Review: White as Silence, Red as Song by Alessandro D'Avenia

Leo is an ordinary sixteen-year-old: he loves hanging out with his friends, playing soccer, and zipping around on his motorbike. The time he has to spend at school is a drag, and his teachers are "a protected species that you hope will become extinct," so when a new history and philosophy teacher arrives, Leo greets him with his usual antipathy. But this young man turns out to be different. His eyes sparkle when he talks, and he encourages his students to live passionately, and follow their dreams.

Leo now feels like a lion, as his name suggests, but there is still one thing that terrifies him: the color white. White is absence; everything related to deprivation and loss in his life is white. Red, on the other hand, is the color of love, passion and blood; red is the color of Beatrice's hair. Leo's dream is a girl named Beatrice, the prettiest in school. Beatrice is irresistible - one look from her is enough to make Leo forget about everything else.

There is, however, a female presence much closer to Leo, which he finds harder to see because she's right under his nose: the ever-dependable and serene Silvia. When he discovers that Beatrice has leukemia and that her disease is related to the white that scares him so much, Leo is forced to search within himself, to bleed and to be reborn. In the process, he comes to understand that dreams must never die, and he finds the strength to believe in something bigger than himself.

White as Milk, Red as Blood is not only a coming-of-age story and the narrative of a school year, but it is also a bold novel that, through Leo's monologue - at times easy-going and full of verve, at times more intimate and anguished - depicts what happens when suffering and shock burst into the world of a teenager, and the world of adults is rendered speechless.

ebook, 272 pages

Expected publication: September 4th 2018 by Thomas Nelson
Genre: Young Adult

Kristine's Thoughts:

**I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I am not a picky reader and I can normally find at least a few good things in what might otherwise be a not so good book. White as Silence, Red as Song might just be one of the very few exceptions. I found that this book was pretentious at best and absolutely ridiculous in its content and delivery. Leo came across as a six year old instead of sixteen and there was a stunted and forced amount of reflection that did not translate on the pages. I'm not sure if this was because of the translation to English or if it was a failed effort to sound insightful and make Leo appear wise beyond his years. Whatever it was it did not work.

I hate to be harsh but with so many amazing books out there this one took away a few good hours that I'll never get back. I strongly disliked it.

About the Author

Alessandro D’Avenia, born in 1977 in Palermo, holds a PhD in classics and is a high school literature teacher and screenwriter.

Website/Goodreads