The Silence Between Us

Written by Alison Gervais

Narrated by Chloe Dolandis

“The Silence Between Us is eminently un-put-down-able.” (NPR)

Schneider Family Book Award, Best Teen Honor Book 2020

“This is a great YA contemporary (clean) romance that follows Maya as she navigates a new school and plans for her future. The addition of representation by a Deaf character was really beautifully done. Highly recommend for people looking for a sweet, engaging, and educational romantic read.” (YA and Kids Book Central)

#OwnVoices YA novel features Deaf / Hard of Hearing Community

“It’s time we see more Deaf characters in books. It’s time we see more books celebrating sign language and Deaf culture,” said author Alison Gervais.

Deaf teen Maya moves across the country and must attend a hearing school for the first time. As if that wasn’t hard enough, she also has to adjust to the hearing culture, which she finds frustrating—and also surprising when some classmates, including Beau Watson, take time to learn ASL. As Maya looks past graduation and focuses on her future dreams, nothing, not even an unexpected romance, will not derail her pursuits. But when people in her life—Deaf and hearing alike—ask her to question parts of her Deaf identity, Maya stands proudly, never giving in to the idea that her Deafness is a disadvantage.

The Silence Between Us:

• Features a Deaf protagonist and an #OwnVoices perspective on Deaf and Hard of Hearing culture
• Is a clean YA romance by Wattpad sensation Alison Gervais
• Is perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and CeCe Bell

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blink
• Release date: Aug 13, 2019
• ISBN: 9780310768692

Alison Gervais

Alison Gervais is the author of In 27 Days and The Silence Between Us, for which she received the 2020 Schneider Family Honor Book Award. Alison works at a nonprofit organization that provides services to people with disabilities and writes as often as she can. Currently she lives in Colorado with her husband and their two daughters.

Reviews for The Silence Between Us

[oldandnewbooksmell · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Deaf teen Maya moves from New Jersey to Colorado with her mom and brother and must attend a hearing school for the first time and adjust to the hearing culture, which she finds frustrating. She's surprised when some classmates, including Beau Watson, takes the time to learn ASL. Maybe the hearing world isn't as bad as she imagined. But when people in her life - both hearing and deaf alike - ask her a question that is a part of her deaf identity, Maya stands with her decision, never giving in to the idea that her deafness is a disadvantage.

I have a minor in American Sign Language and was stoked to find and pick up a book that had ASL written in ASL. I even practiced signing when I was reading.

A few of the problems I had with this is it felt more like an education story than experiences and development. Maya would tell about all these Deaf Culture things but would not exactly show them. She talks about being in the Deaf Community, but only ever really talked about her best friend from back home, Melissa. I wished we had more examples.

I didn't feel like the characters were fully developed either, which made the novel read much like the intended audience, YA. One of my biggest pet peeves was the fact that Maya's brother has cystic fibrosis - they move to a city with higher elevation, and their mother almost seems shocked he's having problems adjusting. I just feel like I wouldn't ever do that to a kid. Another peeve was the fact that Beau does something that to me, seemed highly out of character for him, and it just seemed to be added for the drama of it all.

Maya was such a hard character for me... she wants nothing to do with hearing people and judges them for not knowing how to communicate with her or that they know nothing about ASL. Then, when people (Beau) begin learning sign language to communicate with her easiest, she's immediately suspicious and thinks they have a hidden agenda. I understand that's a part of her growth but still doesn't really add up.

Overall, the story was very YA. I would still recommend this book to people for the #OwnVoice and learn a bit about American Sign Language, and Deaf culture.

[headinherbooks_27 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Read this in less than a day. I got hooked the moment I started. Describes the story of a young deaf girl and how she struggles against discrimination and how she is countlessly misunderstood by the hearing community. I enjoyed this very much. I highly recommend it.

[readingbeader · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Maya has to spend her senior year in a hearing school after her family moves. She’s unhappy about the change and worried about how school will go. Nina and Beau become her new friends, each learning to sign in order to be able to talk to her. Perhaps Beau could be something more, but Steph is afraid to trust.

