Trigger warnings upcoming. This was a rough read and felt like it was kind of one of those let’s try and touch all the bad topics in one go and good luck if you make it to the other side. I however was not impressed nor pleased whilst reading. It felt raw, sad (depressing), and slow. A lot of authors seem to be of the mindset let’s throw the whole kitchen sink in our book and expect the readers to keep up, which really makes it hard to find these types of books likable.
I finished but put this one down so much in hopes of filling myself of better words between the pages. Alas it didn’t work and I felt robbed of my time.

Hello people of the internet!!! On today’s ‘Monday Memos’ we have a review of the novel ‘Silence Interrupted’ by Sania Shaikh, which was released on November 14th, 2016, & was provided for review by Lanier Press. Now I do want to issue a trigger warning for the following topics: suicide, cutting, Depression, alcoholism, spousal/child abuse, profanity, slut shaming, & homophobic slurs, so if any of these topics are triggering to you this is probably not the book for you. I can honestly say I have a lot to say about this one so let’s jump into the review. Ready? Ok, let’s go!!!



‘Silence Interrupted’ is a young adult novel about a group of four friends in their senior year of high school named: Troye, Adelaide, Arabella, & Zaidan. The four form a group after Troye moves from his hometown in Florida, to Georgia. On Troye’s 1st day of school, he is quickly intrigued by Adelaide outgoing nature, & the two quickly form a strong bond. At a school event Troye meets Arabella & Zaidan (who have been a couple for several years), & the four share a year of fun, friendship, & learning how to help each other conquer their darkest inner demons.



First of all I want to start off with what I really enjoyed about this book. I really loved all the topics that were tackled throughout this novel. The topics of cutting & child/spousal abuse in regards to Troye & Arabella were particularly well developed, which made these characters more engaging. I also really enjoyed the adults in this book. I thought that the author did a really good job of making us feel love, empathy, & hate towards the various adult characters in this book, which gave them more character depth. Unfortunately where ‘Silence Interrupted’ falls a bit short in my opinion is in the pacing of the book & the use of multiple perspectives. I often felt as if I didn’t know how much time passed throughout the book, which made it hard to believe the bond between the group because in one chapter they meet & by the next they’ve known each other for some time. The book often felt like it went by to slow during some parts of the book, & then speed up to much during other parts of the book. Lastly, I often wasn’t sure whose perspective I was listening to (since we got to see all 4 perspectives throughout the book). I often had to go back to the beginning of the chapter in order to know who was telling the story, which distracted me from what was happening in the story. Because of this, my enjoyment of the book definitely suffered despite the fact that the plot was a very interesting concept. I definitely would have loved it if the author just stuck with Troye & Adelaide’s perspectives instead of using all four characters, because I think this would have helped focus the writing a bit more which would have allowed the reader to stay immersed in the plot. Due to these reasons, I do have to give this book a 1 out of 5 smiley faces.

Unfortunately I didn't finish this book, as I couldn't get into it - nothing against the author or book, just not to my personal taste. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

Two months before Troye Saavedra’s senior year of high school, his father’s drinking problem skyrockets. When Troye’s parents make an impulsive move to Georgia in order to “help” him finish high school on a positive note, he is forced to leave behind everything he knows. Things couldn’t get worse for Troye. That is, until he meets three enigmatic teenagers: Adelaide, an independent violinist with radical ideas; Zaidan, fiercely loyal and always funny; and Arabella, a girl who harbors secret struggles. Together, the four friends try to pick up the jagged pieces of their lives without getting hurt themselves. An insightful tale of perseverance, Silence Interrupted is a young adult novel about the beauty and peril of traversing the world as a teenager.



I now consider this to be a 3-star read. However, my initial reaction – and rating – were not as positive. In fact, I was feeling generous giving this a 2-star rating. All of this changed when I found out that the author was only sixteen when she wrote that. I was so impressed by that, that I couldn’t help but increase my rating; and here is why.

Don’t get me wrong, the book has many flaws. Time and place are almost absent, meaning that there is almost no description of the town, of the school, of the places they visit. Time also flies by; in a blink of an eye six months have passed, and there’s no evident character development to show for that. I also believe that, weren’t the author so young, she would’ve avoided certain plot points or would’ve delivered them more carefully and/or delicately.

But she is young, and reading a YA book written by an actual teenager is fascinating. Her writing may carry the weight and the possible mistakes of her youth; but her youth also shines through her characters, her witty and original dialogues, the points she chooses to address and discuss in her book. For the first time in a long time, I feel like I see actual teenagers talking, instead of seeing an adult’s perception of what they think teenagers sound like. Sania is cleverly using her age to create a world and a cast of characters that will speak to her audience, an audience consisting of young people who share problems, worries and doubts with the book’s endlessly fascinating cast.

