Title: Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken
Author: Nita Tyndall
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: October 18, 2022
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Summary
It’s 1938 in Berlin, the summer before WWII starts. But Charlie doesn’t know that yet. All she knows is the feelings she gets every time she holds her best friend’s hand. Feelings that mean that Charlie would follow Geli anywhere. Including a forbidden jazz club. A place where Charlie can finally feel completely herself.
Under Nazi rule, returning to the jazz club becomes more and more dangerous as war looms over their heads. Soon, what was originally just a place to dance becomes a place where Charlie and her friends can be themselves. And rebel against the Nazi Party’s rules. As Hitler gains power, Charlie has to decide how much she’s willing to risk in order to resist.
Review: Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an advanced copy of Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken to review! There’s a lyrical nature to this book, featuring strong characters doing their best to resist the rules being placed on them.
WWII historical fiction is a pretty saturated market in YA (and in children’s fiction), but this book is different than a lot of the other books I’ve read. Yes, it has similar elements, resistence, the danger of the rise of the Nazis, the illegal nature of anything that’s not German. But the focus on the jazz club is what makes it stand out from the others.
From the summary, I thought the book was just going to be focused on pre-war Germany, but we actually get to see during and after as well. Even though the story spans a lot of years, I didn’t feel like anything got lost in the plot or the characters. Maybe it’s because WWII is such a talked about part of history, at least in the US. We already know the context, so Tyndall was able to focus on the characters.
The romance moments were also well done. There was just enough longing from Charlie, and her complex feelings for Geli. The daugher of a Nazi officer. Charlie and Geli’s relationship took up a lot of Charlie’s thoughts, which means that maybe some of the other relationships take a back burner. The story would have been more rounded if the other relationships were more fleshed out.
All in all, if you enjoyed Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo last year, I’d highly recommend picking this one up!
4/5 stars