'A quiet kind of thunder' is a book aimed at young adults about a girl named Steffi and the boy she falls in love with - Rhys. The book was released in 2017 and written by Sara Barnard.
The character Steffi was a selective mute and had been her whole life. Rhys is deaf and was new to the school, and introduced to Steffi as she had a knowledge of basic sign language. Despite Steffi only knowing bits and pieces she repicked it up quickly and was able to communicate with Rhys efficiently in a short amount of time. To Rhys is didn't matter Steffi could not 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.
To me this book was an amazing read as it truly felt you were in Steffi's mind. My favourite thing about the book was that Barnard conveys the painful uncertainty of being marginalised by anxiety or selective mutism - and explicitly rejects the lazy option of allowing one character to 'fix' one another.
Rhys is deaf but does not allow this to get int he way of his social life. At one part in the book him and Steffi get in an argument as he expresses his feelings about how Steffi has been able to talk more and more. He explains how he feels he will get left behind as he cannot join in as much when she he is talking - Rhys is profoundly deaf meaning despite sign language his only other form of communication is lip-reading which is very difficult and not always accurate. It was interesting to read Barnard's portrayal on Rhys's feelings throughout the book.
Quote from the book: “With lightning, you're never really sure if that's what it was; it's just a flash. Thunder, you know. You feel it.”
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