A thoughtful contemporary romance about finding ways to communicate, with disability, anxiety, friendship and family relationships treated as substantial parts of the story rather than simple obstacles.
selective mutismdeafnessBritish Sign Languagelip-readingsocial anxietypanic attackstherapy and medicationfriendship strainromancecommunicationindependence
FictionNovel
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Themes in Context
Communication and disability
Steffi and Rhys develop a relationship using several communication methods, while Steffi learns that her experience does not fully represent Rhys’s.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The story presents communication as varied and negotiated, rather than treating speech or hearing as the only valuable forms.
Talk about: How does each person indicate what helps them participate in a conversation?
Anxiety and change
Steffi receives cognitive behavioural therapy and medication while trying to manage communication in school and elsewhere.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book presents this mainly as information or explanation.
Talk about: What kinds of support help, and does the story leave room for progress that is not measured by speaking?
Romance and friendship
Steffi’s relationship with Rhys develops from friendship, while her changing social life affects her longstanding friendship with Tem.MixedMixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.Mixed: the book presents both supportive and critical signals.
How the book presents it: Relationships are shown as meaningful but imperfect, involving misunderstandings, mistakes and a degree of independence rather than rescue.
Talk about: If a relationship changes, how can people communicate honestly without making one person responsible for another’s wellbeing?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
It may offer a useful starting point for discussing how communication can work through signing, writing, texting, lip-reading and speech, while recognising that people’s needs and perspectives are not identical.
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What Deserves Attention
Consider whether the treatment of anxiety, selective mutism, deafness, medication and cognitive behavioural therapy fits your child’s circumstances. The book includes panic attacks and sexual content within the romance.
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A Conversation Worth Having
How does the story balance Steffi’s wish to speak more easily with the possibility that communication need not look or sound one particular way? What might each character still misunderstand?
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Reading Approach
Read alongside the young person rather than treating recovery as the main measure of progress. Pause around panic, treatment, friendship strain or intimacy, and invite their interpretation without demanding personal disclosure.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Communication and disability: The book is told from Steffi’s perspective, so Rhys’s inner experience is less directly available.
Anxiety and change: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Romance and friendship: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
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