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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a heartwarming story!!
It was so refreshing to see deaf representation and I’m really glad that young readers have a book like this to introduce them to deaf culture or to see themselves in it. Some parts did feel a little too literal at times (the MC telling us in detail why a situation was messed up vs showing it). However, there were plenty of insightful moments regarding diversity within the deaf community and ways in which society struggles to be more inclusive.
Also loved two things about the audiobook: if the MC couldn’t lip read/hear something, we heard a muffled and somewhat underwater sound in place of the blanks + you can hear the movement of the narrator signing along with the characters. It made the reading experience feel more immersive.
It was so refreshing to see deaf representation and I’m really glad that young readers have a book like this to introduce them to deaf culture or to see themselves in it. Some parts did feel a little too literal at times (the MC telling us in detail why a situation was messed up vs showing it). However, there were plenty of insightful moments regarding diversity within the deaf community and ways in which society struggles to be more inclusive.
Also loved two things about the audiobook: if the MC couldn’t lip read/hear something, we heard a muffled and somewhat underwater sound in place of the blanks + you can hear the movement of the narrator signing along with the characters. It made the reading experience feel more immersive.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
4.25 stars. Really good story. Approached conversations about Deafness is an accessible, non-preachy way
This is the second book that I've listened to where when a character is speaking in Sign, there is an audio track of someone signing the dialogue. While I acknowledge and respect that this is a way to represent and integrate Sign into the audio, I don't think it's an effective way to indicate that the dialogue is happening in Sign. The sound is so subtle as to practically not be there at all. I want to reiterate: I don't find it annoying, I find it ignorable. It doesn't give the reader additional information that the dialogue tags and context clues don't already give, and it just sounds like someone is making some rustling noises in the background. For a more effective indicator that Sign was being used, I think a second narrator would have been a better choice.
What worked very well was the choice to garble the words the main character couldn't hear. It was really clear how she heard the world because the audience heard it too.
This is the second book that I've listened to where when a character is speaking in Sign, there is an audio track of someone signing the dialogue. While I acknowledge and respect that this is a way to represent and integrate Sign into the audio, I don't think it's an effective way to indicate that the dialogue is happening in Sign. The sound is so subtle as to practically not be there at all. I want to reiterate: I don't find it annoying, I find it ignorable. It doesn't give the reader additional information that the dialogue tags and context clues don't already give, and it just sounds like someone is making some rustling noises in the background. For a more effective indicator that Sign was being used, I think a second narrator would have been a better choice.
What worked very well was the choice to garble the words the main character couldn't hear. It was really clear how she heard the world because the audience heard it too.
medium-paced
overall the book is a great overview into the deaf culture and as someone who is hard of hearing myself, i resonated a lot with the struggles the character has gone through
most of the characters are likeable and i loved seeing the deaf community through the lens of a deaf summer camp
I am someone who wears hearing aids and have gone through life as a hearing person and never learned sign language because it wasnt rly a thing around me but i had years of speech therapy and accomodations in school
i didnt like the way the book felt lecture-y at times - paragraphs that seem to go o a tangent and not really embed well into the storyline so perhaps with a slightly different writing style, it could have flowed really well
the tackling scene at the supermarket was unexpected but also a very real represenation of what happens in the real world so I am glad we got to see the exposure of that conflict being portrayed
most of the characters are likeable and i loved seeing the deaf community through the lens of a deaf summer camp
I am someone who wears hearing aids and have gone through life as a hearing person and never learned sign language because it wasnt rly a thing around me but i had years of speech therapy and accomodations in school
i didnt like the way the book felt lecture-y at times - paragraphs that seem to go o a tangent and not really embed well into the storyline so perhaps with a slightly different writing style, it could have flowed really well
the tackling scene at the supermarket was unexpected but also a very real represenation of what happens in the real world so I am glad we got to see the exposure of that conflict being portrayed
funny
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
To be fair, I am almost 30 years old, and reading about high school romance had me rolling my eyes more than a couple of times at Lilah's inner monolog. However, I loved learning about deaf culture and the romance aspect wasn't the main reason I picked this book up in the first place. I am a special education teacher, and while I don't have any deaf or hard of hearing students currently, I loved that story's themes and lessons about the importance of accommodations and accessibility.
3.5*
I fairly enjoyed this book especially as a Deaf person! However I will say some of the characters were making me mad like the parents of Lilah’s, Ethan and McKenzie I believe is her name. I did enjoy the topic of how the Deaf world views Cochlear implants and Hearing aids and how the hearing world does as well. However I hated the use of the word hearies- it feels wrong to describe people that can as that.
I fairly enjoyed this book especially as a Deaf person! However I will say some of the characters were making me mad like the parents of Lilah’s, Ethan and McKenzie I believe is her name. I did enjoy the topic of how the Deaf world views Cochlear implants and Hearing aids and how the hearing world does as well. However I hated the use of the word hearies- it feels wrong to describe people that can as that.
informative
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced