White as Silence, Red as Song

Words spill as pieces of natural and broken thoughts to reveal the innermost emotions of a teen in his discovery of true love, dreams and the colors of life.

Leo is as his name—a lion with untame hair and stealth. Too bad his bravery ends when he faces feelings of being alone, feelings he sees as white and empty. The most meaningful color of his life is red, the color of Beatrice, a girl he's fallen in love with but never spoken to. He's not sure she even knows he exists. But when a substitute teacher inspires Leo to find his dream and live for it, his world starts to change. Until he discovers a horrible twist of fate which threatens to crush his dreams and change his views on reality.

I'm not usually a huge fan of deep thoughts and show more literary literature. As I read the first chapter, I was fairly sure I might be setting this book aside. The idea of a teenage boy viewing life in two colors didn't seem realistic. But after another chapter, I was hooked. The words pull in, never too many and never too few. Leo is exposed in all of his simpleness, complexity and rawness. And it's addicting.

During the first chapters, Leo's thoughts are more random, shooting off with a bit of chaos in the same way his views of life and those around him are unsettled. The modern day references make it easy to connect with him, and his concerns are very normal for his age. He's a little lost, but not completely, and wishes to find more sense in life and everything around him. Because nothing really sits perfectly. As the chapters continue and those around him as well as the situations cause him to rethink his views and opinions, his thoughts become more focused and settled. The writing matures as Leo does—a masterful weave.

Despite the depth of the emotions and thoughts, this was an easy read. The chapters are kept short, letting each moment hit and leave a quick impression before moving on. This also keeps the pacing afloat, guaranteeing that there's never too much time spent in one area. The problems hit hard and targeted, making the messages clear before heading right into the next. There's also a tad bit of teenage snark built it (a tiny dash), which keeps the story from growing too heavy at times. And there are heavy moments which Leo has to work his way through and understand. The religious aspects flowed in just as smoothly, never preachy and perfectly natural. In other words, everything is well done, and in my opinion, this book deserves all the praise it's received.

I received a complimentary copy and was so taken by this read that I wanted to leave my honest thoughts. show less

I have never read or seen the movie for the Fault in our Stars. Therefore, I can not compare this book to it as some other readers have. Yet, I will tell you that this book didn't really deliver for me. The theme is "love makes everything possible". Thus the reason that Leo felt he could do anything including being Beatrice knight in shining armor.

Here is why this book didn't really work for me. I felt a bit uncomfortable to the point that Leo came off as kind of stalkerish. He kept obsessing about Beatrice. Yet, he didn't have for a good portion of the story a "real" connection with her. Well not face to face when she was aware of Leo. He visited her in the hospital while she was sleeping. Additionally, the way the book was written show more kind of like a poem, made it kind of hard to stay grounded in the story. Plus, it moved really fast. This book was a good effort but it missed the mark. show less

Un romanzo stupendo,in cui viene narrato il mondo visto da un sedicenne,con i suoi problemucci quotidiani finch� non si scontra con malattia,morte e sogni.Sì,impara che è fondamentale avere dei sogni da nutrire,per cui lottare,da realizzare nella propria vita.E scopre che il fertilizzante di questi sogni e anche il loro compimento più alto non è che l'amore,quello che ti scava dentro e che in questo modo ti permette di fare spazio all'altro/a per guardarlo e ascoltarlo.Ed è fondamentale che gli adolescenti incontrino adulti che sono tali,che sono ancora capaci di sognare,che abbiano sognato,lottato e sofferto per realizzare i propri sogni e che siano in grado di trasmettere questa PASSIONE (bianca come il latte e rossa show more come il sangue),come Alessandro D'Avenia sa fare in maniera esemplare. show less

Sixteen-year-old Leo is in love. He is too shy to approach red-haired Beatrice, until he learns that she is ill with leukemia. He decides to do all he can to make her life better at this difficult time. But it is when he experiences terrible loss that he discovers what he has really wanted all along!

