Review:: WHITE AS SILENCE, RED AS SONG

White as Silence, Red as Song 

Author: Alessandro D'Avenia
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Sixteen-year-old Leo has a way with words, but he doesn’t know it yet. He spends his time texting, polishing soccer maneuvers, and killing time with Niko and Silvia. Until a new teacher arrives and challenges him to give voice to his dreams.

And so Leo is inspired to win over the red-haired beauty Beatrice. She doesn’t know Leo exists, but he’s convinced that his dream will come true. When Leo lands in the hospital and learns that Beatrice has been admitted too, his mission to be there for her will send him on a thrilling but heartbreaking journey. He wants to help her but doesn’t know how—and his dream of love will force him to grow up fast.

Having already sold over a million copies, Alessandro D’Avenia’s debut novel is considered Italy’s The Fault in Our Stars. Now available in English for the first time, this rich, funny, and heartwarming coming-of-age tale asks us to explore the meaning—and the cost—of friendship, and shows us what happens when suffering bursts into the world of teenagers and renders the world of adults speechless. 

Book Links:  
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About the Author: 

Alessandro D’Avenia holds a PhD in Classical Literature, and teaches Ancient Greek, Latin and Literature at a high school in Milan. White as Silence, Red as Song was his first novel, published in Italy in 2010. It sold a million copies in Italy, has been translated into over twenty languages and was released as a film in 2012. Alessandro has since published four more books, the latest of which, Every Story is a Love Story, was published in October 2017.

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My thoughts....

I love the cover, it's so simple but beautiful! I thought it gave off a very classic feel, Jane Austen vibes...If she were alive today and liked contemporary book covers or maybe if she liked butterflies...

Let's get to it!!!! Leo, Leo, Leo....Ugh, he's your average 16 year old high schooler...Who acts accordingly, no need to expect him to be mature or ..different. Leo is in love with Beatrice who is dying...yes, yes I know morbid but at least it isn't a surprise. He just rips the Band-Aid off. This is a classic modern day love story! Bahh but we don't really dive in too much about Beatrice, this is all about Leo. Who decides that he loves Beatrice, but the book doesn't actually focus on their romance. It's all about Leo finally growing up! None of these characters are actually teenagers....They are adults who are experiencing teenage feelings of repression...Almost like they were forced to grow up too soon. They speak with such enlightenment, there was no legitimacy to actually being teenagers...Like you just want one of them to have a melt down about their hair, grades, shoes they recently bought or maybe how fetch will never happen...Classic I'm totally a teenager in high school drama..

I said Leo loved Beatrice earlier but I didn't actually mean love...They never really spoke except for smiles in the hallways, and from there he fell in love...Yes, like every great romance...She passed me in the hallway, and we made eye contact she smiled!! (*Not actually a scene but you get it) We soon learn that Leo's fixation with Beatrice is on the brink of monomania. Remember the scene where he visits her in the hospital while he is also in the hospital...But he caresses her face, tells the nurses that he is Beatrice's boyfriend, and stays in the room even when she is sleeping...Why was he in the hospital? A scooter accident, and finds out that Beatrice is also in the same hospital....

Now Leo, has made a connection with Beatrice, and they become acquainted with each other, he now visits her at her home...They spend time together, even though we know it's limited due to her impending death. That hangs over both of their heads but they make due with the time they have available...Leo finally learns to accept Beatrice's death which motivated his actions...

Leo sees the world in color, and these are the ways he explains it. White is silent, and boring, Leo doesn't want white in his world. Red is the color for love, and what he sees when Beatrice is around. Blue is the color of friendship, and what he sees when he looks at his friends...  My rating 3/5  

****I received this book complimentary. My review is my honest opinion.****