

Such a beautiful story of strength in the face of differences, love, and friendship. Gervais does a wonderful job of highlighting unknown qualms between the hearing and deaf community that will make readers more empathetic to the deaf community. Maya, the deaf main character, can be a bit headstrong but her walls get broken down as romance and friendships bloom.

I enjoyed this. Good #ownvoices Deaf rep, solid writing, cute cover, and characters that seemed realistic without being too obnoxious. Overall, a nice read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blink Publishing for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Silence Between Us by Alison Gervais follows Maya, a deaf teen who's just moved from New Jersey to Colorado and is attending a new school. While the plot's bare bones are pretty much standard, Maya's deafness brings a new light to an old story. Seeing her navigate a new school while being deaf and using an interpreter is something a lot of readers won't have seen before.

I'm obviously not the intended audience for this book, as I'm a woman in her late 20s. I found there were some things I liked about this, but I have to say that it felt a bit repetitive and bit vague. One thing that jumped out is that for Christmas, Maya's mom buys her "box set of her favorite TV show," and as a reader, it would've been a better detail to include what that favorite show was. Even if it's Friends or something like that, it gives us insight into what Maya likes as a person.

I enjoyed the discussions in the book about being deaf and liking who she is, and I think it's a new message for a lot of young readers. I'd read a book right before this with a hard-of-hearing character, so I had already encountered a similar character before.

Overall, I think this book is good, but could've used a finer edit to clean up some of the repetition and vagueness. I do think that a lot of teens will get something new out of it though.

I can not wait to share this title with my students. Maya's story grabbed me quickly, I knew almost the moment I started that I would not put this book down until I finished it. I learned so much about how my deaf students experience the world around them. I'm gobsmacked. I could not wait to read to the end to know the outcome and when I got there, I was so sorry to have Maya's story end. I'd love to see a sequel to some other characters' stories, especially Maya's brother and mother, will be completed.

The Silence Between Us
by Alison Gervais
Blink
Teens & YA
Pub Date 13 Aug 2019


I am reviewing a copy of The Silence Between Us through Blink and Netgalley:



For five years Maya has attended a school for the Deaf, but now during her Senior year they haves moved and she must attend a hearing school because the deaf High School is over an hour away. Leaving behind Pratt School for the Deaf where she has been a student for years only to go and attend a hearing school which is worse. Maya has dreams of breaking into the medical field and is determined to get the grades and a college degree to match, she’s never thought of being Deaf a disability. But her teachers and classmates at Engelmann High don’t seem to share her optimism.




There’s Beau Watson Englemann’s Student body president, when he learns ASL, Maya can’t help wonder if he has a hidden agenda or if he truly wants to communicate with her. She does find it nice to be able to sign with someone when she has to lip read all the time, but Maya has always been told Deaf/Hearing relationships do not work!





There are clear differences in Beau and Maya’s world, and when Maya passes up on a chance to get a Cochlear Implant, Beau has trouble understanding why. It hurts Maya that Beau does not understand, she’s proud to be deaf, and doesn’t understand why Beau wants to change her.


I give The Silence Between Us five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This was amazing! I love the fact that all the dialogue was written according to ASL grammar rather than be translated into standard English like many books do.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced reading copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
I was excited to get to read this book because I don’t know of any other contemporaries set around a deaf main character. I can speak from experience, but it seemed like Gervais did a very good job of representing the deaf community and the obstacles deaf people have to go through every day. Beyond that, though, she made it very clear that deaf people can do everything a hearing person do (except hear, but you see what I mean). I was also really happy when I discovered that the main character, Maya, moved from New Jersey to Colorado. That’s the opposite of what I did for college! It was cool to see some Colorado names that I recognized and the beautiful landscape was featured, of course.
The actual book was enjoyable, just not exactly anything special. Nothing really stood out to me and the characters and storyline felt very flat to me. Even Maya wasn’t very interesting except for her lack of hearing and deafness is never the only thing that makes someone unique. That being said, it was well-written and I did enjoy it, but it wasn’t able to distinguish itself as anything other than average to me.

