Synopsis
Sound is an abstract concept for most people. We spend our lives blocking out the static in order to focus on what we believe is important. But what if, when the clarity fades into silence, it's the obscure background noise that you would give anything to hold on to?
I've always been a fighter. With parents who barely managed to stay out of jail and two little brothers who narrowly avoided foster care, I became skilled at dodging the punches life threw at me. Growing up, I didn’t have anything I could call my own, but from the moment I met Eliza Reynolds, she was always mine. I became utterly addicted to her and the escape from reality we provided each other. Throughout the years, she had boyfriends and I had girlfriends, but there wasn't a single night that I didn’t hear her voice.
You see, meeting the love of my life at age thirteen was never part of my plan. However, neither was gradually going deaf at the age of twenty-one.
They both happened anyway.
Now, I'm on the ropes during the toughest battles of my life.
Fighting for my career.
Fighting the impending silence.
Fighting for her.
Every night, just before falling asleep, she sighs as a final conscious breath leaves her.
I think that's the sound I'll miss the most.
Buy Fighting Silence
About the
Author:
Aly Martinez
Born and raised in Savannah , Georgia South Carolina
After some encouragement
from her friends, Aly decided to add “Author” to her ever-growing list of job
titles. Five books later, she shows no signs of slowing. So grab a glass of
Chardonnay, or a bottle if you’re hanging out with Aly, and join her aboard the
crazy train she calls life.
THANK YOU!!
5 stars
Fighting Silence meshes fantasy with reality, turning the dreams of adolescents into the reality of adults. A truly symbolic novel of the Yin and Yang (describing how apparently opposite or contrary forces are actually complementary).
Till Page and Eliza Reynolds finds themselves meeting in the most unlikely of places and under circumstances that both allows them an escape from their lives. Four walls and a window is all it takes to build a long lasting friendship that turns into love. A love which transcends time and only strengthens the bond between young lovers.
********
Fighting against the odds, Till is forced to take care of his younger brothers. Getting lost in the daily rituals of hardships and struggles, balancing two jobs, school and being at the gym - On The Ropes- Till learns that he has a genetic hearing disability that will only worsen with time. Frustrated and feeling helpless, he escapes into his own fantasy world that he builds around Eliza, the only light at the end of the tunnel everyday. Even though Till believes he isn't good enough for her, in his fantasy Eliza will always be his.
Spending everyday together over a five year span, building a friendship and confiding in each other, Eliza is now headed to college. A stepping stone in both their lives that will challenge and change them, but ultimately teach both Till and Eliza the true meaning of being soul mates.
It was more than a friendship, but there wasn't romance or sex.
There was definitely love though.
Immeasurable amounts of it.
I knew Till had this grand fantasy about me. But what he didn't realize was all that he gave me in return.
He was the only thing I'd ever had that I honestly thought I couldn't live without.
***********
An unfortunate and nearly fatal betrayal, brings Till to Eliza's window. This time, it's not their usual spot, but Eliza's apartment she rents for college. Six months before, Till and Eliza sealed their love, intimately and emotionally. After an earth shattering night together Till leaves Eliza and never returns. Leaving her to move on and live her life, find someone that can provide for her and treat her the way she deserves to be treated. Till soon learns that purgatory was never more real than a woman scorned.
Battling their emotions, Till and Eliza soon fall back into their usual friendship, and Till goes back to living in his fantasy world. Loving Eliza but yet keeping her at a distance because of his own insecurities. Continuing to both battle the hardships of reality - struggling financially, raising two boys, bills and work- Eliza soon gets fed up of Till always putting her on a pedestal. They both need each other in their lives, but Eliza can't stand to be a fantasy for a man that only uses a window to rationalize their life together. She loves him and doesn't want to see him hurt, especially knowing how hard he's worked and struggled to get to where he is. But she cannot continue to live in a fantasy world.
I fell in love with a man whose fantasy is crawling through my window to escape reality.
All the while, my fantasy is walking out that door to navigate reality by his side.
It takes Till weeks before he realizes that not only can he not exist without Eliza, but everything she said is true. Because of the piece of crap life he was handed, he chose to bottle all the negativity and let it fester and use it as an excuse for his life and for not being able to have anything worthwhile and good to look forward to. When Till confronted her to let their fantasy go, Eliza was heartbroken.
"I'm ready to let us go," he announced abruptly.
"We're not the same anymore. I get it. It's my fault. I'll own it."
"Eliza, I can't do this anymore."
What she least expected, what she always wanted, what created a new beginning was when his fantasy became her reality.
After battling against himself, Till and Eliza have finalized their relationship and they are both happier than ever. Navigating obstacles and knowing they have each other as their rock, they become a family. Him, Eliza and his brothers - Flint and Quarry. Fighting over making baked potatoes and ramein noodles, they couldn't be happier.
Till soon has some luck thrown his way. The gym he has been a part of since he was 18 is allowing him to box in small time fights that will allow him to spend more time with his family and also take care of them. He won't have to work two jobs to make ends meet and he can focus more on his boxing career while still providing for his family.
*********
When he finally gets a foot in the door, fate shoots him down. Till has always been aware of his genetic hearing impairment and as time crawls by his hearing has become worse. More so that he soon becomes completely deaf. Afraid and devastated, Till recedes into himself and battles with his shortcomings. Eliza being who she is, is fierce and unwavering in her resolution for Till to fight. Fight to accept his fate and use it to his advantage rather than cripple himself and his family because of it.
"... I wanted to spend forever with you at thirteen. Nothing has or ever will change that. Eliza, I love you. And I am unquestionably serious about spending the rest of my life with you."
I didn't know what to expect when I started this book. Reading the synopsis I was without a doubt intrigued. Never before have I read anything by Aly Martinez (which I can safely say is horrendous on my path). This was an awe inspiring and an amazing story, told perfectly. The writing was spectacular, the characters were super duper awesome. Well developed and continuous character enhancement throughout the novel, two strong main characters, both fierce and determined in varying ways. The dynamics of their relationship from teenagers to adulthood is what this story is built on and I applaud the author for a vivid portrayal and for giving another favourite to add to my list.
*ARC provided by TRSOR on behalf of the author for an honest review* Thanks!!
No comments:
Post a Comment