Noah lived an average middle school student’s life. He and his two friends, Ryan and Sam, lived their lives where everything revolved around relationships, dancing, and Emma, Noah’s older sister. As long as Noah could remember, Emma would always outshine him in everything he did, except art. From clay sculptures to sketches, Noah had incredible artistic abilities. He used art as an escape from reality and entered his own world where he could create anything. Even though he knows almost everything about Emma, from the types of layers of clothing she wears to her sensitivity around eating meat, he never expected “The Thing They Don’t Talk About” to come back.
I thought the book was very well written. The first-person point of view gave the reader a good perspective of Noah’s thoughts and actions. It gives the reader a chance to see how Noah copes with everything as the plot progresses. Although Noah was the main character, the author made sure to include Emma’s unrevealed life and how it is far from perfect. Also, the author added suspense to the book by leaving the Thing They Don’t Talk About a mystery to the reader. This kept me to want to read more, chapter after chapter.
To me, the most memorable thing about the book was the flawless perspective given by the author. The author made it feel as if the reader could know exactly what was going on in Noah’s mind as he experienced the different conflicts throughout the book. While the author made the book very suspenseful, she was still able to include a good amount of humor that made me excited to read more. The humor that the author includes makes the perspective seem more realistic.
Reviewed by Victoria, Grade 7, Twin Hickory Area Library
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 