The Loudest Silence
Sydney Langford
Holiday House
Published July 30, 2024
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About The Loudest Silence
Two disabled, queer teens find belonging in this poignant platonic love story about singing, signing, and solidarity.
CASEY KOWALSKI once dreamed of becoming a professional singer. Then the universe threw her a life-altering curveball— sudden, permanent, and profound hearing loss—just before her family’s move from Portland to Miami. Now, she’s learning to navigate the world as a Deaf-Hard of Hearing person while trying to conceal her hearing loss from her new schoolmates.
HAYDEN GONZÁLEZ-ROSSI is also keeping secrets. Three generations of González men have risen to stardom on the soccer field, and Hayden knows his family expects him to follow in their footsteps, but he wants to quit soccer and pursue a career on Broadway. If only his Generalized Anxiety Disorder didn’t send him into a debilitating spiral over the thought of telling the truth.
Casey and Hayden are both determined to hide who they really are. But when they cross paths at school, they bond over their shared love of music and their mutual feeling that they don’t belong, and the secrets come spilling out. Their friendship is the beating heart of this dual-perspective story featuring thoughtful disability representation, nuanced queer identities, and a lovably quirky supporting cast.
My Review
This is a debut?! I need more books by this author.
I really enjoyed this book. It’s got so many great things. A playful, supportive friend group. Vulnerable, frank explorations of grief, sudden hearing loss, and anxiety. Music. Sign language. A celebration of platonic love (with a little romantic love on the side). I love it.
The story follows Hayden and Casey’s points of view, usually in alternating chapters. I found both of them to be great characters and so easy to root for. Hayden is the sweetest. Casey has harder edges, and she’s a loyal friend if you can get past her walls.
An author’s note explains how Langford uses ASL and SimCom (simultaneous communication, or using sign language and speaking simultaneously) in the text, which helped get me oriented to the narrative. It’s a little different than I’ve seen in other books, which is totally okay. I appreciated knowing when someone was signing and talking versus just signing or talking– it was also an important distinction in the story for plot reasons, so it helped to have that distinction clear.
The book seriously has so many things to love about it. The sweet romance. The unapologetic ace rep. The spotlight on multiple cultures within one family. It’s a great book. If you love books about music, musicians or fabulous friend groups, you do not want to miss The Loudest Silence.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Representation
Hayden is Cuban/Italian American and asexual. Casey is Deaf-Hard-of-hearing. Other characters are Latine and queer.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
One F-bomb. Strong profanity used very infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. At one point, the characters assume two boys are dating.
Spiritual Content
One character has a cross necklace he rubs his thumb on when he’s nervous. Another character gives someone a necklace with a pendant showing a saint on it.
Violent Content
Descriptions of anxiety and panic attacks. Ableist behavior.
Drug Content
None.
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