The Sound of Your Voice, Only Really Far Away

The Secret Language of Girls #3

by Frances O'Roark Dowell

In the conclusion to the bestselling Secret Language of Girls trilogy, Marylin and Kate find that boys can be just as complicated as friendship.

Marylin knows that, as a middle school cheerleader, she has certain obligations. She has to smile as she walks down the hall, be friends with the right people, and keep her manicure in tip-top shape. But Marylin is surprised to learn there are also rules about whom she’s allowed to like—and Benjamin, the student body president, is deemed unnacceptable. But maybe there is a way to convince the cheerleaders that her interest in Benjamin is for their own good—maybe she’ll pretend that she’s using him to get new cheerleading uniforms!

Kate, of course, finds this ludicrous. She is going to like whom she likes, thank you very much. And she just so happens to be spending more time than ever with Matthew Holler. But even a girl who marches to the beat of her own guitar strings can play the wrong notes—and are she and Matthew even playing the same song? She’s just not sure. So when Matthew tells Kate that the school’s Audio Lab needs funding from the student government, she decides to do what she can to help him get it.

But there isn’t enough money to go around, and it soon becomes clear that only one of the two girls can get her way. Ultimately, though, is it even her way? Or are both girls pushing for something they never really wanted in the first place?

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Friendship, Romance, Fiction, Childrens

240 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

While Frances O'Roark Dowell (Dovey Coe, The Secret Language of Girls, Trouble the Water) is best known for her award-winning novels, she also hosts the popular "Off-Kilter Quilt" podcast, where she talks about her latest quilt projects with friends and fellow quilters around the globe. Her own little corner of the globe is Durham, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, two sons, and a dog named Travis. Connect with her online at FrancesDowell.com.

Reviews

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book--third in a series about middle school girls--but I don't think you need to have read the other books in order to enjoy this one. All three of the book all kind of compilation of short vignettes of the girls interacting throughout 6th and 7th grade and the result is kind of like a yearbook of pictures--there is a story being told but it is not high in intensity or suspense.

In this story, Marilyn is feeling the pressure from her fellow cheerleaders to drop her old friends and do and wear what they want. At the same time, her childhood friend Kate has finally got her hands on a guitar and all she can think about it how she wants to share her songs and her time with a fellow music-lover boy who likes her but want to keep her at an arm's length. ("I can't marry you!" he says.)

This is an introspective book about learning to make choices for yourself about being yourself despite peer pressures from friends or boys.

Excellent book.

[Catherine Barroso · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a great story. I hated the fact that Marylin would give up Benjamin for her so-called "cheerleading friends" when she has him, Rhetta, and Kate, her true friends she's happy with. I liked how the author didn't give complete ending for the girls, because it's like life- there is no ending that lasts forever. Kate really changed, she has that attitude that doesn't care about what other people think, but when it came to Matthew, she's like another Marylin. I liked how the story ended, not completely happily, but everything was "all good." The whole story was laid out perfectly. I love this book from the first sentence to the last chapter.

[Rstolworthy4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marilyn has to face some tough decisions being a popular cheerleader. She wanted better friends. But she couldn't decide between fake friends and have popularity or have real friends and be a nobody to the others. So Marilyn decides to secretly hang out with her real friends, and was caught. Then Marilyn stood up for herself and told them she no longer wanted her "position" as a cheerleader, and would much rather be with her real friends.
The Sound of Your Voice, Only Really Far Away, is about decisions, popularity, and the struggle to fit in.

[Skyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was pretty good.. Marylin was super popular because she was a cheerleader. But that all goes downhill when she's friends with non-popular kids. It was good, again. But not my type of book. Maybe yours?

[Minghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was honestly a great book (sorry I forgot to update this a while ago) which gives you access to whats happening at home and in school, facing certain obstacles along the way, and showing that their inner lives are as complicated as ours. This is a great book to read if you feel overly stressed, because this book will let you know you're not the only one

[Janelle Toledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, "The Sound of Your Voice" is a really good book, if you like middle school stereotypical things. What I like about this book is how the author kept switching the point of view between each ex-friends. Because of that, we can know what is happening in different places, but at the same time. Another thing I like about this book is what I think the theme is. Which is that you want what you want, but you have to choose between popularity or true friends, and you have to know what you really want. Both girls in this book make difficult choices. What they think they want may not be what they truly want deep inside.

