The Loudest Silence

Two disabled queer teens find belonging in this poignant platonic love story about singing, signing, and solidarity.

Sixteen-year-old Casey Kowalski once dreamed of becoming a professional singer. Then the universe threw her a life-altering curveball--sudden, permanent, and profound hearing loss--mere months before her family’s cross-country move from Portland to Miami. Now, faced with the dual challenges of starting over at a new high school and learning to navigate the world as a Deaf-Hard of Hearing person, Casey is mourning the loss of her music while trying to conceal her hearing loss from her new schoolmates.

Soccer captain Hayden González-Rossi is facing challenges of his own. Three generations of González men have risen to stardom on the soccer field, including Hayden’s older brother, who just became Inter Miami CF’s hottest new recruit. Hayden knows his family expects him to follow in their footsteps, but he has a secret: all he wants is to quit the soccer team and pursue a career on Broadway. If only his Generalized Anxiety Disorder didn’t send him into a debilitating spiral over the thought of telling his family the truth.

Casey and Hayden are both determined to hide who they really are. But when they cross paths at school, they end up bonding over their shared love of music and their mutual feeling that they don’t quite belong, and the secrets come spilling out. Their intimate friendship is the beating heart of this dual-perspective story featuring thoughtful disability representation, nuanced queer identities, and a lovably quirky supporting cast.

Sydney Langford (they/them) is a queer, Deaf-Hard of Hearing, and physically disabled author living in Portland, Oregon. When not singing musical theater songs or playing with their dogs, they are passionate about writing stories that celebrate inclusivity and the diverse experiences of queer and disabled teens. The Loudest Silence is their debut novel. You can find Sydney on social media @slangwrites, or visit their website at slangwrites.com.