Maya is deaf and she is happy with herself just as she is. When her family moves she has to go to a hearing school for the first time since becoming deaf – she is forced to deal with situations that are definitely challenging. As she starts to let “hearing” people into her life she finds that the world is a little bit different than she originally thought.

What I LOVED about this story was the character growth – not just with Maya – but with all the characters. There are so many deep and complex relationships throughout this story that really draws you in. Maya is such a strong character, she is opinionated, smart and not afraid of challenges and she is not afraid to admit when she is wrong. Beau is kind and flawed and the fact that he wants to learn sign language to communicate with her is such a beautiful part of this story.

I would suggest this books for ages 14 up. It is clean and definitely hits on some issues that I believe anyone can benefit from reading.

You know those stories where you fall in love with everything after just a few pages?
That, for me, was this book.
The Silence Between Us was, in a nutshell, some of the best disability representation I’ve *ever* read. I am not deaf, but, as someone with hydrocephalus, right-sided cerebral palsy, and partial blindness, I am always looking for good representation, and this book was It. The Silence Between Us celebrates disability instead of shying away from it.
The characters in this book were amazing — I don’t think there was a single character that I didn’t like. Maya was a fantastic MC, Beau was adorable, Nina was an awesome friend (I LOVE that Nina and Maya ended up becoming friends because I was anticipating the dreaded “popular girl hates the new girl” cliché). Even the side characters — Connor, Maya’s mother, Maya’s interpreter, and Melissa — were wonderfully written. They all enhanced the plot so well, and I adored every single one of them.
This book even managed to teach me a little bit about sign language. Not necessarily how to actually sign, but just little tidbits about the language and about deaf culture, and about little things here and there that deaf people might appreciate or be annoyed by. Even though this book doesn’t really use verbal dialogue (other than signing, Maya can only read lips — but she *can* Speak), I think the interaction between characters ran very smoothly and, while I don’t know if this is the common way to express sign language in books, I appreciate the way the author wrote out the sign language in ALL CAPS. That made things really easy to follow, and definitely made up for the lack of verbal dialogue.
Did I mention that Maya and Beau are absolutely adorable? I adore their chemistry, and Beau is an absolute darling. A lot of “love interests” in YA (and in general tbh) come off as totally douchey, so words cannot describe how much I love the fact that Beau is sweet and genuine. He is such a good character, I love him a lot, and it’s so nice to see able-bodied people accepting people with disabilities, disabilities and all.
Overall, I ADORED this book. I’m so glad I was approved on NetGalley to review it, and I think it definitely became one of my favorite YA contemporaries. I highly encourage everyone to check this book out, but especially if you love contemporary romances and/or disability rep!

I’ve been waiting so long for a book like this. Like our protagonist Maya, I was born hearing and have slowly lost bits of my hearing over the years in addition to dealing with Auditory Processing Disorder, both of which require me to wear hearing aids. While Maya is immersed in the Deaf community, I’ve remained a part of the hearing community into which I was born, but I can relate to so many of the experiences Maya has all throughout the novel.

I’ve seen some people say in their reviews that Maya is unlikable and her strong negative stance on CIs being something that was difficult for them to grasp, but it’s curious to note that these are hearing people who are leaving these comments. In my opinion, Maya is an exemplary figure of a late-deafened girl making her way first through the Deaf community and then the hearing world once she and her family move. She’s remarkably realistic, and knowing that the author is hard of hearing and coming from a similar place, it’s somewhat disheartening to see hearing reviewers seemingly miss the point in some places.

Overall, this is a great novel and one I’ve been waiting for for so, so long. Highly recommend. And if you’re hearing, please go into it with extra kindness and openness toward Maya and where she’s coming from!

The plot of this book just seems unrealistic. What parents would uproot a kid with a chronic illness and bring him to a high-altitude location that's almost guaranteed to worsen his health? For that matter, what parents would toss their deaf daughter into the deep end of a hearing school when she's only been in mostly deaf communities so far? Honestly, none of this makes sense and it really detracted from my ability to enjoy this book.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*