I love how this book is written. Leo narrates his story, and, as I read this book, it was as if an actual teenage boy was telling me his story. Leo is very real, thus making this story unforgettable. It is about growing up. It is also about seeing what you already have. Beautifully and realistically written, this book is to be experienced!

I was given a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I’ll be honest with you. At first, I wasn’t loving this book, wasn’t even liking it very much. Sixteen-year-old Leo seemed shallow and immature. His narrative stream-of-consciousness voice took some getting used to.
BUT…I am so glad I stuck with the story because Leo learns and grows—and in the process, grew on me.
For Leo, white is the scariest, worst color because it represents nothingness, absence, void. While red is life, passion, love. Red is a girl named Beatrice.
Over the course of a school year, Leo’s eyes are opened to holding dreams, injury, illness, friendship, love and so much more. With a substitute teacher who invests time in Leo and a best friend who you can’t help but feel for a little, Leo navigates some show more tough emotional circumstances. And through those, he discovers the vast array of colors in his life (not just the two he dwells on).
While I don’t feel the “Italian Fault in Our Stars” is an accurate description for this book, there is a lot in the second half of White as Silence, Red as a Song unpacked by Leo and friends. So don’t give up on the guy too soon.

Content warning: there are several mild curse words in this translation as well as a couple of overt references to teenagers sleeping together

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255. show less

White as Silence, Red as Song is an odd YA story. Leo carries it with a stream-of-consciousness-esque narration, so naturally, it focuses on the aspects of his life: school, soccer, friends, and his crush on Beatrice. At times, Leo comes across immature and makes questionable decisions (he is a teenage boy, after all), but his growth through the story, thanks to injury, illness, and a teacher that makes him think, is interesting to see.

When I picked up White as Silence, Red as Song, the comparison to The Fault in Our Stars helped me to have an idea of what type of story I was entering—and kept me from fully investing emotionally with the characters, I think. Even so, I found that Alessandro D’Avenia’s novel had enough differences show more to make it unique. It’s a quick, thought-provoking read that YA readers could enjoy.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a complimentary copy of White as Silence, Red as Song and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. show less

Okay, first things first...let's talk cover and title.
The simplicity of the cover matched with the striking color palette totally drew me in. I gave pause when I saw the red butterfly fluttering among the stark whiteness of its surroundings. It made me stop and wonder, what drew it to be there? How did it feel to be standing out so boldly against its surroundings? The title...made me curious. I know some people see feelings, emotions, and situations in colors, so I was half expecting to encounter someone along those lines, though even I can see how silence may be easily interpreted as white...just like white noise, background...filler. So, from the start, it had extra points in its corner.

Second things second...let's talk story.
I admit, show more for a good portion of the book, I was seriously wondering exactly where we were going with this. I mean, was it something lost in translation? Was I simply not getting it? What under the heavens above was I missing that would explain all the noise I was reading into what had seemed to be such a grand story? I'll say this...it took a while...and I'm talking up until about the last 3rd or 4th or the book to really get in there, up under all the talked about feelings, and what ifs, to the nitty gritty, and begin to understand what people were really doing, really feelings, really saying as they went about their lives while others had theirs crumbling down.

I gotta say I really admired Beatrice, when we finally got to know her, for her desire to lift others up as she herself was being torn down, for her strength of faith which is hard to keep even in the best of times, and for her ability to inspire others even from afar Silvia was another favorite because despite the supposed deception, she loved with all her heart, gave with all her soul, and cared enough not to take, but to wait, until the moment finally arrived for her to have her time in the sun. Though Leo was our main voice here, I found it harder to feather out his state of mind without the echo effect created by those around him. He was so involved in his quest to have the brightest star be his that he forgot to even look at the sky. Good thing he had some great friends to fall back on, even when things looked beyond all hope.

In the end, it wasn't the glorious read I was hoping for (and no, I've not read The Fault in Our Stars --yet-- but I thoroughly loved the movie), but it was memorable. Like the constellations that dot our night skies, it is something that I can look back on and remember when, while still trying to puzzle out the mysteries that lie within...not a bad thing, just a different thing. Recommended for Young Adult fans in their teen-dom and beyond...


**copy received for review show less