About the Book
Book: Seeing Voices
Author: Olivia Smit
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult
Release Date: April 15, 2020
Skylar Brady has a for her life—until a car accident changes everything.
Skylar knows exactly what she wants, and getting in a car accident the summer before twelfth grade isn’t supposed to be part of the plan. Although she escapes mostly unharmed, the accident has stolen more than just her hearing from her: she’s also lost the close bond she used to have with her brother.
When her parents decide to take a house-sitting job halfway across the province, it’s just one more thing that isn’t going according to plan. As the summer progresses, Skylar begins to gain confidence in herself, but as she tries to mend her relationship with her brother, she stumbles upon another hidden trauma. Suddenly, she’s keeping as many secrets as she’s struggling to uncover and creating more problems than she could ever hope to solve.
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About the Author
Olivia Smit loves baking, visiting small towns, and writing stories that face hard truth with hope and encouragement. Olivia has an Honours Specialization in Creative Writing, English Language, and Literature and lives in Canada with her family. Seeing Voices is her first novel. Learn more at https://oliviasmit.ca/
More from Olivia
Although “Seeing Voices” is not the first book I ever wrote, it is the first one that felt like it held a little piece of my heart. Skylar and her older brother, Mike, popped into my head one afternoon, both coping with the aftermath of a car accident in totally different ways. It took me ages to figure out what kind of story they belonged to, but right from the beginning I knew it would be a story about siblings and families, pain and guilt, and also (perhaps most importantly!) togetherness and love.
In so many ways, “Seeing Voices” was for me, before it was for readers. I wrote the rough draft when I was 18, fresh out of high school and still figuring out a few tricky situations within my own family. As I wrote about Skylar and Mike, I poured a lot of my own confusion and emotion into the pages, trying to make sense of my own feelings of responsibility, frustration, and ultimately, hope. Words from the book still float through my mind when I’m in certain situations, little reminders of lessons I learned once and need to hang onto with both hands.
I prayed my way through the writing process, trying (and failing) to find a story that fit with Skylar and Mike, who felt so much like real people. I prayed through querying, trusting that if God wanted this story out there in the world, He would find it a home … and if He wanted Skylar and Mike to be a story just for me, I would be okay with that, too. In so many ways this process has been a team effort, and I feel convinced that this isn’t my story, after all — it’s God’s, and I’m just doing my part to help tell it.
My Review of Seeing Voices:
My normal genre of books isn’t usually YA, but I read the back blurb of this book and wanted to try it. I didn’t realize the main characters in this book weren’t believers; however, I enjoyed the way the author introduced Skylar to the gospel in an authentic way through the use of Cam. Cam was probably my favorite person throughout. His character was written authentically, genuinely, and he was someone I’d like my child to hang out with. I also understood the feelings and emotions Skylar and Mike were experiencing as much as a reader can who hasn’t experienced the same traumas they went through. I was a little confused, though, with how much Skylar could (or couldn’t hear) even with her hearing aids in and why she didn’t wear them the majority of the time? I understood why she took them out sometimes, but when she knew she was responsible for her brother and sister’s safety – why did she take them out then?
I also enjoyed the addition of Anastasia to the book, although I would have liked a little more closure with what happened to her and her part of the story. I loved the way the author wrote the mom, and dad, into the story as well. I could feel the warmth, love, and sadness they were dealing with as well. Overall, it was a good book; and I think the ending message of how Skylar finally comes to see God is one many teens need to hear now-a-days. I think, also, the author will reach more people by having Skylar come to that conclusion slowly, being an unbeliever throughout the majority of the book because other teens will be able to relate to her feelings and emotions more than if she started out a believer.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit but was not under any obligation to write a review. All opinions are strictly mine.
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Blog Stops
Remembrancy, May 15
Batya’s Bits, May 16
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 17
For the Love of Literature, May 18
Older & Smarter?, May 19
Andrea Carmen, May 19
Texas Book-aholic, May 20
Inklings and notions, May 21
Writing from the Heart Land, May 21
For Him and My Family, May 22
deb’s Book Review, May 23
Spoken from the Heart, May 24
Nancy E Wood, May 24
Pause for Tales, May 25
Hallie Reads, May 26
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 27
Library Lady’s Kid Lit, May 28
With a Joyful Noise, May 28
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Olivia is giving away the grand prize package of coasters and a book sleeve!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/fa00/seeing-voices-celebration-tour-giveaway
This sounds like a really good and inspiring book.
What a heartfelt book of going through a journey with a loss of sense and then a gaining of more awareness and caring.
Good review, many thanks for sharing about this interesting book!