This is my second book with a deaf character this year. I loved the perspective from Maya, who is happy how she is, not willing to change just to accommodate other people’s “expectations.” But wants to participate in a world who often forgets about deaf people.

[acargile-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this novel because Audiobooksync had it as a choice in the summer of 2020. It's realistic fiction.Maya lost her hearing when she was thirteen and is now completely deaf. Her mother's job has moved her to Colorado where Maya will now attend a normal hearing school instead of a school for the deaf. She meets her first friend, Nina, who mentors her, getting her from class to class and making sure she feels comfortable. Maya's interpreter goes to classes with her. Maya then meets Beau on the first day, but she finds him annoying because she perceives him to be someone who is only nice to look good. He also appears to be in almost all of her classes, so she has to put up with him and his attitude more than she would like. It's not more than a day and Beau attempts to talk to her in sign language, ASL. Maya seems even more annoyed. It's takes her awhile to realize that Beau is as nice as he appears and doesn't want attention for "being nice to the deaf girl." He actually learns ASL because he wants to get to know her. So, school is actually going pretty well. Nina and Beau both learn sign language in order to communicate.Maya's home life consists of her brother who has cystic fibrosis and her mom who handles everything. Maya's mom has a good job and pretty good insurance, but money does matter, especially as often as her brother needs medical care. Maya actually likes being deaf--she has adjusted well and can speak well because she learned to speak as a hearing child. She's been deaf for about five years.The novel really centers on the deaf culture. Maya possesses little sympathy for people who say comments that she finds offensive. Personally, I think she's a bit hard on Beau because you don't know what you don't know. She could simply explain instead of get angry, as he has no ill intent. He eventually learns that she doesn't need anyone to fight her battles for her. She sees herself as not disabled, just a person who can't hear. Cochlear implants (CI) remain a big debate in the deaf culture and this debate takes up part of the story. Would Maya's life be easier if she could hear? If so, why not get the CI? She must have an interpreter for any job, so will people hire her if it will cost them more because they have to also pay for an interpreter. All of these situations appear in the novel to help the hearing world understand what it's like for the deaf world. Overall, I liked the novel. I felt like Beau wasn't developed as well as he could have been. His leg and the way he handles it could have been better dealt with by Maya. She worries about herself, but she doesn't seem to spend much time helping others. I found her a bit self-centered. I still liked her moxie; I just think one can have moxie AND be kind.

[gmomaj · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Deaf teen Maya moves across the country and must attend a hearing school for the first time. As if that wasn’t hard enough, she also has to adjust to the hearing culture, which she finds frustrating - and also surprising when some classmates, including Beau Watson, take time to learn ASL. As Maya looks past graduation and focuses on her future dreams, nothing, not even an unexpected romance, will derail her pursuits. But when people in her life - Deaf and hearing alike - ask her to question parts of her Deaf identity, Maya stands proudly, never giving in to the idea that her Deafness is a disadvantage.

[electrascaife · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Maya moves from New Jersey to Colorado with her mom and little brother halfway through her senior year in high school, she was nervous about how much she would need to adjust to her new school. Maya became Deaf at 11 as a result of contracting meningitis, and she hasn't been to a hearing school since. She struggles at first to let her guard down but finally realizes that she has new friends here who are supportive of her choices (she hates the idea of cochlear implants and doesn't like it when people suggest she should get them) and love her for who she is.I liked this one a good deal. It's wonderful - and so, so important - to have YA lit out there that addresses the right way to talk to people who aren't like you and how not to be insensitive about who they are even when you're trying to be an ally, and so for that reason I loved it. On the level of the story, though, I think it could have been fleshed out a bit more; there were several plot points that felt simply introduced and then sort of abandoned, and I think the story could have felt even more...real?...if Gervais would have spent just a bit more time on those areas.

[managedbybooks · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

The plot of this book just seems unrealistic. What parents would uproot a kid with a chronic illness and bring him to a high-altitude location that's almost guaranteed to worsen his health? For that matter, what parents would toss their deaf daughter into the deep end of a hearing school when she's only been in mostly deaf communities so far? Honestly, none of this makes sense and it really detracted from my ability to enjoy this book.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*