That being said, I was not overly impressed by the book. I was impressed, however, by Sania herself and her ability to create such fleshed out, three – dimensional characters at such a young age, and I’ll be sure to keep an eye on her.



**An ARCopy was provided via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Had to abandon this one early - was far too dry and uninteresting, with nothing much happening whatsoever. Looked like being one of those bleeding heart liberal PC bits of nonsense, too.

<i>Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review and I'd like to thank them in letting me read an advance reader's copy of Silence Interrupted by Sania Shaikh.</i>

This book was such an amazing read. It touches upon very impactful subjects and some of their effect: alcoholism, suicide, love, friendships, somewhat diverse, etc. The writing is absolutely lovely and quite easy to read. On that note, characters were relatable and I could relate some aspects with my friends. They are witty, fun yet serious, odd but in a good way... They were 3 dimensional, not flat plain characters. There are plenty of "so remarkably true" moments, eye-opening, greatly worded events. I got quite immersed within the story that contains lots of different layers. The author included some "popular"/"partially known" books and music which was fantastic. I know listen to one of the songs called <i>Take me to church by Hozier</i>. It was exquisite.

However, there are never subsections within someone's point of view. What I mean by that is that the "subject" can change entirely (ex: scenery, main problem of the section previously read, etc). Instead, I think the author should have did: dot dot dot. With that being in the middle of the two "subjects", it will be a little clearer. Moreover, some points were confusing. I had to reread that section multiple times to understand it. <spoiler>When Ara was talking to Zaidan in the third person, I couldn't comprehend what was going on whatsoever. I still understand it partially from interpretation.</spoiler>

Overall, other than those more to the negative side of things, this was a great book that became one of my favourites.

This had all the potential to be a poignant showcase of teenage existence and development (if there is such a thing), but fell flat upon impact. That being said, the fact that this is a 216-ish page book written by a 16 year old is impressive. Young voices are always wonderful to see, as it gives readers a chance to watch their craft grow and strengthen as they produce more and more work.

However, I'm a picky reader and a writing tutor, so I'm going to get a little technical. Shaikh has an interesting cast; Troye, Zaidan, Adelaide, Arabella are all unique from one another with defined voices and personalities. However, they felt entirely unrealistic. None of their speech sounded real. For example there were lines of dialogue like ""Greetings!" the girl says, almost maniacally.", "Or Arabella if you wish, bit I don't prefer it. It's quite lengthy.", and "Is silence our adversary?" I was constantly raising an eyebrow at the speech between the characters. It sounded like some kind of highly scripted Disney channel movie.

Another issue I found was in the writing itself. Shaikh tells more than she shows, overusing adverbs and simple sentences. The characters would say something ironically, then ask tentatively, or mutter sarcastically. All of the emotion shown by the characters is told to the reader, leaving no room for growth between them and the characters. This telling and not showing also resulted in me feeling as if nothing were really happening. There was very little suspense in this novel, and there seemed to be no action and yet several things occurring all at once, leaving me confused at times. Among the things that happened Shaikh touched on some very important issues such as self-harm, abusive parents, and to some degree mental illness. These are all important issues to be bringing up in YA. I will say that I am impressed at the author's handling of these issues, particularly self harm and Arabella's struggle with cutting as well as her mother.

Another aspect I found this story lacking was a sense of time and setting. Not much is described, leaving a reader blank for the much of the book. There is some attentive description, such as in Adelaide's home or Troye's white room. However, the great majority of this book is a blank canvas that was never filled. This did nothing to aide with the passing of time. At several points there would be odd paragraph breaks that would state that a few weeks had passed, or that a new event was occurring, which would be all the warning received that the setting and time was changing. I honestly cannot tell you the amount of time covered in this book; my rough estimate would be anywhere from 6 months to a year, possibly two, but your guess would be as good as mine.

As interested as I am in seeing young voices like Sheikh's in YA I feel that her novel is deeply flawed. However, that does not mean that she will not deliver something far more powerful in the future. Time is certainly on her side.

I'm on the fence about this book really, caught between both good and bad points.
The book is a coming of age story following 4 senior year kids both coming together and their individual lives.
I thought the book flowed quite well and the writing was pretty standard for a YA contemporary novel. I liked the diversity within the characters we saw and I especially liked the fact that it wasn't a romance centered novel like most in its genre.
The bad points I'd say we're that the language used sometimes fell into the negative over stylised grandiose language often seen in typical teenage stories were it sounds like each 17 yr old is a philosophical genius in how the deal with their teenage angst.
Overall I gave 3 stars.