[Arshia Shaik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope this helps this inspires someone to read this. When I was younger I read this book because I saw the first one in my school library and decided to try them out. As expected, I loved them and finished the series in two days. However, since I was quite young, still in elementary school, I didn't see it as very realistic just something fun to read. Now going back and reading it as a senior I've realized how well-written and relatable this book is. All throughout middle school, I was Marilyn, I needed to fit in to survive. I didn't believe in being me, I believed in being what others wanted to see. But I evolved over time, and in high school I was Kate. I was trying to find myself. Who I was. I didn't want to care about anything or anyone. I wanted to do what I liked and what I wanted. I was always in a constant battle with myself, and when I did like someone in high school I decided the only way to get over it was to avoid him. And funnily enough, similar to Kate I completely avoided him and found myself. And like Kate mentions, you never truly find yourself, because you're always learning something new about yourself. I love how the author ends the book with nothing specific, because like real life, nothing is definite. All in all this book is definitely one of my favorites and I won't be forgetting it.

[Nell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was 4.5 stars for me! I read the first two books a while ago so I had try to remember all the old characters' names but after that this book seemed pretty good! I liked the writing style and the character development with Kate, Marylin and also Matt, even! I really didn't like the title of this book though, I think it's too wordy and just should be The Sound Of Your Voice without the ... Only Really Far Away part. But I still don't like the title much even if it was shortened. Other than that and the different spellings of Marylin's name from Marilyn to Marylin I really did like the book.

[Natalie A · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sound of Your Voice...Only Really Far Away is a book about seventh grade cheerleader Marilyn who likes Benjamin Huddle and her friend Kate, a rocker, who likes Matthew Holler. A "Whats Your Big Idea?" contest is in school, so Marilyn wants new cheerleader uniforms and Kate wants new audio equipment. But will using the contest excuse for Benjamin and the "we're just friends" excuse for Matthew work, and is it worth ruining a friendship over?

This book was really good. It was interesting and I have never read anything like it. I would recommend this book to people who like a short read and can relate to school drama.

[Claire M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about 2 friends who are going throught lots of drama. Most of the book every one is fiting over the extra money in the school fund. Mrailyan is the chearlder and she wants to get the exstra money for new uniforms. Kate a gitar player who wants to get the hates the school food and wants to open a garden for the school.

Most of Mralyins friends

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book one of my favs

[Kaia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was good and i thought it was ok to the first one but it was very good it was also very easy

[Judi Paradis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chick lit for kids...Marilyn is a cheerleader who doesn't conform to the expected degree, Kate is her best friend, and loves indie music and a boy in the eighth grade who isn't responding to the degree she'd like. As with many middle school kids, they spend the year trying to decide who they really want to be--popular? cool? kind? They are tested, and think hard about who to follow, who to ignore, and who to prioritize and I liked how the author pointed out that their decisions about how to behave were driven both by their desire to fit in with their peers, but also by their family dynamics. Marilyn has doubts about the mean girl culture her cheerleader friends encourage, but also realizes that the only time her family feels good is when her divorced parents bring her brother to her games. If she stops cheering, she worries that her family, as she wants to see it, will disappear. Kate loves music, but her relationship with her Dad is based on sharing his love of basketball, so she worries about choosing the school musical over the basketball team. Kids will like this one--it speaks to many things they worry about, and gives some good strategies for managing middle school.

[KJ Parker · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with this entry. Kate and Marilyn remain intriguing, complex characters but this chapter of their story felt a little anticlimactic. The previous books were rich and didn't border on cartoonish scenarios like I feel this one did. There's a scene involving a sleepover crash by some cheerleaders that feels like it came straight out of a cheesy, Disney channel film and I felt myself sort of taken out of the relatable experiences from the previous two books. As a reader, I found myself not caring at all for Marilyn and wishing we could just have a Kate-centered novel. Kate's story wrapped up a lot cleaner than Marilyn's for sure. I think this novel could've been a lot more fleshed out and the dialog and side characters should have been revisited. I do think this has potential to go further and hopefully we get to see Kate Faber go through high school, and leave Marilyn in the dust haha.

