A Quiet Kind of Thunder is definitely a must-read! There were some things that I disliked, but the vast majority was adorable and wonderful and really important!

Dislikes
The ending conversation with the parents. That felt super rushed and unfinished, I feel like that should have been a much longer conversation, and probably should have included a one-on-one with Steffi's mother. I really didn't like the mom, she was so unsupportive and frustrating and made Steffi feel stupid/useless/a myriad of other things. I feel like none of those issues were actually resolved before the mom was all "oh no I'm actually really proud of you and think you're totally capable!" A complete 180 from where she was a few chapters prior. The entire ending conversation was kind of like that, not just with the mom. Everyone else had at least been more supportive for the whole book so it wasn't as odd for them to say what the did, but the whole section was just really cheesy for me and felt like the most obvious ending to this book

Same with Steffi and Rhys' final conversation, that also felt like the most obvious way to end the book which made it feel super cheesy. I feel like Barnard could have been a little more creative with it, but regardless it was still a sweet moment between the two of them. The location they were in made me like it a bit more, that really added to it

Likes
Steftember is my favourite thing ever I LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY SUPPORTIVE FRIENDSHIPS! This friendship is what I wanted Turtles All The Way Down to have; they argue and get mad at each other sometimes but it's never ever ever about Steffi's anxiety or her selective mutism or anything social anxiety related. Tem doesn't see any of that as an "issue that needs to be dealt with." She never sees it as an inconvenience or an annoyance and that's exactly the kind of supportive friendships I want to see when it comes to someone who struggles with mental health

Discussions about sex and consent and the notion of virginity! A+ Sara Barnard! I especially liked that one conversation Steffi and Tem had, where Steffi said something like "You weren't saving it for marriage, you were saving it for you" and putting so much emphasis on being ready and there never being any judgement. Everything with Rhys and Steffi was great as well, I really appreciate Barnard putting so much emphasis on getting consent even without words. And the conversation Steffi and her mom had about sex and vibrators was first of all hilarious and second of all something we need to see more of in YA, parents talking to their children so casually about sex and not villainizing them for wanting to do it.

Anxiety! There was heavy focus on the thoughts that go through Steffi's head on a daily basis and how much anxiety controls her life, and how difficult it is to get that control back. This is so important both for people who also struggle with anxiety to have representation, and for people who don't so they might understand a little better. Also big points for not making medication be this big huge deal like it so often is. Going on medication does not mean you're giving up, or letting something else do the work for you!!!! This book did a good job of showing that, especially during that conversation between Steffi and Tem. I also really liked how much Steffi described and talked about her coping mechanisms, and what things gave get anxiety and what things didn't.

Addressing issues around deaf and hearing worlds! So many times Rhys told Steffi when she did or said something as a hearing person that is upsetting to him as a non-hearing person. I love this so much! I don't have significant hearing problems and can't comment on the accuracy of the problems he brought up, but it's so so so important to show how to go about bringing up these conversations and how you should/shouldn't react to them. They often aren't easy conversations to have, they're uncomfortable but still extremely important regardless. I really liked seeing Steffi grow and learn how to be more considerate until it was eventually just second nature, and she grew to start question others as well. She started to realize her own privilege and address others as well when Rhys wasn't able to. Some good shit right there!

There's a lot more that I really enjoyed but I'll stop there, this is already long enough LOL

TL;DR READ THIS BOOK IT'S GREAT