Title:   The Silence Between Us
Author:   Alison Gervais
Genre:   YA
Rating:   4 out of 5

Maya didn’t want to move halfway across the country right before senior year. She didn’t want to leave her school for the deaf for a hearing school, either. She wants to go into the medical field, so she needs the grades to do that, and she’s determined to get them. She’s happy being deaf, but Engelmann High has never had a deaf student, so some of the students don’t know what to make of her.

Beau is the student body president and resident overachiever, so Maya is wary when he starts learning sign language, but it’s nice to be able to talk to someone instead of lip-reading. Maya never thought a deaf/hearing relationship would work, but she’s happy with Beau. Until he starts encouraging her to get a cochlear implant, and she begins to wonder why he doesn’t accept her for who she truly is.

I’m not sure I’ve ever read any book from a deaf person’s point-of-view, so this was eye-opening. So many “little” things I never considered have a huge impact on Maya’s life. She is such a strong, determined character with a solid sense of identity, and she’s determined to make those around her accept her for who she is—not who they wish she was.

Alison Gervais has an English degree she’s not sure what she wants to do with. The Silence Between Us is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Blink via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

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