The Thing’s I Didn’t Say by Kylie Fornasier
Pages: 320
Publish date: May 2nd 2016
Publisher: Penguin Teen Australia
ISBN: 9780143573630
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU
I hate the label Selective Mutism – as if I choose not to speak, like a child who refuses to eat broccoli. I’ve used up every dandelion wish since I was ten wishing for the power to speak whenever I want to. I’m starting to wonder if there are enough dandelions.
After losing her best friend that night, Piper Rhodes changes schools, determined that her final year will be different. She will be different. Then she meets West: school captain, star soccer player, the boy everyone talks about. Despite her fear of losing everything all over again, Piper falls in love – and West with her – without Piper ever speaking one word to him. But will it last?
The Things I Didn’t Say:
The Things I Didn’t Say by Kylie Fornasier was one of my most anticipated books for 2016. I adored her previous book Masquerade and when I heard Kylie was writing another book, I knew that I need to read it, and let me tell you it didn’t disappoint.
The Things I Didn’t Say is quite different from her first novel. Firstly it’s not historical fiction and it’s set here in Australia. It’s a contemporary novel that includes a protagonist with Selective Mutism.
The Things I Didn’t Say follows protagonist Piper as she starts at a new school after an event that made her lose her best friend. The thing is, Piper has Selective Mutism. Selective Mutism is a condition that causes someone not able to speak in certain situations or with certain people. For Piper, the only people that she speaks to is her family and people that she is really close to.
I really enjoyed Piper as a protagonist. Her growth throughout the book was really well done and we are able to see that she has changed from the start of the book. I also enjoyed her character arc.
Kylie Fornasier dealt with Selective Mutism exceptionally well. There is quite a lot of YA novels that deal with characters not speaking – but because of something that has happened to them. Selective Mutism doesn’t work like that and we are able to see that in The Things I Didn’t Say.
We also see how other characters deal with this and it’s interesting to see how her family, who have known her, her life think that it’s just a phase that she is going through. But someone who has just found out about the condition is totally accepting.
Nevertheless, we also get to see how people who don’t know Piper’s situation deal with her especially, teachers because of her move to a new school.
There was something very real about The Things I Didn’t Say. The conversations felt real, the events that happened felt real, the way that the characters deal with things, felt real.
The romance in The Things I Didn’t Say was adorable. I enjoyed West both as a character and as a love interest for Piper. It was so cute the way that West dealt with the knowledge when he found out about Selective Mutism. I wanted to squeeze him. I did feel at times that it moved along a little too quickly, but it was also slow burning – if that makes any sense at all.
However, I did have a problem with the pacing. The book spans over about a year and I felt that there was no real sense of time and the next thing I knew we were at the end of the school year. This did confuse me and I just wanted to be made aware of the jump lapse.
The Things I Didn’t Say packs a punch, there are things in the novel that will rip your heart apart and all you will want to do is hold Piper. Kylie Fornasier’s writing is beautiful and so easy to delve into and read.
Overall, The Things I Didn’t Say is a gorgeous novel that breaks you down. It pulls at your heart and slowly rips it. With beautiful writing and a slow burning romance that starts off quick, but takes it’s time.
Have you read The Things I Didn’t Say yet? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it? Let’s Chat!
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