Your Voice Is All I Hear Review
Rating: ✭✭✭✭
Title: Your Voice Is All I Hear
Author: Leah Scheier
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mental Illness, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Publication: September 1, 2015
Format: Arc E-galley, 336 pages
Source: Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Fire for sending me a copy of this novel.
"It's not like other illnesses. A person who is sick with cancer has the support of the community. Everyone bands together and tries to help. Friends organise runs for a cure and put together and put together bake sales and blood drives. Next door neighbours bring tuna casseroles to the patient's family.
There are no casseroles for schizophrenia," I said.
- April, page 306
After meeting Jonah, the new boy at school, April immediately feels a connection and soon begin a relationship - and a good one. Then Jonah begins to slip into darkness and begins to lose a grip on reality that endangers himself and April, but April won't leave him. She decides to whatever she can to help him and protect him, even though everyone is telling her to let him go. April learns about sacrifice and loyalty, and how her love for one boy can make her change the way she sees and hears life.
Your Voice Is All I Hear was definitely not what I was expecting and a complete winner; it tackles the mental illness of Schizophrenia in very engaging way. I loved the whole idea of the story, which I will explain later, because it was very well written and thought of. I thought that Leah Scheier had a very realistic portrayal of Schizophrenia. I have read other books that feature Schizophrenia but never realised how intense it really was because I found it quite a new and shocking experience to read. Leah also did this thing where the narrator and main character April changed tenses and then she began to speak about Jonah in a different tone which completely sucked me in and from there I just had to keep on reading.
Your Voice Is All I Hear had an amazing plot line. I was really fooled by the sappy and romantic beginning which then transitioned into an amazing last half. It was extremely well paced and kept me, as a reader, engaged throughout. This also added a mystery element to it which I really loved. Others may dislike the romantic beginning, but I think that it really made this book. It 'complemented' the illness aspect of the book as it helped the readers distinguish the mannerisms and behaviours of schizophrenic individuals to others who are witnessing it. It made the expression of April and Jonah's emotions easier.
Ava was a very flat and lacking character, I couldn't get any emotion or depth out of her. That may have been because I found her naivety very annoying when it came to Jonah and his illness. I also found that a lot of the characters were stereotypical too (of course April would have an extremely attractive best friend with legs-for-days and perfect hair). On the more positive side, I think that the characters reactions towards Jonah's illness was portrayed quite well and plausible.
Your Voice Is All I Hear is a raw and fascinating novel that doesn't romanticise mental illness and portrays it in a different and realistic light. I would really recommend this.
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