A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books 

Released: 12th of January 2017 

Steffi doesn't talk, but she has so much to say.

Rhys can't hear, but he can listen.

Their love isn't a lightning strike, it's the rumbling roll of thunder.

Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys, it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk, and as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. 

What I Have to Say 

Another wonderful book from Sara Barnard. This one is important for different reasons than her last, but just as good and, as with Beautiful Broken Things, it featured a very strong friendship. With this book Barnard, shows us that not only can she write beautiful friendships, but she can also balance them perfectly with romance. 

The main reason I liked this book though was that it is a fantastic addition to the brilliant collection of books exploring anxiety. It shows a girl who learns how to calm her anxiety enough to talk again through her relationship with Rhys, a boy who couldn't hear her even if she did talk.

Most of the books about anxiety have messages at their heart, a part of recovery that the book explores. With Holly Bourne's Am I Normal Yet? and  Sophie Kinsella's Finding Audrey it's about accepting relapses and the ups and downs of recovery. Louise Gornell's Under Rose Tainted Skies tells us that love may seem like a cure, but really it's our strength that gets us through. And A Quiet Kind of Thunder emphasizes the need to celebrate achievements, even if they feel like failures. 

Everyone, whether they live with anxiety, know someone with anxiety or even are just looking for something good to read should get this book. It is beautiful and pure perfection. 

My thanks go to Macmillan for providing me with a copy of this book.