REVIEW – A QUIET KIND OF THUNDER by Sara Barnard

A Quiet Kind of Thunder
by Sara Barnard
Publisher – Macmillan Children’s Books
Release Date – January 12th 2017
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository

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.

My Review

First, let’s appreciate and look at this cover. I mean it doesn’t do any justice on a computer screen when you look and feel it in your hands, that it’s embossed and everything and not just on the outside either, the beauty continues to the inside and every page after that until the end. THIS BOOK people, THIS book, this is what it’s all about right now, especially when you meet Rhys and Steffi! You will just melt and be completely mesmerised by their relationship.

Steffi is a selective mute, or as shes says it “I’m a natural introvert with severe social anxiety and a shyness that is basically pathalogical.” But when she was little, her shyness manifested into her mutism, you can only really know it though only if she’s at school with people she’s not familiar with, or strangers on the street, that’s where the selectiveness comes in. As she enters 6th Form without her best friend Tem, she is approached by the head and introduced to a boy named Rhys. He’s deaf and the only communication they know and use is BSL, British Sign Language and this is where their story begins…

Steffi and Rhys just clicked, maybe it started with their shared BSL communication, maybe that was the way to open a lock between both of their hearts, but I think as they got to know each other more, they found themselves becoming stronger individually, they did depend on each other for that strength but it also gave them the inspiration to try new things and to go outside of their comfort zone. What I loved about them was that they aren’t so different from everyone else. We treat them that way, we label them that way, there BSL separates them from people, they distant themselves instantly from the real world. But what’s really inspiring is in BSL itself, it’s a language, just like french and Spanish, you learn it, you say it, you develop into something beautiful. Steffi and Rhys might stand out from others because they might have something less, but what they do still have is a voice to be heard and seen. All they need is a little guidance and encouragement so they can do just about anything and that’s their relationship, finding a life’s path and finding each other.

Steffi and Rhys is a set of characters that is unlike anything I’ve ever read in a long time. Their relationship begins the moment they sign hello to each other. It’s a communication that isn’t explored enough or the fact that it’s only really used to a selective group of people. I know a bit of sign language, my mum works with special needs and has loads of books on it. I used to read them and practice myself. Using your hands to convey and interpret your life, your meaning is such a touching and almost awe-like expression to have between two people or a group. But putting such a unique communication style into a romance, contemporary novel like this, is just simply beautiful especially with two persona’s as Steffi and Rhys.

Meeting Miss Barnard 2 times this year in different events, I really got the sense for her book event after reading it. I saw the research, her inspiration for this novel come through like a lightening strike. I read Beautiful Broken Things when it first came out and I really enjoyed it, but for me, this is Sara’s best book to date. Read it please. It’s as beautiful on the outside as it is in…

Rating – 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