Teaser Tuesday: Ethan’s Voice by Rachel Carter

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
To play along just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Ethan’s Voice by Rachel Carter.

Ethan’s Voice – Scholastic

He didn’t want to think about her, but he couldn’t help it. She was trapped inside his head, like a butterfly in a jam jar.
— Chapter 3

“Ethan,” said Polly. “Do you ever get lonely?”
He shook his head. But then he thought about it. He hadn’t felt lonely before Polly arrived. He’d had Mum and Dad. But now Polly was there and he liked having a friend to explore with.
— Chapter 7

This is a quiet book. Not for the reason that the title character doesn’t speak, but because it’s not characterised by it’s action sequences and loud scenes. This book is, in fact, very much the opposite in that what makes it stand out are the carefully nuanced silences and quiet acts of bravery. Not your customary acts of bravery, but rather the ones that for the most part go unnoticed and unacknowledged because we take them for granted. For most of us, it’s easy to speak up, raise our voice, make sure that we are heard. But what if for whatever reason we lose your main means of communication? Or rather: Will others still be able to hear us when we no longer speak? I haven’t yet found out what it is that made Ethan give up talking, but I already know that this is beautifully written and quietly brilliant. It’s a book you need to be in the mood for as it’s not an easily-accessible comfort-read. But if you decide to pick it up, you’ll get a sensitive, charming, rich, and very inspiring story of friendship and bravery that is not as simple as we might think.

What kind of book have you picked up this week? Do you need to switch up the “loudness” between books to recharge? Share your views in the comments and let us know about your teasers.