The Whispering Dark

By: Kelly Andrew

Narrated by: Nora Hunter

"A haunting, dreamlike tale of sacrifice, love, and obsession." -- Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author.

Delaney Meyers-Petrov is tired of being seen as fragile just because she's Deaf. So when she's accepted into a prestigious program at Godbole University that trains students to slip between parallel worlds, she's excited for the chance to prove herself. But her semester gets off to a rocky start as she faces professors who won't accommodate her disability, and a pretentious upperclassman fascinated by Delaney's unusual talents.

Colton Price died when he was nine years old. Quite impossibly, he woke several weeks later at the feet of a green-eyed little girl. Now, twelve years later, Delaney Meyers-Petrov has stumbled back into his orbit, but Colton's been ordered to keep far away from the new girl... and the voices she hears calling to her from the shadows.

Delaney wants to keep her distance from Colton -- she seems to be the only person on campus who finds him more arrogant than charming -- yet after a Godbole student turns up dead, she and Colton are forced to form a tenuous alliance, plummeting down a rabbit-hole of deeply buried university secrets. But Delaney and Colton discover the cost of opening the doors between worlds when they find themselves up against something old and nameless, an enemy they need to destroy before it tears them -- and their forbidden partnership -- apart.

©2022 Kelly Andrew (P)2022 Scholastic Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"A paranormal thriller laced with twists and revelations that will stop your heart and make your blood run cold." -- Aiden Thomas, New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys

"The Whispering Dark will burrow into your bones and nestle deep, refusing to let go. Kelly Andrew's prose is aching and lyrical, the mark of a master in the making. This is a story I won't soon forget." -- Hafsah Faizal, New York Times bestselling author of We Hunt The Flame and We Free the Stars

Incredible!

The story, the prose, the character development, and everything in between was incredible! I loved this story and can’t wait to read for from Kelly Andrew in the future!

Sweet supernatural dark romance

I have a few books that I listen to whenever I am upset, overwhelmed, overloaded, etc that just help me to recenter and recover a bit. This book will be added to them. There is something comforting about the story, and I listened to it twice back to back for my first listen. Absolutely recommend this book!!!

Dark Academia Delight

I love this author and while I read books 2 then 3 first this was so much to dive into and see the connection but it they all stand on their own just fine.

I really liked getting to see the world from Delaney's perspective as well as do e other POVs that slip in. This is a great read.

Delightfully eerie and thought-provoking!

The suspense was fantastic and I constantly wanted to know more about what was going on as the story unraveled before my eyes. I don't typically read horror, but it was written so beautifully that I didn't mind the haunting imagery that played in my mind and the timing and buildup was always perfect. Every part of this book was really well done! :)
As a Deaf Ed teacher, I was also happy to read a book with a deaf protagonist. I think it showcased the spectrum of deafness well.
1. Not all deaf people are fluent in sign language.
2. Advocating for yourself is difficult when you're not sure what services would best meet your needs.
3. Deaf people often feel lost or left out in conversations where there is a lot of other background noise happening.
I was also super happy that her parents signed. Around 85% of hearing parents who have a deaf child do not learn to sign. So, I was grateful when both of her parents signed with her. It was also sweet that Colton had been going out of his way behind the scenes to learn some signs to communicate with her.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a beautifully written story with plenty of eerie and tense undertones that all tie together for a larger picture in the end.

Wow! Just wow!!

Awesome Deaf rep and a lovely cast of fleshed out characters. Loved IT!! unique and inventive storyline. As HoH myself, I connected so deeply with Lane and the way she moved through the world. The way I taste the air long before I hear it. The way some sounds are painful. The absolute silence where the outside world isn't intruding.
The way I take a few moments to connect the words and laugh a whole beat after a joke has made everyone else laugh.
But Lane isn't just a little glass girl. She's amazing, and her disability isn't magically cured or inspirational. She exists as a Deaf person and it's so refreshing to just have an adventure for us, by us. I recommend this book to everyone. It's got a very Wednesday horror vibe, and lots of twists and turns.
I'm about to read it again it was so good.