Review: A YA novel that traces a teenage hero’s desperate journey after the earthquake in San Francisco

“The Loud and Quiet Part” by Deborah Crosland.

Photo: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

The Quiet Part Loud, Deborah Crossland’s YA novel, will resonate with readers who spent their early teens living in the midst of the pandemic that upended their world. This love story takes place on a terrible night in San Francisco during a devastating earthquake and its aftermath.

Although a pandemic and an earthquake are two very different catastrophes—one occurring in a matter of seconds, the other over a period of months—both change life as we know it into a fight for survival. And in this novel, the psychological impact on a teenager’s disrupted life, whether due to an epidemic or natural disaster, is echoed.

Mia, who has recently graduated from high school, is trekking through the broken city in search of her ex-boyfriend, Alfie. She saw him in a café earlier that day for the first time in months. She realizes that their breakup, due to her unresolved issues, was a mistake. As she was communicating with him on the phone, an earthquake struck.

The story is told in their alternating points of view, and their memories fill the history of their relationship. The more we learn about Mia’s complicated life, her family’s history and losses, and the more we learn about Alfie’s devotion to her, the more invested we will be in her desperate search to find him.

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The Quiet Part Out Loud by Deborah Crossland (Simon & Schuster; 352 pages; $19.99)

Deborah Crossland Book Launch: 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 27. Free. Books Inc. Town and Country Village, 855 El Camino Real, #74, Palo Alto. booksinc.net

Her quest is a version of the hero’s journey, complete with tests and trials that bring up difficult aspects of her past, forcing her to confront the problems she has worked to suppress. We all know the adage about crises that contain risk and opportunity for growth. Mia suffers injuries, hunger, thirst and panic, but she rushes through hurdle after hurdle.

Mia’s return story, her memories of Alfie and her friend Simi, accompany her on her mission. Sometimes these characters seemed too good to be true, but because this book blurs the lines between realistic fiction and myth, I can suspend disbelief and accept that.

Deborah Crossland is the author of the young adult novel The Quiet Part Out Loud.

Photo: Heather Jane Photography

All heroes in quests encounter clues. Mia is no exception. As she wanders alone through the dystopian landscape, she meets unlikely helpers – Chin-Sun, a woman doing relief work; Alfie’s friend. and Davey, a disoriented elderly woman searching for a tree she planted years ago. Mia helps Davey, listens to her story, and by helping Davey helps herself. Chin-Sun gives Lamia a blanket and spiritual guidance. The title comes from Chen-sun’s conversation with Mia, late in the book: “People find it hard to say the quiet part out loud, and that’s okay. That’s why we have other ways of speaking. Than saying what we really mean. The truth is always in the metaphor.” And the metaphor speaks directly about this. It presses my hand to my chest, right above my heart.

During the pandemic, I’ve been teaching health and wellness to middle school students on Zoom and in person. As these young teens lurched and teetered through isolation and the global pandemic, some found physical and emotional support from helpers like Chen-Sun and Davey. Some already had the foundations of love and support. Young readers may find inspiration through Mia’s story. Her self-reflection during a desperate struggle makes her a stronger, healthier person, capable of dealing with life’s inevitable tragedies.

Connie Bewald is a freelance writer.

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