YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

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.

From the bestselling author of Beautiful Broken Things comes a love story about the times when a whisper is as good as a shout.

Can I join?

Will be reading this one now!

Just read the first two chapters. Really interesting story concept. Didn't realize it was set in the UK, so BSL confused me for a minute.

C.P. wrote: "Just read the first two chapters. Really interesting story concept. Didn't realize it was set in the UK, so BSL confused me for a minute."

Thanks for mentioning that. It'll help me when I start shortly. :)

Does your version have the sign language chart at the beginning on the back of the cover?

Also I love how the chapters are in sign language as well! ^-^

I have an ebook that I got from Netgalley, so I don't think it has the chart.

C.P. wrote: "I have an ebook that I got from Netgalley, so I don't think it has the chart."

:(

I love it. I tried learning sign language years ago but never got far. :/

Is there a Canadian sign language? I know some ASL and really want to learn more. I've gotten lazy with it. :(

C.P. wrote: "Is there a Canadian sign language? I know some ASL and really want to learn more. I've gotten lazy with it. :("

O.o IDK. I assume it's similar to ASL???

Edit: It is the same as ASL but I think the French Canadians have a different one since it's French. lol.

I couldn't remember if Canada and US had the same. I thought we might. I know some countries are different. Like in the UK and Australia I think they are a little different from ours.

C.P. wrote: "I couldn't remember if Canada and US had the same. I thought we might. I know some countries are different. Like in the UK and Australia I think they are a little different from ours."

I also saw that apparently the Maritimes have a regional dialect as well. :)

The chapters for this are really short.

I'm at chapter 9. My impressions so far are:

(view spoiler)[I really like Steffi. I think her anxiety is very realistic. I love that!

I love Tem. She is a great friend for Steffi.

I love Rhys. I think he and Steffi should definitely end up together.

I don't like Steffi's mom. I think she is the worst kind of parent for someone with anxiety so I'm glad that Steffi has her dad.

I'm also glad that Steffi's stepfather is nice and tries to help Steffi when her mom is being pushy.

I love Steffi's little sister.

I'm sad her stepbrother died.

I love her dog.

I love that all her teachers are so accommodating. (hide spoiler)]

Bookbuyer wrote: "The chapters for this are really short.

I'm at chapter 9. My impressions so far are:

I really like Steffi. I think her anxiety is very realistic. I love that!

I love Tem. She is a great friend ..."

There are a lot of things in there that I like as well. I do think the anxiety is handled pretty well. Some of it is a little jumbled for me though. I don't feel that connected with any of the characters.

C.P. wrote: "Bookbuyer wrote: "The chapters for this are really short.

I'm at chapter 9. My impressions so far are:

I really like Steffi. I think her anxiety is very realistic. I love that!

I love Tem. She ..."

I feel very connected to Steffi. We have some of the same issues so it's easy for me to connect with her. :)

I just go to the part in chapter 11 where (view spoiler)[Meg tells Steffi that Rhys likes her! I'm so happy that my heart is pounding a mile a minute in excitement. I actually had to take a break because I want that 'high' to last for a while.

I think I'm going to finish this either tonight or tomorrow it's so good. :) (hide spoiler)]

So much of Steffi's anxiety is like mine. That stuff about what you're thinking on the bus was just like me. And I can take the most casual things and turn them into nightmares. She's right, it only takes a few words.

I'm through chapter 12.

C.P. wrote: "So much of Steffi's anxiety is like mine. That stuff about what you're thinking on the bus was just like me. And I can take the most casual things and turn them into nightmares. She's right, it onl..."

lol. That is so true! That is the same for me! I can't even ride buses because of that! :S

I just finished and it was so good! I knocked a star off because it was hard to follow the 'texts' and other different forms of communication at times. I couldn't always tell who was saying what but overall I really enjoyed this!

Glad you liked it! I will hopefully finish today or tomorrow. I know what you mean about the conversations, they are a bit tough to follow at times.

C.P. wrote: "Glad you liked it! I will hopefully finish today or tomorrow. I know what you mean about the conversations, they are a bit tough to follow at times."

They are but it's worth it. It's the first time I've read a book with a MC who was deaf and I love the way the author wrote it. It was very interactive and I loved that!

You should give Song of Summer a try. One of the MCs in that is deaf as well. And I liked Five Flavors of Dumb when I read it a few years ago.

C.P. wrote: "You should give Song of Summer a try. One of the MCs in that is deaf as well. And I liked Five Flavors of Dumb when I read it a few years ago."

I'll look them up. :)

Through chapter 15. (view spoiler)[Sometimes the characters seem really young. And the drinking age being so young is so odd. I don't drink alcohol anyway, but I'm used to the 21 legal age that most of the U.S. has. (hide spoiler)]

I really want to work on ASL again. I think I'm going to make that a goal for this year.

Finished! I really liked some things about and others not as much.

