Book Review: Soundless

"Soundless" by Richelle Mead     

Hardcover Edition-266 Pages  

   Genre-Fantasy, Young Adult, 

Mythology and Romance           

  5/5 Lily Pads                                     

  Would I Recommend It? Yes                

    No Spoilers!!

Hey bookworms, I'm back with a review. I totally apologize for the bad formatting on the top. Something happened and I don't know how to fix it. I usually space it out more but for some reason it won't let me use double space, so I'm stuck with it looking like this for now. It bothers me but I hope it doesn't bother you. Anyway, I am here to review "Soundless" by Richelle Mead. This is her new stand-alone book. I've read the first book in her "Vampire Academy" series and thought it was just okay, it wasn't that good in my opinion. However, I heard the series gets way better so I'm planning on reading the other books, especially since I own all of them. Even though I didn't like the first book, I wanted to give this book a try because the plot sounded so cool and unique. I love diverse books and this book had so much diversity, and I loved it! I've seen a lot of negative reviews for this book, and I'm definitely in the minority because I really liked this book. Anyway, let's get on with the review!

The Plot

 
For as long as Fei can remember, no one in her village has been able to hear. Rocky terrain and frequent avalanches make it impossible to leave the village, so 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. Many go hungry. Fei and all the people she loves are plunged into crisis, with nothing to look forward to but darkness and starvation.

 Until one night, Fei is awoken by a searing noise. Sound becomes her weapon. She sets out to uncover what’s happened to her and to fight the dangers threatening her village. A handsome miner with a revolutionary spirit accompanies Fei on her quest, bringing with him new risks and the possibility of romance. They embark on a majestic journey from the peak of their jagged mountain village to the valley of Beiguo, where a startling truth will change their lives forever…

My Opinion 

Like I said before, I really wanted to read this book because the plot intrigued me. It was such a different and unique book. It really stands out from the other YA books out there. 

First let's talk about the characters. Even though this book was so short, I actually really liked the main characters. I thought they were developed pretty well for such a tiny book. I really liked our main protagonist, Fei. She was a great character and she was awesome. She is an Artist and she wanted to change the world and I loved how she stood up for herself. She was very brave and I just liked her. I liked her older sister, Zhang. I really liked her relationship with Fei, it reminds me of my relationship with my sisters and I just loved how close they were. Fei really wanted to help her and protect her and I found that relatable. The last character I wanna mention is Li Wei. He is the friend/love interest in the book. I actually really liked him. He was a nice guy and I loved that he was always friends with Fei and he wanted to help her, even though the journey was very risky and dangerous. I loved their relationship. The romance was awesome. Even though it was a short book, the romance wasn't rushed at all, it was actually perfect with no insta-love. 

I already mentioned that I loved the plot for this book because it was so original and unique. I absolutely loved the diversity in this novel. I appreciated it so much! First of all, the main characters are all Asian. This book is based on Chinese Folklore and the characters are all Chinese which I loved because I'm obsessed with Asia and I love their culture. I really need to read more books with Asian characters. It was also diverse because everyone in the village is deaf, which I thought was so cool because I've never read a book with deaf characters. There's no dialogue in the book, it's all sign language and the conversations are in italics. I just thought it was so different. Also some people were blind in the book, too. 

Another reason why I loved this book so much is because it made me see the world in a different way. What I mean by that is, it made me realize how fortunate I am to live in an amazing world where we have everything we need to live. In the book, everyone in the village is starving and I really take my life for granted. We are so lucky to be able to just go out and buy food, we don't have to starve to death. Also, it made me realize that all the problems I think I have are so minor compared to the problems in this book. I'm not deaf and I'm not blind and I realize now how lucky I am to be able to see and hear everything. I can't imagine how hard it must be to live every day without being able to see or hear. This book changed my view of my life and really made me appreciate what I have. I love when books do that.     

So yeah, that was my review. This book was really good and I'm glad I gave it a chance. If your hesitant to read this because of the mixed reviews, definitely give this book a chance. It is such a good book and it's so different from other books. I'll admit there were some parts where I was a little bored but it wasn't bad enough for me to put the book down. I forgot to mention that some people said they hated the ending. I personally liked the ending and thought it wrapped up the book pretty well. It was a good ending but I would love it if she wrote a sequel. I know it's a stand-alone but a sequel would be really cool because I love the world and the characters. I would love to read about them again.  Overall, I really enjoyed "Soundless" and I think more people should read it. I think this book is worth a buy and thank you so much for reading my review. I appreciate it so much! Thanks again and I will have more posts coming soon, bye and happy reading! :)