[Kiran Galsinh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marylin and Kate are both best friends but they have different views and personalities. Marylin is a cheerleader and is part of the popular group. Marylin feels under pressure when she is told to look a certain way and do a certain thing by the leader of her group. She also has to like a football player and she can't like a student body president. Marylin still thinks that she can convince the other cheerleaders that her interest in Benjamin is for their own sake. Kate on the other hand is the total opposite. She likes to play the guitar and happens to fall in love with a guitar player, Matthew. Kate is helping Matthew get money for the audio lab while Marylin is trying to use the money for new cheerleading uniforms. Who will get their way and who won't? I recommend this book to people who read realistic fiction, young adult, and fiction.

[Janelle Toledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion, "The Sound of Your Voice" is a really good book, if you like middle school stereotypical things. What I like about this book is how the author kept switching the point of view between each ex-friends. Because of that, we can know what is happening in different places, but at the same time. Another thing I like about this book is what I think the theme is. Which is that you want what you want, but you have to choose between popularity or true friends, and you have to know what you really want. Both girls in this book make difficult choices. What they think they want may not be what they truly want deep inside.

[C.D. Storiz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tad cliche with one dimensional characters that didn't really hold my interest. The catty girls were stereotypical mean girl cheerleaders, goth musicians, etc. It's as if the author tried too hard to pretend she understood the nuances of middle school but her version is a distorted version from the 1980s. There also wasn't sufficient closure at the end and it was very anticlimactic. Marilyn quit cheerleading. So what? She didn't make a statement or stand up for geeks, she just quit. I guess I was hoping for something more. But at least there was Petey, Kate's little brother and the most interesting person in the book with his adherence to the spy rules, now that was at least interesting.

[Potato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this third book in the trilogy when I was in college, wayyyyy after I read the first two. I'm actually depressed about Matthew Holler, he was my manic pixie dream boy.

On the other hand, I discovered Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan from this book?

Honestly, great end to the series. So much of my personality originated from these books, from Pilot G2 pens (in the second book) to my love for Joni Mitchell. Definitely part of my childhood.

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are feeling like you want to read something more about middle school drama and romance, then this is the book to read! I like it because of the theme of friendship in it, It really gives it a nice finishing touch.

[Alexis Noelle Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing!!!!!!! I loved this book it was one of the best I definitely recommend it to girls aged 11-14 it was a really good book

I loved it so much it really shows the true life of girls my age I recommend girls read it

[Syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, but most of the time, I wish that Marylin’s story was separate for people who like cheerleading drama, etc, etc. I find Kate much more interesting and wish that there was a novel featuring just Kate. But overall, good book about friendship and middle-school romance.

[jm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know the first two books have an open ending but I expected a better wrap up in this one since it's the last book in the series.

[Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I do not like to read but this book I wanted to read. I Would for sure read this book again. I am going to read more books by this author.

[Madison Serdinak · Rating 5 out of 5]

They do not give you too much info about Marilyn and the boy she likes.

[sarah mirth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book. I really like how Marylin chooses being friends with Kate rather then being part of the cheerleading squad. She also sticks up for her friends.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too much of the preteen drama about fitting in and boys, but overall an ok read.

[Vanessa H · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, I liked how the author made the characters but i'm not going to say anything because I don't want to spoil it for you.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book for recommending to middle school girls--7th grade characters figuring out their lives (including boy-girl relationships) in realistic and really healthy ways.

[Addie]

awesome

[Julia (Jules) Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 Stars

This book was actually the only book in the trilogy that I had never read before. With that being said, this book was so, so good but the ending felt kind of abrupt. I almost wish we had gotten a fourth book and made this collection a series instead of a trilogy because it just felt like there was so much more to tell in regard to Kate and Marylin, their friendship, and their coming to age in terms of girlhood.