Words We Don’t Say

LOCAL AUTHOR

Words We Don’t Say is a unique story about the struggles of a teen boy dealing with many thoughts and feelings. The writing style was not my favorite and got in the way of my enjoying the story. It took a long time for the book to get interesting, but it did get better. So much of this story happens in Joel’s head which is full of rambling thoughts. The story covers many serious topics like PTSD, homeless people, religion, and death. The characters are great and likeable. I really liked Joel’s friendships with Eli and Benji and it was nice to see good relationships with his younger brother and his parents (although I didn’t like him calling his mom “Jesus, Mary” which was supposed to be funny but was annoying. This is a different kind of book with a great message, but I wish the author had used a different writing style than Joel talking to himself all the time. My most favorite part was the scene with the school teacher giving a lesson on banned books. That was terrific! I think any mature person over age 11 could handle this storyline if they don’t mind the writing style. It does make you think.