Review : What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

Summary (from Goodreads)

Getting drunk homecoming night your senior year is never a good idea, but Jake Hayes never expected it all to end with a car crash and a t-post embedded in his throat.

His biggest regret about it all? What he never said to Samantha Shay. He's been in love with her for years and never had the guts to tell her. Now it's too late. Because after that night, Jake will never be able to talk again.

When Jake returns to his small island home, population 5,000, he'll have to learn how to deal with being mute. He also finds that his family isn't limited to his six brothers and sisters, that sometimes an entire island is watching out for you. And when he gets the chance to spend more time with Samantha, she'll help him learn that not being able to talk isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Maybe, if she'll let him, Jake will finally tell her what he didn't say before, even if he can't actually say it.

Personal Thoughts

When I first started What I Didn't Say, I was expecting to bawl my eyes out like a baby since it honestly seemed like a sad book. Surprisingly, I didn't shed a single tear while reading. Somehow, I feel a little let down by What I Didn't Say because I was waiting for something more dramatic. Instead what I got was a light fluffy story.

Jake Hayes is a regular guy : He goes to school. He plays a sport. He has a crush on a girl. He has great friends. He has a big awesome family. On homecoming night, Jake and his friends get so drunk that he decides to go declare his love for his crush, Samantha. Except, that's not how things end. Instead, Jake and his friends find themselves in a car accident and Jake finds himself with no vocal chords.

There aren't many books with a male POV and I actually really enjoyed Jake's POV. He was a lively, cheerful and happy guy before the accident. He had dreams of becoming a pilot for the Air Force. He had dreams of being with Samantha and of declaring his love for her. It's sad that one tiny mistake on his part basically shattered his dreams. I liked Jake's character. I think it was brave of him to deal with his new-found muteness the way he did. He actually held his head high and embraced it. Sure, at first, he was a little upset, but not for a long. I think being mute helped him see the love of his family for him. He came to realize his importance in his family's life. 

Samantha, Jake's love interest, wasn't so easy to like. She started out as this sweet, nerdy and innocent girl. At certain moments throughout the book, she acted very coldly and rudely towards Jake because she didn't think before saying anything. It annoyed me a little. I wished she would have been a little sympathetic towards Jake since he had been through a life-changing accident. Eventually, she did grow on me since the reader got to know why she had mood swings, but I still thought it was a little mean of her to say the things she said to Jake.

My problem with this book was that the focus was too much on Sam's and Jake's relationship.  I guess I wanted to see a little bit more of Jake dealing with his muteness. In my opinion, he got over it a bit too fast. If I were in his place, I don't think I would have reacted like him. Initially, I would have gone through a really tough time and would have probably felt extremely lonely. I suppose I would also feel a little desperate and internally destroyed, but Jake made a very quick recovery. In fact, within a couple of weeks he felt fine. He could easily communicate with his friends and family and I thought everything was just too easy for him. Now, I wanted Jake to have a happy ending. I wanted him to be able to embrace his muteness, but it happened a little too fast and it seemed unrealistic. There was also the whole thing going on with Sam that I found to be completely unbelievable.

On the plus side, I did enjoy the family dynamics in What I Didn't Say. I especially liked the bond that Jake and his mom shared and in my opinion, this bond actually strengthened after the accident.

The plot was definitely something fresh and unique. The writing wasn't flawless since I thought there was a lack of flow in the story, but nevertheless, it was an entertaining story. Keary Taylor weaved a cute story about love, family, hope and loss that I'm sure will appeal to a lot of readers.

Overall, I felt like What I Didn't Say was a little lacking for my tastes. It wasn't a bad book. It just wasn't what I expected. One advise I would give everyone is to go into the book not expecting a sorrowful tone.

Rating

Cover : 3/5

Plot : 3/5

Characters : 3/5

Writing : 3/5

Big Thanks To Keary Taylor For Providing Me With An ARC of This Book.