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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Blog Tour and Review! A Thunderous Whisper by

Title: A Thunderous Whisper

Author: Christina Diaz Gonzalez

Publisher: Knopf

Publication Date: October 2012

Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Synopsis can be found here.
This book was given to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.


Review:
Ani is twelve, and the world around her is falling. Though she believes she is safe in her small village, she is very lonely for her father, who has gone off to war. She has no friends and her mother is a hard working woman with little time to mother Ani. Then Mathias comes along and they form a strong friendship, an important bond, which is needed during these war times. Because war comes for them and their lives are changed forever.

Thank you, Christina Diaz Gonzalez. The last few books I've read this month had left me in a slump. I kept going back and forth between them, not really enjoying them. But then I picked up A Thunderous Whisper. And yes! This is what I was looking for. I went home every day, excited to carefully read the next few chapters of this well written, heartwarming book.

The author's writing is beautiful, flowing gracefully on the page. Ani is a multi-layered young girl who I couldn't help but like. She has no friends, and is alone most of the time, except when she is working with her mother selling sardines. Her father is in the war, and there is something beautiful and heartbreaking about the author's portrayal of Ani, sitting alone, under her tree, thinking up stories to tell her father when he comes back.

Mathias is smart, outgoing and brings Ani out of her shell, revealing her true self. He's also friendly and loyal, seeing something special in Ani that no one else cares to find. Mathias is your best friend when you were young, someone you still think fondly about, your first real friend. All of these characters drew me in and waited for their story to unfold.

The story moves slowly, taking in the beautiful setting and its inhabitants before the bombing. And then, after and how the survivors pick up what is left and move on. 


Overall, it's an uplifting story about friendship and family. Ani changes dramatically from the small, quiet girl at the beginning to the full and hopeful girl at the end. A book not to be missed. I'm so happy I'm on the blog tour and got to read this book!

Check out the other blogs on this blog tour and their schedule!
And thank you to Alethea at Read Now Sleep Later for organizing!


1 comment:

  1. This sounds like an awesome book. I love when I find an author that can really write well. I'll add this to my to-read list :)

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