Publisher:
Electric
Monkey
Release
Date: 5th
June 2014
Edition:
UK paperback,
review copy
Words
on a page...
They’re beautiful, powerful.
Words
in my mouth...
They don’t work.
They
choke up inside me and won’t come out.
My
pen has a freedom my mouth has never had. The last person I spoke to was my
brother, Silas, and I was six. Since then, not a word. Silas says he’d give
anything to hear me speak again.
Now
I sit here and think the same about him.
A
moving and heartwarming novel from the award-nominated author of Skin Deep and By Any Other Name.
I’m a big fan of Laura Jarratt’s
novels; they’re warm and life-affirming and beautifully written, and while Louder Than Words is all of those things
too, it didn’t quite hit the same notes for me as her others did.
Louder
Than Words has
an unexpected political edge to it. Rafi’s brother Silas becomes heavily
involved in an anarchist group called ActionX who go to protests and start
riots and horrible things like that. I have to admit that Lara and Dillon’s
preaching on the subject made me uncomfortable. Though their ideals started in
a good place, they ended up doing more harm than good – they were blinded to
what they were actually doing. I honestly think that this storyline is what put
me off the novel slightly as I loved the characters.
Silas is that brilliant older
brother character. He loves his little sister dearly, gets involved in her
life, sticks up for her friends, accidentally breaks girls hearts because they
always like him more than he does and has issues with the rest of his family. It
was really nice to get to know him more thoroughly through his unsent emails to
his dad. Josie is adorably brash and bold and brave, and has a heart of gold. Those
she could have so easily been annoying, I found her tendency to waffle
endearing. Then we have Rafi, the star of the show. I love how much of her
personality came through without her speaking. The snippets from Rafi’s
collections of truths was really eye opening and shed a lot of light on her
character and why she became a progressive mute.
Progressive mutism is something
I have never come across in a YA novel before. I read about a child with
selection mutism in a Torey Hayden memoir before, but Rafi’s experience was
completely different. She hadn’t spoken a single word in eight years. I think
that it’s still a condition shrouded in mystery, but Jarratt put Rafi’s
struggles across sensitively and powerfully.
There are so many wonderful
things about Louder Than Words and I strongly
suggest you pick it up. I guess I just have issues with politics!
Thanks to Electric Monkey for
the review copy.
Sophie
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