The Raging Quiet

Rating:
Summary: How sad that young adult literature is now on par with trash
Review: To say I was diassapointed with this book is an understatement. It had real potential but instead chose to be a salacious story with no moral value at all. Girl is in an arranged marriage. Sex is a awful. Meets deaf boy. Sex is wonderful. The end.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written!
Review: This was one of the most haunting and beautifully written books I have read in a long time. Miss Jordan captured the medaeval setting wonderfully and she conveyed the attitude of the towns people perfectly. I finished it in one sitting! Sherryl Jordan comes across with a very important lesson. Love knows no bounds.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written.
Review: I really found myself caring about what happened to the characters in this beautifully written book. It should win the Newberry Medal for a children's book published this year. I loved it!

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular descriptive romance!
Review: I love this book. I think everyone who loves romance and midieval times should read this novel. It is a true work of literature. I was sad, but still quite satisfied, when I turned the last page. Everyone of all ages will love this book as much as I have! A must if you like Jane Austen. Truly spectacular.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: As a Children's Department Supervisor for a bookstore, I was lucky enough to get an advance reader's copy of this wonderful book. I found myself genuinely caring about what happened to the characters and was nearly as excited as Marnie to see Raven communicate with the hand gestures she taught him. Pick this book up, it will be hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Sherryl Jordan weaves a powerful spell in Raging Quiet
Review: It was the cover art that attracted me to this book; Kinuko Craft's beautifully detailed illustrations breathe new life into children's classics like The Twelve Dancing Princesses and King Midas. Like the artwork, this story is rich and complex. The words evoke vivid images of the landscape (an Irish village of thatched cottages by the sea) the era (feudal lords and hard-working peasants) and the tension of strong wills and harsh judgments. This is a very moving story, both enchanting and plausible. There are many themes woven into it: sympathy, love, and especially the myriad difficulties of being "different." The characters are portrayed with such reality they feel like old friends, and the personal and societal influences ring true and internal. This is the tale of Marnie, a young newlywed who discovers a kindred spirit in Raven, the "village madman," whom only she realizes is profoundly deaf. Marnie's efforts to communicate with Raven by sign language are misunderstood as witchcraft, and their friendship is condemned as immoral. Although the local priest, Father Brannan, tries to explain the situation, and encourage acceptance, he cannot control the conflicting forces of compassion, individualism, and social convention that set Marnie on a dangerous collision course with the local villagers. I have tried, unsuccessfully, many times, to comprehend the power of this book; something in it must touch an essential human sentiment. All I can say is that I sat very still and thoughtful when I finished it, and then read it a second time before I could consider picking up another book. Simply a wonderful and incredible piece of literature.

Rating:
Summary: I give this 7 stars.
Review: I ordered this book off amazon.com over the summer, and I am so glad I did. It is now one of my favorite books EVER. The Raging Quiet is about a girl named Marnie who is forced to marry Lord Isake in order to save her family from being kicked out of their house. After only several days of living with her new husband in a small cottage in Torcurra, where they are strangers, Isake is killed when he falls off the roof of the cottage when he tries to thatch it. This is when Marnie befriends the town's preacher and the deaf young man who the townsfolk call Raver. They think he is possessed, but Marnie realizes that he is deaf and developes a sign language the two of them can use to communicate with each other. Marnie and Raven, as she renames him, form a close bond, and Raven slowly transforms into a well-mannered young man, but there are also consequences for Marnie's actions: the townspeople begin to turn against her, which is where this book gets especially interesting and suspenseful. At some points, I could hardly sit still while reading this book. The Raging Quiet is filled with very vivid detail and touching moments. It has romance, suspense, and sadness, making it a very good read that is hard to put down. I strongly recommend buying this book, because once you read this book, you will want to read it over and over again, as I have.

Rating:
Summary: Deserves all five of its stars!
Review: Some truly amazing things come out of New Zealand: the Haka, the Lord of the Rings movies, and this book.

I won't rehash the storyline of this book, as the other reviewers here have already described it very well. I won't give you any spoilers, either, because I hate it when reviewers do that! (Why buy the book when someone has already told you the ending in their review?) What I will say, though, is that writer Sherryl Jordan has gone above and beyond to write this impressive novel. All of the characters in it are good, and the heroine, Marnie, is awesome, but Raven is especially endearing--it is obvious from the way the author has written this touchingly beautiful deaf character that she herself has worked extensively with the deaf. (I find it rather poignant, too, that Raven, a so called 'madman', ultimately turns out to be the sanest person in the whole village!)

Sometimes I am overly generous with my ratings, but this is not one of those times. This really is a five star novel! I notice that it is described as a book for young adults, but seriously, I would thoroughly recommend it to readers of any age who want a mature, intelligent, well written, well thought out novel that will totally grip them and not let them go again! Trust me, this book is better than a whole pack of chocolate biscuits, and will satisfy you for much longer.

Obviously, I totally agree with the other glowing reviews this book has been given on this website. However, I've noticed that it got a few bad reviews, which were all so silly they made me laugh out loud. The reviews written by 'evilgrrlfriday' and 'Nadia Batcha' were particularly laughable--either they were reading a copy of the book with half the pages missing, or they read it the same way my boyfriend sometimes likes to watch videos, by simply 'fast-forwarding' through most of the dialogue. Seriously, this is an easy-to-read, well written book, so how did they manage to misunderstand it so completely? *sigh* My advice is to take those bad reviews with a grain of salt, or even better, to ignore them entirely, because the people who wrote them obviously didn't read or understand this book properly--if they had, then they wouldn't have raised the points or questions they did. The fault is with their comprehension skills, not with the book itself. Read it, and then read the reviews, and you'll know exactly what I mean!

P.S. I actually do have one criticism of this book, and that is that its American cover design is not as nice as the British one. The Brits version is absolutely gorgeous. Even the inside layout on the 'B format' is way better. Check it out on Amazon.uk, where you will at least see the front cover art.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning, original, inspiring.
Review: Marnie is a realistic heroine, and Raven her well-written "project." I have absolutely no complaints about this book. Most of all, I found the descriptions of Marnie learnng to "speak" to Raven VERY entertaining, and Raven is such a captivating character. There's just SOMETHING about the things Raven says when he learns to communicate... something about being able to hear the thoughts of someone considered a madman, someone unable to speak for so long... This book is worth reading. I don't regret accidentally missing a doctor's appointment for it, either, nor relinquishing the nap I could have been taking in the library. ;) Trust a college sophomore who says this book is better than sleep!!!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book
Review: I read 'The Raging Quiet' like..a year ago when I first got it, and recently went back and reread it in about a day. I must say, it was better the second time around and will most likely be even better the third time around.

'The Raging Quiet' is about a girl named Marnie Isherwood who moves to the coastal town of Torccura with her husband, Isake. She ends up meeting and befriending a deaf person whom everyone calls Raver because he raves. Marnie renames him Raven instead and ends up taking him in, coming up with a sort of sign language between the two. She is eventually accused of being a witch, and stands trial.

I won't spoil the book, but all I can say is this is a must read if you are interested in historical fiction at it's finest. Truely a well written work.