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From Barnes and Noble:
Alex is seventeen years old and she feels her life has come to an end. After being involved in an accident that killed her best friend, she doesn’t see why anyone would want her around and she refuses to talk. Ordered by a judge to do community service, she must spend time at a hospital with a girl named Joanie, who has minimal control of her body and no speech. Never having known another way of being, Joanie has an extraordinary internal life. She has been listening and watching as the world goes on around her, but Joanie is so full of words, thoughts and images that if she could ever figure out a way to let them loose, they would come swirling out in a torrent of syllables. She would fill every room with the colors of her dreams until the whole world became a rainbow of her making. Brought together by accident, Alex and Joanie have experienced the helplessness of silence. Their growing connection may lead them both to find the power of their voices.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
What’s it like?: It’s different.
What I thought: At first glance, it seemed like an overdone plot. Girl loses someone, stops speaking, finds a friend, and starts speaking again. It wasn’t too far from that. It was told in split POV’s- Alex and Joanie. Alex’s friend died in a car accident and Alex is given community service for her involvement in the crash. Alex really doesn’t have a rooting factor. She doesn’t do too much with her life besides exist. She’s isolated from people, and wants nothing to do with those who are still around her. She has one person who is supporting her, but Joanie can’t speak in the traditional sense.
Overall, it was an okay read. I would have liked to see Alex grow more than she did.