School has always been Ian's sanctuary. No matter what
happened at
home he could be somebody else at school. Somebody who
didn't have
problems at home. He didn't have divorced parents and he
didn't have an
autistic brother. Until now.
SCREAMING QUIETLY is the story of Ian Taylor. He is a
varsity football
player and dating one of the hottest cheerleaders in school.
Life is good for
Ian at school until his mom tells him that his brother
Davey is going to be
going to Adams High school. What? This can't be! Davey is
going to be
going to the same school as Ian? Nothing will ever be the
same for Ian. No
one at school knows about Davey. Ian has never told anyone
about his
autistic brother. What if he has an episode and all his
friends see him
kicking and screaming and hitting? How is Ian going to
survive this?
Ian's mom Melissa is trying the best she can. Since she
divorced Ian's dad
she has dated some guys but once they get too close she
pushes them
away. Ian realizes he is the exact same way. He won't let
his girlfriend
Jessica into his inner circle. He doesn't tell her about
Davey. He doesn't
want her to know. Every time after a game, she wants to
meet his family
and Ian always comes up with an excuse. Ian feels like no
one cares about
him and every time he tries to talk to his mom or dad about
it, they get a
phone call and basically blow him off.
One day after being dismissed by his dad, Ian leaves his
Dad's house and
just starts walking. He has no idea where he is going and
soon he is lost.
He is in a bad area and he gets jumped by some thugs. He
manages to
get away and right after Jessica calls him and tells him she
will come and
pick him up. After that, Ian spills his guts to Jessica.
He tells her all about
Davey, even though she already knew. He told her about his
Dad and his
Mom. About football and how it is the only thing he is good
at and how he is
hoping to get a scholarship from it so he can go to college.
He is afraid that
if he isn't a big football star then she would want nothing
to do with him.
She is understandably angry at how he feels about her. It
is the farthest
thing from the truth.
After his meltdown, life gets better for him. SCREAMING
QUIETLY was a
very quick read and I learned a lot about dealing with a
person who is
autistic. It isn't easy, but that doesn't mean it's bad or
that you have to be
ashamed. Once Ian owns up to who is family his life gets
much easier. I
enjoyed how the author, Evan Jacobs, wrote about a difficult
situation. He
handles it with much heart and soul.
Ian Taylor lives a secret life. At school he's a varsity
football player, dating one of the hottest cheerleaders on
campus. At home he's his divorced mother's right hand,
helping her to keep his younger autistic brother, Davey, in
line. To Ian, Davey is a freak. And no one must ever know
about him. But it's a game changer when Davey begins
attending a special day class at Ian's school. Undaunted,
Ian continues his charade of denying Davey's existence, even
when Davey has massive public meltdowns. He internalizes his
strong feelings--Screaming Quietly inside--until resentment,
anger, and embarrassment force him to burst. But his love
for Davey and his desire to man up eventually allow him to
overcome peer pressure and fully own his life.