C.P. wrote: "Through chapter 15. [spoilers removed]

I really want to work on ASL again. I think I'm going to make that a goal for this year."

I'm use to the drinking age being 18-19. So it wasn't weird for me. ^-^

C.P. wrote: "Finished! I really liked some things about and others not as much."

Same. ^-^

Now I just have to figure out my thoughts for a review.

The ending wrapped up a little too neatly in some ways.

C.P. wrote: "Now I just have to figure out my thoughts for a review.

The ending wrapped up a little too neatly in some ways."

It did. :/

So...I ended up not really enjoying this one as much as I had hoped. The beginning started well enough for me, and I did like how anxiety and BSL were presented, but everything else just fell flat for me.

Reading this..

Chapter 1. (view spoiler)[ I might like Steffi until she screws up this disability plotline. And also curious about Tem (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 4. Woah. That was cute. (view spoiler)[ I am liking Rhys but isnt he kinda fast with the lets-be-friends-now-and-on-facebook-and-everywhere-else thingy? (hide spoiler)]

7. (view spoiler)[ I feel horrible about Steffi's mom (hide spoiler)]

10.Haha (view spoiler)[ Really loved the mental convo Steffi had in her mind. It is basically the whole of an introverted sadistic teens brain 😋 (hide spoiler)]

Done. Well nothing but another trying-too-hard-to-be-fluffy romance.

Not on my computer, so I can't see your spoilers yet but I will try to look through some of your thoughts.

C.P. wrote: "Not on my computer, so I can't see your spoilers yet but I will try to look through some of your thoughts."

Sure! I was feeling kinda awkward for joining in late

I know what you mean; I feel weird when I do that sometimes.

I looked at your comments and read ypur review. I agree that it became too much about the "romance" which I was sad didn't really develop well. You mentioned it being about lust, and I agree. It was too physical without them actually developing a connection.

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Date Changed. Restarting March 14th 2018. Happy Reading ☺

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Date changed. Restarting August 1st 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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Okay, if it's okay, I want to join this. I know this is weird, but this reminds me of this fanfiction I enjoyed, so I would love to read the book.

Ch. 3 (view spoiler)[ Okay this is off to a GREAT start. I love Steffi and I love Rhys. We already have a BIPOC character, now we just need a queer character and I can give this 6/5 stars lmao. I love how much I've learned about mutism already. I knew jack shit before. I relate to Steffi with the social anxiety though. I love Steffi and Tem's friendship!! (hide spoiler)]

Book_Fairy wrote: "Okay, if it's okay, I want to join this. I know this is weird, but this reminds me of this fanfiction I enjoyed, so I would love to read the book."

Absolutely please join!

ch. 10 (view spoiler)[ Wow wtf Steffi's mom. Can you fuck off with your ableism and abusive behaviors!! I am so mad at her mom. But I really love seeing Rhys and Steffi's relationship progress, they're so cute!

Also something Tem said about Karam just bugged me and gave me the wrong impression but im worried for her as well. (hide spoiler)]

Andy wrote: "Ch. 3 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I love Steffi and Rhys so far! Also Tem seems great and a beautiful friendship. Excited for this! (hide spoiler)]

50% (view spoiler)[ OMG I'm loving this book so much. Rhys and Steffi are so adorable and Rhys is exactly the kind of soft boy that I love to read about. (hide spoiler)]

75% (view spoiler)[ Stuff with Tem is....off. Hopefully that gets resolved. I don't know if lying about this trip is a good choice. I love these kids though I just want to protect them! (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ I loved this so much! I'm so glad I read it. I am very surprised there was so much sexual content in this though because it seemed kinda mature for the age of the rest of the writing, if that makes sense? IDk. I loved this book though! So glad Steffi and Rhys worked things out! (hide spoiler)]

ch. 20 (view spoiler)[ I really love Steffi and Rhys together. I'm mad that Steffi's mom thinks she's living in a fantasy world. I'm glad Rhys talked to her about how she could sign while with Rhys in public so he can follow along. I was honestly worried Rhys meeting Steffi's mother was going to go horribly wrong but it was too bad tbf. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! (view spoiler)[ I knew something would happen on the Edinburgh trip! Like I understand why they didn't tell anyone, but at the same time I wish they had. Also idk how to feel about the argument between Steffi and Tem. I think they both had valid reasons for how they interacted, but I'm glad they're going to work on it. I'm annoyed Karam cheated. Also I wish there had been more to Steffi and Rhys's reunion/speech thing. (hide spoiler)]

Melanie wrote: "Andy wrote: "Ch. 3 [spoilers removed]"

[spoilers removed]

50% [spoilers removed]

75% [spoilers removed]

Finished [spoilers removed]"

50/75

(view spoiler)[ Yeah there have definitely been some markers that something wasn't right between Tem and Karam. Idk I kept getting some bad vibes from him, especially with the way Tem talked about him. Also Rhys and Steffi are soooo cute! (hide spoiler)]