A Quiet Kind of Thunder is about Steffanie Brons and Rhys Gold. Steffi struggles with selective mutism, Rhys is deaf.
If you’re the kind who knows the answer in class but can’t gather the courage to raise your hand, or always feel invisible while hanging out with your peers, A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Barnard is the book for you.
At first glance, it may seem like just another young adult novel and high school romance but it’s more than just that. A Quiet Kind of Thunder is about Steffanie Brons and Rhys Gold. Steffi struggles with selective mutism, Rhys is deaf. Assuming that Steffi’s knowledge of basic sign language will help Rhys get acquainted with his new school, the school’s principal introduces the two 16-year-olds on Rhys’ first day.
Steffi has an agenda for the new school year. She has to prove to her parents and herself that she is fit to go to university despite what everyone has assumed is a handicap. She struggles with the toxic combination of being a shy introvert and having social anxiety. Simple things like making a phone call or talking to the cashier gives her anxiety attacks. On the other hand, Rhys wants to blend in but often finds himself feeling left out of conversations as he tries to keep up by lip-reading people, who unintentionally forget that he can’t hear.
Rhys and Steffi find a common ground in their mutual silence, developing their own unique way of communicating and understanding each other. A quiet but thunder-like romance gradually develops between the two. Steffi finds comfort around Rhys, relieved that there’s no pressure to make conversation. Rhys is intrigued by the world hidden behind Steffi’s reserved demeanour.
More often than not, people who struggle with social anxiety don’t know that they do. And people around them fail to understand why simple tasks they take for granted are so difficult for someone like Steffi. Although way past my teenage years, I could instantly relate to Steffi’s struggles and her inner dialogue of self-hate and defeat she feels every time she fails to find her voice to speak.
Barbard has wonderfully captured Steffi’s gradual but uncontrollable storm of dark thoughts that social anxiety brings with it.
More than any self-help book, A Quiet Kind of Thunder will do a world of good as it unmasks helpful counselling in Steffi and Rhys’ love story.
It made me wish I had this book to read when I was a teen myself.
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 "A Quiet Kind of Thunder")
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