By: Sean Williams
Genre: YFB - General fiction (Children's / Teenage)
Published by: A & U Children
Published: 1 Jul 2019
ISBN: 9781760637156

Description

Music is Simon's life - which is why he is devastated when a mini-stroke obliterates his hearing. He resists attempts to help him adjust to his new state, refusing to be counselled, refusing to learn sign language, refusing to have anything to do with Deaf culture. Refusing, that is, until he meets G, a tough-as-nails girl dealing with her own newly experienced hearing loss.


In an emotionally compelling tale crackling with originality, Simon's quest to create an entirely new form of music forces him into a deeper understanding of his relationship to the hearing world, of himself, and of the girl he meets along the way.


Review

Simon Rain is a young musician who lives and breathes music. When he has a slight stroke, he  loses his ability to hear. Suddenly thrust into the deaf community, he struggles to accept the massive change in his life. When he meets G at a meeting, they seem to click. She has tinnitus, and the constant ringing drives her to the very edge.


Simon keeps trying to come up with ways to make music that can be felt and seen rather than heard. Can he and G both come to terms with their new life?


This is a deeply complex and unusual novel about music and musicians who can’t hear what they play or create. It is also a massive journey of discovery about what matters most in your life and how much you are willing to accept change and challenges when life throws you a curve ball.


This is a hugely emotional, and at times heart wrenching story, as G attempts suicide, and then realises how much life she still has to live. She helps Simon come to terms with the loss of music as he knows it, and to learn to be creative in a different musical way.


The characters will stay with you long after you put this book down. It is about identity and finding your place in the world, as well as dealing with love and loss.


A wonderful story for upper secondary readers, in Year 10 and above.


Reviewed by Michelle