Graphic Novel Review: A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima

Looking for your next read? Check out A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima, reviewed by Fulco Library staff, Hannah M.

“Life is a war against boredom.”

A Silent Voice is a heart-wrenching story about Shoya, a young daredevil boy who is always trying to escape boredom. When a deaf transfer student is assigned to his class, he thinks he has finally found a new subject to cure his boredom. Shoko desperately tries to make friends with Shoya and her classmates, but Shoya and the others are not interested. Shoko is left out and picked on constantly, yet through it all Shoko tries to make friends.  When Shoya is accused of destroying her hearing aids, he finds no allies in his friends, and realizes how quickly one can go from bully to bullied. After Shoko transfers out of the school, Shoya and his classmates graduate to middle school, where now Shoya is the outcast.

As he begins to hate himself more and more, he decides to make amends before he plans to end his own life, by seeking out Shoko and apologizing to her directly. What happens is not so simple, for in his desire to find closure, he begins to realize that there is more to life than what is said aloud. This story will make you angry, will make you cry, but in the end, it will help you understand what friendship can be. Beautifully adapted into a full-length feature film, A Silent Voice is well worth the tears.

A Silent Voice, Volume 1

A Silent Voice, 1

A Silent Voice, 2

A Silent Voice, 3

A Silent Voice, 4

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This post is for educational purposes and the contents are not endorsed by the Fulton County Library System or Fulton County Government.