Our Shouts Echo tackles topics that sit heavy in the minds of many young people—climate change, the effects of capitalism, natural disasters, and bullies with audiences that validate each nasty act are prevalent throughout the story, providing a harrowing look at the reality that teenagers are currently facing. Niarah insecurities, trauma, and mental health issues make her a great character to explore. She finds herself surrounded by a group of cool upperclassmen that find her attitude more charming than off-putting, and this takes her on a journey of discovery. Her doomsday bunker and relationships with the adults in her life are also really complex. I felt like it dealt with a lot of tough issues and was not overly preachy or trite. I think it is a book students can enjoy and have some great book club discussions with. I would purchase for our library and definitely recommend to students.
Thank you to NetGalley for the audioarc to preview.

After reading the synopsis and hearing the trigger warning at the beginning of the book, I knew it was going to be a heavier read so I actually kept putting off listening to this book. However, I am so pleasantly surprised of how much I enjoyed this book.

The main character's tone of voice is sarcastic, snarky, pessimistic, and extremist but also funny while being raw and vulnerable. I think the narrator did a fantastic job with conveying all the layers of this!! Her head was hard to be in sometimes because of her dire and anxious outlook on life, but also engaging and resonant and I think would be really relatable to teens who are struggling to figure out how the world works and what their place is in the world and deal with the hand previous generations have dealt them as they consider their futures. Her outlook is balanced beautifully with her love interest, who's not immune to struggle and hardship and anxiety but who has learned to manage it and focus on things more optimistically. Their friendship-turned-romance is very well-developed, with connection and tenderness and respect. But it also emphasizes human connection and community (with great representation and inclusivity!) rather than just focusing on insta-love or one person "fixing" everything. Most importantly, this book does not shy away from heavy mental health topics while handling them in a way that feels hopeful. There is a lightness to the intense themes that keeps the reader from being bogged down with dread, while not making light of the content or being dismissive of the feelings, vulnerabilities, conflicting outlooks, or mistakes that the characters make and grow from. Again, I think the way it was narrated did a lot to present this content in that light with such a relatable tone of voice even with a point of view that is so extreme in her fears and anxieties. I think a lot of teens would feel seen reading/listening to this book regarding the fears and anxieties and uncertainties it addresses while hopefully offering some hope for the future.

Our Shout Echo by Jade Adia is a deeply relatable and thought-provoking read that tackles mental health, trauma, and the fine line between surviving and truly living. Niarah’s prepper mindset isn’t played for laughs—it’s a natural response to her past and a world that constantly feels like it’s on the brink of disaster. Honestly, her survivalist logic was so convincing that I caught myself wondering if I should stock up on iodine tablets too.

The novel explores some of the biggest fears weighing on teens today—climate change, war, environmental destruction, depression, abuse, and bullying—without ever dismissing them. Instead, it acknowledges their reality while showing that fear doesn’t have to dictate your life. I really appreciated how the story handled this balance, making space for both the anxieties and the moments of hope, especially through Mac’s presence in Niarah’s life. The difference between surviving and living is a central theme, and I think a lot of readers will connect with that struggle.

This is a book that will hit differently depending on where you are mentally. Some will find it powerful and validating, while others might see it as a little pithy. Either way, it’s an important and well-crafted story. I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the narration, but I also picked up the physical copy to check out the doodles and survival guide formatting—it’s worth it for that extra layer of experience.

Our Shouts Echo was perfectly narrated! I am not sure that I would have stuck with this title until the end if I had read it. Hand this to teens who enjoy contemporary works about real teens facing real life struggles in this imperfect world.

Niarah lives with constant anxiety--fear about natural disasters, fear about the end of the world, fear about other people and their possible reactions. She copes with this anxiety the only way she knows how--by always being prepared. She can't wait for her senior year to be over so she can spend her summer building Camp Doom, a backyard bunker-style shelter. When Niarah ends up failing English and PE and must attend summer school, her plans for Camp Doom are in jeopardy. But a new opportunity to fulfill her PE credit will lead to new experiences and new friendships, if she can let them happen.

I really liked Niarah's snarky tone, and the mental health struggles in the book all felt realistic. My main complaint is the frequent inclusion of casual drinking and smoking pot that occurred throughout the book. Although there are probably some teens who behave this way, it's difficult for me to purchase and recommend a book to teens that makes it seem like drinking and smoking while just hanging out is a typical behavior.

I reviewed the hard copy of this book. It was good. It was well-executed and deeply introspective. It captured the existential angst of adolescence as well as anything I’ve read in the last 5 years.

However.

This audio version? It was like reading an entirely new text. There were moments when I gasped. The way she captured the essence of the moment in the simple intonation of her voice? It elevated the novel in such a way that it added layer upon layer of meaning without forcing anything. Often I read audio books for convenience. In this case, I highly recommend the audio version for the masterful way the text was captured in sound. What a beautiful experience—even when what I was hearing was hard to hear from an emotional perspective. What a read!