The Silence That Binds Us by Joanna Ho
Rating: 
Read before: No
Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.
The Silence That Binds Us takes us through the life of Maybelline, who is a little shy and quiet but loves her friends and her big brother, until her brother dies by suicide and her whole family starts questioning everything. But it isn’t just the family struggling, and internal issues, but that the public starts throwing blame and making them think it was their fault for putting too much pressure, taking stereotypes and judging them for doing or not doing things.
So Maybelline starts feeling like she has to break the silence and say something.
The book deals a lot with the topics of suicide, mental health, stereotypes, racism, bullying and a few other things, it is a heavy book but yet it has hope. And one of my favourite things is how Maybelline who was quiet and not that aware of the racism toward her friends who are black, but also she lived a lot by the shadow of her brother by choice and let her brother take lead, so having to show up is hard for her. It is a lot about growing up, about finding your voice, deciding if you will take a stand and also about not feeling better than others or realising there are a lot of others also struggling with stereotypes and that just because you experience racism and discrimination that doesn’t mean you just get a free pass to ignore others and their plights or that yours is worth more.
It is a very good book even if intense and there is a lot about focusing in finding your voice, art and other ways to “fight” or be there for others and what to do when you find silence and feel like raising your voice.