Book Review: Soundless by Richelle Mead

Release Date: November 10th, 2015
Read: October 20th-221st, 2015
Publisher: Razorbill
Series: N/A
Format: ARC, 272 pages
Source: McNally Robinson/ Two Thumbs Up Program

Description from GoodReads:

   For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. 

   When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

   But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

Review:

   There will never be another name on my heart.
   Richelle Mead is an automatic buy for me, everything from her Young Adult books (Vampire Academy, Bloodlines...) to her Adult series, ( Dark Swan, Georgia Kincaid...). It was going to be no different for Soundless, Mead’s upcoming releases, until of course I got insanely lucky when I visited McNally Robinson for my next ARC for the Two Thumbs Up Program. Soundless would be my first Mead ARC, and I couldn't be happier.
   Just by reading the summery of Soundless, I was blown away. For the past year, bloggers have been going on about how we need more diverse books, and boy did we get it. And not just that, we got characters with hearing loss and blindness. This was the first book I've ever read where the characters knew sign language and that the whole book spoke using it. It was a truly unique experience! It showed you how signing is just another language to learn, and not some show people put on.
   The book also had a big message that I don't think many people will notice. The message being that artists and creativity are just as important as everything else. For schools and jobs currently, its 'very' important to know everything Math and Science related and so the schools cut the budget for the arts or don't even pay attention to them. The arts are so important and not many people realize that. Writing books is an art, and books or textbooks are very important in our everyday lives or education. That's why the artists being an important part of the story really got to me, the village acknowledged the arts and how important they are, I just wish everyone else would now too.
   The only thing I found a little bit out of sorts from the book was the mythology. The beginning of the book didn't really say much when it came to the myths, besides that one bedtime story we heard. So when it came to the end and the myth became a major event, it felt kind of forced in. Like Mead just needed an easy answer to end the book. I certainly thought Mead should have brought it up more throughout the book, instead of just at the very end.
   Besides the one problem I had, everything else was very unique and new. The story is also something you don't experience on a day to day basis, you don't see a lot of books based in China!
   Richelle Mead certainly has another hit for the world, one that will definitely win awards, but who would have thought otherwise. After this work of art, I honestly can't wait to see what Mead has in store for us next.

 You can find my review on McNally Robinson's Two Thumbs Up review page here.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

" We need to know how to describe the world. Otherwise we'd fall into ignorance." ~ Fei

"You should marry someone who loves you. Someone who loves you passionately and would change the world for you." ~ Li Wei

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Fantasy, Mythology, Chinese Folklore, Adventure