Sara Alva Gives Voice To The “Silent” In This Story Of Young Love

“Secrets are what can ease or crush a soul, mend or destroy a heart, and rescue or murder a life.” ― Alexis Hurley

BLURB: Alex’s life as a teenager in South Central L.A. is far from perfect, but it’s his life, and he knows how to live it. He knows what role to play and what things to keep to himself. He’s got it all under control, until one lousy pair of shoes kicks him out of his world and lands him in a foster care group home.

Surrounded by strangers and trapped in a life where he could never belong, Alex turns to the only person lower on the social ladder than he is: a “special” mute boy. In Sebastian, Alex finds a safe place to store his secrets—those that sent him to foster care, and the deeper one that sets him apart from the other teenagers he knows. But Sebastian has secrets of his own, and when tragedy rips the two boys apart, Alex will stop at nothing to find the answers—even if it means dragging them both through a past full of wounds best left buried.

It might just be worth it, for the slim chance at love.

REVIEW: Alex is fifteen years old. He lives in the ghetto with his mother, who is very neglectful, and her boyfriend, who likes to take out his frustrations on Alex. When Alex makes a not so great decision to get himself a pair of shoes, it ends up costing him his home.

Alex ends up in foster care when the abuse and neglect he suffers through is brought to light. Little did he know that getting put into a group home would help him not only get his life on track, but it would find him his future.

While in the group home, he meets Sebastian. Alex learns that Seb is mute, and the other residents tell him that Seb is retarded, but Alex is inexplicably drawn to the boy. He starts revealing more and more about himself to Seb, and the two boys find a way to communicate with one another without words. When Alex tells Seb that he is gay, he finds out that they have more in common than he could ever have hoped for.

Circumstances force the boys to separate due to tragedy. Alex’s only concern is to find Seb. Once he does, he gets to play white knight. What he doesn’t understand is not only does he save Seb, but Seb saves him too.

The journey Alex makes in this book is filled with many experiences that I don’t know I could have handled at that age. He sees the light and caring side of life, and he sees the nastier side of humanity. Through it all, he ends up finding his soul mate. Not many of us are lucky enough to find that other half of our soul, but I can’t think of two people that needed each other more than Seb and Alex. They had many obstacles to overcome and they eventually did.

This is a great story of overcoming adversity, and a very sweet tale of young love that finds a way to grow and flourish in a barren landscape. I highly recommend this book for readers of all ages.

You can buy Silent here: