Golden Arrow Reviews

Review #28: Unheard

Reviewer: @_RoseThorn_

Story: Unheard by ZebaAlmas
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✿ Cover ✿

The cover for this book is pretty interesting and does an excellent job of representing the story. The font used for the title is clearly visible and I love the way the guitar is blended into the silhouette of the girl. Added to this, the patterns help add some excitement to the otherwise plain white background.
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✿ Summary ✿

From reading the summary alone, I am already intrigued to find out how Ember will be able to become a singer if she cannot speak. The concept of the story is creative and I haven't seen anything similar. One issue I noticed with the summary was the grammar. Some of the sentences sound a little strange and could be so much better if they were reworded or changed up a little. I would recommend editing your summary because readers often judge stories based on the summary and you don't want to lose any because of a few minor errors.
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✿ Grammar, Spelling and Vocabulary ✿

I did spot a few grammatical errors throughout the story, so I would suggest reading through each chapter to make sure everything is correct. These errors aren't a huge deal and they don't distract from the writing, so I don't believe you have to be too concerned about them. Your spelling is completely fine, but I found that your vocabulary wasn't necessarily the most advanced. You tend to use fairly common words and you don't delve too much into descriptions. Replacing some of those common words with more interesting ones would go a long way in terms of improving this story.
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✿ Characters ✿

Ember seems like a shy and sweet girl who is intelligent and kindhearted. It's sad that people dislike her and treat her poorly because she really doesn't deserve it. At least Ember has supportive, caring, and upbeat friends like Alice and Julia who don't see her any differently, even though she is mute. Right from the start, you did a great job of making me hate Linda. She uses Ember's inability to speak as a way to bully her and get on her nerves. I was happy to see Ember stand up for herself by throwing the pen holder at Linda because often, protagonists allow bullies to hurt them without doing anything to defend themselves. Ember has a feisty and sarcastic side to her, making her a unique protagonist. Just because she doesn't speak doesn't make her weak or boring and I love that about her. She's often too hard on herself though, seeing herself as not good enough. Her parents are generally kind, but they indirectly make her feel as if they are embarrassed by her, which can clearly be seen when her dad tries to suggest that she shouldn't go to the wedding ceremony.
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✿ Plot ✿

The plot of this story moves at a reasonable pace and your chapters are a manageable length. From what I've read, it was pretty easy to understand the characters and the issues Ember had to deal with. The plot is fairly simple-as it follows Ember's very believable struggles as a mute person-yet it is still pretty enjoyable to read. It keeps readers hooked since they would definitely be curious about how she is going to find a way to become a singer. You really don't show Ember any mercy along the way though. I was surprised that she got such an unnecessary punishment over a flower. Added to this, Linda literally picks on her even six years later, which is so ridiculous. Overall, this story is quite interesting and I could see myself continuing to read it.
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