"The Quiet Part Out Loud"

Deborah Crossland (she/her) teaches English and mythology at her local community college and writes myth-based, contemporary novels with a feminist bent for young adults. She is passionate about making education accessible for everyone. She lives in Northern California with her husband and her daughter’s very spoiled, retired service dog.

Crossland applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Quiet Part Out Loud, and reported the following:

On page 69 of The Quiet Part Out Loud, Alfie recalls texting Mia about setting up their first date when Mia tells him she has to cancel because of a traditional after Thanksgiving trip she and her parents make, and Alfie jumps to the worst conclusion a teen boy can make:

Hundreds of scenarios went through my head. You changed your mind. You thought about dating a baseball player just as spring training was starting and you didn’t want any part of it. Or worse. You decided another baseball player was a better, more normal choice. Or even worse than that, a football player. After all, you came from a two-parent, church on Sundays family with a dog you walked every night around your normal block. I was a Greek kid who went to a strange church, had lots of relatives that spoke too loud and hugged too much, and roasted an entire lamb on a spit in their backyard every Easter. Of course you’d changed your mind.

Assessing page 69 is a fun test, but I don’t think this particular page gives an accurate look at the overall plot since the driving storyline is about searching for love in the after effects of a city-leveling earthquake. It doesn’t really give a good indicator of the kind of banter Mia and Alfie develop, either. This page shows when their relationship hasn’t started yet, so everyone is still on their best behavior!

What is interesting, however, is that this page does give good insight into Mia and Alfie’s relationship. Mia is typically the driving force in their relationship, and that becomes evident from their first date until the last few scenes. Alfie tends to observe situations before making any decisions while Mia tends to act first and figure things out later.

If a reader were to flip a few more pages to the next chapter with Alfie’s point of view, they’d see a little more of the dynamics in the story. There, Alfie attends the traditional trip with Mia and her parents and is submerged into the world of a Charles Dickens Christmas where he and Mia are chased by a chimney sweep equipped with mistletoe and isn’t afraid to use it. Some first date!

Visit Deborah Crossland's website.

--Marshal Zeringue