When fifth-grader Amelia learns to cope with her noise sensitivity, she steps outside of her comfort zone and makes new friends. Includes information about noise sensitivity. - (Baker & Taylor)

A young girl learns how to cope with her noise sensitivity and step outside of her comfort zone in this heartwarming middle grade novel that's perfect for fans of If This Were a Story and El Deafo.

Ten-year-old Amelia does not like noise. From subway brakes to squeaky sneakers, she is sensitive to sound, just like her dad. Amelia has always worn noise-canceling headphones, but now that she's going into fifth grade, her parents want her to stop wearing them. To make matters worse, she must learn to play an instrument! Or, as Amelia sees it, make noise on purpose.

To help Amelia cope, her father gives her a pair of earmuffs to wear instead. Even with her new earmuffs, Amelia struggles at school'until she gets partnered with Madge in music class. Madge is loud and bold and goofy'everything Amelia is not. And so Amelia is surprised when Madge wants to be friends.

Still, it's not long though before Amelia's quiet nature clashes with Madge's loud personality. And when Madge disappears after an argument, Amelia fears Madge might be in trouble. If she's going to help her friend, she will have to find a way to let in the noisy world she's muffled for so long. - (Simon and Schuster)

A young girl learns how to cope with her noise sensitivity and step outside of her comfort zone in this heartwarming middle grade novel that’s perfect for fans of If This Were a Story and El Deafo.

Ten-year-old Amelia does not like noise. From subway brakes to squeaky sneakers, she is sensitive to sound, just like her dad. Amelia has always worn noise-canceling headphones, but now that she’s going into fifth grade, her parents want her to stop wearing them. To make matters worse, she must learn to play an instrument! Or, as Amelia sees it, make noise on purpose.

To help Amelia cope, her father gives her a pair of earmuffs to wear instead. Even with her new earmuffs, Amelia struggles at school…until she gets partnered with Madge in music class. Madge is loud and bold and goofy—everything Amelia is not. And so Amelia is surprised when Madge wants to be friends.

Still, it’s not long though before Amelia’s quiet nature clashes with Madge’s loud personality. And when Madge disappears after an argument, Amelia fears Madge might be in trouble. If she’s going to help her friend, she will have to find a way to let in the noisy world she’s muffled for so long. - (Simon and Schuster)

Jennifer Gennari played the clarinet when she was younger—and quickly switched to choir! She loves quiet time, especially in a library. Muffled is her second novel for young readers. Her debut, My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer, was an ALA Rainbow List title and a Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year. A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, she grew up in Boston and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at JenGennari.com. - (Simon and Schuster)

Jennifer Gennari played the clarinet when she was younger'and quickly switched to choir! She loves quiet time, especially in a library. Muffled is her second novel for young readers. Her debut, My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer, was an ALA Rainbow List title and a Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year. A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, she grew up in Boston and now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. Learn more at JenGennari.com. - (Simon and Schuster)

Publishers Weekly Reviews

With the start of fifth grade comes new responsibilities for 10-year-old Amelia: she is allowed to walk to school and visit the Boston Public Library alone, but she also has to give up the noise-canceling headphones that she previously relied upon to manage her noise sensitivity. On the first day of school, Amelia's father, who has the same sensitivity, gives her a pair of fluffy purple earmuffs to ease the transition. Used in conjunction with the mental math she does as a coping mechanism, the earmuffs help to keep classroom and city noise at "five bars out of ten," but frustrate her mother and have an alienating effect in the classroom. As the class begins music lessons, Amelia struggles to settle on an instrument and retreats into the world of books until a solo library trip inspires her to pick up the trombone, and she embarks on a new friendship with fellow trombonist Madge. Gennari (My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer) effectively works Amelia's experience onto nearly every page ("each noise bounces around the walls of my head like a rubber ball"), making each of her hard-won victories resonate powerfully. A gentle portrait of a child learning to navigate her world. Ages 8–12. Agent: Andrea Cascardi, Transatlantic Agency. (Oct.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 4–6— Amelia, a 10-year-old white girl, deals with noise sensitivity. Constantly teased by other kids, Amelia finds sole companionship in her fish, Finway, and in books. Her parents, teacher, and counselor want her to stop using her beloved noise-cancelling headphones because of her difficulty making friends. When Amelia is forced out of her comfort zone by taking a music class, she befriends a loud classmate who also learns to accept her. While a middle-grade reader who enjoys realistic fiction may appreciate this book, there are problematic elements. The author's note makes it clear that this is not #OwnVoices, and the text is based on Gennari's conversations with practitioners and online research. Amelia's disability is not named, and the word "disability" is never used. When a woman accosts Amelia on the train and says that she should get treatment for her "autism," Amelia's mother angrily denies that she is autistic, even though her noise sensitivity and love of numbers and trains implies that she could be. Her school's encouragement of ditching the noise-cancelling headphones, and requirement of taking a music class, also serves to dismiss Amelia's condition and deny her necessary accommodations. Amelia's noise sensitivity is also equated with new friend Madge's loudness as a "difference" that each accommodates. The only reference to a character's identity is a German-speaking grandmother, "Oma." VERDICT A generic and overly euphemistic handling of a character with noise sensitivity; not recommended. Some strong #OwnVoices alternatives include Sarah Kapit's Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen! and Christina Collins's After Zero.—Rebecca Fitzgerald, Harrison P.L., NY