Silence

by Deborah Lytton
Published by Shadow Mountain on March 7, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Format: ARC

Source: Shadow Mountain
Buy the Book • Goodreads

Stella was born to sing. Someday Broadway. Even though she is only a sophomore at a new high school, her voice has given her the status as a cool kid. But then a tragic accident renders her deaf. She cannot hear herself sing not to mention speak. She cannot hear anything. Silence. What happens when everything you have dreamed of and hoped for is shattered in a single moment?

Enter Hayden, the boy with blonde curls who stutters. He is treated like an outcast because he is not normal. And, yet, Stella feels an attraction to him that she cannot explain. As Hayden reaches out to help Stella discover a world without sound his own tragic past warns him to keep a distance. But their connection is undeniable. Can the boy who stutters and the girl whose deaf find a happily-ever-after?

SILENCE is a story of friendship and hope with a lesson that sometimes it takes a tragedy to help us find beauty and love in unexpected places.

There are so many things to love about Silence by Deborah Lytton. It’s a clean contemporary YA story of a two disabled students who find redemption and healing in their friendship, and then, ultimately find love. Stella is a High School drama student on the rise with a gift that just might be her ticket to popularity–her voice. When an accident leaves Stella deaf, she has to look at how life will change wihout the ability to hear and sing. Enter Hayden Rivers who stutters and is a social outcast. He carries a story of his own involving abuse and selective mutism. The two together, make a wonderful team.

The language of Silence is very poetic,which at times slowed the pace of the story, but by the last half of the book I was completely hooked. I stayed up long past my bed time to finish. I do wish the main protagonist was older than 15. Their relationship seemed to move from friendship to a mature eternal love in a short 17 days and would be more fitting for an older teen. Overall, I loved this one and will pass it on to others highly recommended.

Deborah Lytton is an established writer who began her work life as an actress at the age of six. She graduated from UCLA and Pepperdine University with a degree in law before becoming a writer. She lives in California with her two daughters and is an active blogger and member of SCBWI. FInd her at http://www.deborahlytton.com/