Book Review: Silence by Deborah Lytton

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(image courtesy of Amazon.com)

Genre: YA, Romance, Drama

Rating: 📚 📚 📚 📚

Book Overview: High school sophomore Stella Layne has a talent for singing. After securing the lead spot in her school musical, she is boosted up to the top of the pyramid of school popularity. However, an accident at a party one night renders her deaf, and Stella fears she will not be able to find her voice again.

Enter Hayden Rivers, a quiet boy with a bad stutter who struggles with finding his own voice. Volunteering to play the piano for the school assignment, he admires the way Stella expresses herself through her singing. When he saves her from the same accident that takes her hearing, they cannot seem to stay away from each other.

Drawn together by similar circumstances, Stella must learn to overcome being outcasted by not only the high school hierarchy but also her best friend, and Hayden must learn to connect with others despite his insecurities. Join them as they face the difficulty of forgiveness, first love, and the silence that comes with learning to speak up.

(Stay tuned for a writing tip at the bottom of this post 📝)

Review: Okay, I'm going to be honest. When I first stumbled upon this novel, I was apprehensive. I've never been particularly fond of romance as a stand-alone genre. Even so, I decided to give it a chance because I liked the premise of the book.

It's safe to say that I did not regret my decision.

Let me say first that I read Silence at a time when I had this horrible habit of not finishing books. However, I read it cover to cover. Stella's and Hayden's relationship was a slow-burn, but not at all in a boring way. There were many interesting events that led up to the climax when the pair finally came to terms with their love for each other, and I really enjoyed how much those events contributed to character development while also keeping me coming back for more.

Lytton also did a great job in making high school life in her novel realistic. As a recent high school graduate, I related to a lot of Stella's feelings through the book. The loneliness of being cast out by her best friend and the excitement of encountering new love are similar to what I went through, as well as most other teenagers, I imagine.

Even though Silence is a romance novel, Lytton did not make it the only aspect. Throughout the story, Stella comes to terms with her self-worth based on her music and how it doesn't define who she is as a person. In the same way, Lytton depicts the struggles Hayden also has to go through in order to truly see himself not through his stutter, but through his true character and what he believes in.

Finally, Lytton's style of writing was absolutely captivating to me. In the summary, it was described as lyrical, and that couldn't be more true. She took liberties to use the emotions of the protagonists, Stella and Hayden, to shape how events and settings were described. As I read the book, I found that she wrote in such vibrant detail that I was transported into the story itself; I felt as if I was "watching" the book instead of reading it. Some scenes nearly made me cry, and I almost never cry when I read. It was a new style of writing for me, and I couldn't get enough.

I rated it four out of five book-stacks only because Lytton's emotional writing could be a little overpowering at times, almost to the point where you could call it theatrical. However, all in all, it was a truly stunning novel that I would be happy to reread over and over again. It is also very underrated, so I suggest you go buy it now 😊. The link will be at the bottom of the post. I will warn you, this book will make you feel all sorts of emotions that you probably won't be prepared for, but in a good way, I promise.

Warnings for Objectionable Content: A bit of kissing, but it doesn't go any further than that; also, minor mentions of blood at the beginning of the novel

Buy this book

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Writing Tip: How to Write with Emotion

Writing without emotion is an easy mistake that many authors can make. Sometimes, it's because they get caught up in describing the scene or advancing the plot, and other times it's simply because they do not think it is important. Other times, authors like Lytton seem to have perfected using emotion to make the story come alive. In reality, the emotions of the characters are like the baking soda of the "plot cake." Without it, the story line falls flat. At the same time, if you add too much, it can also slow down the tempo of the story to the point where the reader loses interest in view of so many minor details.

It is important to add just enough feeling to the plot so that the reader will be able to experience those emotions while at the same time riding along at a steady pace with plot advancement. One tip that that has always worked for me is to imagine yourself in your character's shoes. How would you react to the events you are writing about? What would you say? How would you feel? Incorporate those aspects into your writing. Take a minute to absorb what you are feeling and write it down. Make sure to edit and fine tune it later, though. Your audience will not only appreciate the relativity of your characters, but also the fact that they are three-dimensional, not unfeeling robots.

One last tip I would suggest for writing with emotion is to read other novels and get an idea of how different authors deal with the element of feeling. Focus on how the characters' emotions contribute to the circumstances in the book. Then, write practice scenes, parts of a potentially larger story, to help you fine tune your skills. Read it back to yourself and see if their reactions and feelings come naturally with the situation. Get others to read and give their opinion. Peer feedback goes a long way.

Thank you for reading! Don't forget to subscribe!

Blessings,

Chasey 📚

Tags: book review, young adult, romance, writing tips